Me & The 3: Our First Solo Hike

Today was my first solo hike with the boys.

I was the lone adult responsible for three adventurous little boys.

I’ve been a little hesitant, seeing as my boys haven’t exactly grown up hiking, it’s sort of a learned skill, and they’re still getting their “mountain legs” beneath them, so to speak.

Still, the last three or four hikes Derek and I taken them on have calmed some of my fears. Ryan and Eli are normally charging ahead until Derek and I call them back and Liam keeps at a pretty steady pace right beside us.

It’s been a long few weeks of traveling and company and this is the first week of real calm we’ve had since summer started. We’ve had some mild sickness going through the house, so we’ve been home since the beginning of the week.

Considering all this, just me and my boys, some fresh air and a little exercise, sounded lovely.

So, I put on my big girl pants, packed up the boys, filled my camelback (a recent birthday gift!), and through on my very appropriate “Explorer” ball cap (also a birthday gift). I felt ready for anything!!!

I ran by Chick-fil-A to grab a picnic lunch. I’m normally quite diligent about packing a lunch from home, as cheapest is best, but today I was putting all my energy into boykeeping and decided a cheat day wouldn’t be the end of the world.

And Off We Went!

I drove us up winding mountain roads to our favorite picnic spot overlooking the wide expanse of the smokeys.

It’s strange to me that some destinations and tourist traps cost a pretty penny and are never really worth it… while basking in the glory of God’s creation is free of charge and absolutely priceless.

The world seems upside down right now, but sometimes I stare out at the rolling hills and pine covered mountains with the blue sky stretching out behind… and somehow, it doesn’t all seem so bad.

An Itchy Picnic

But just as we settled into our favorite spot, a feast of nuggets, fries, Chick-fil-A sauce, sweet tea and lemonade laid out before us…

My leg began to itch.

Then my neck itched.

Then my arm itched.

Then my head itched.

I kept feeling little tiny pinches all over my body for no apparent reason.

I began to wonder if I had the onset of one of those terrible diseases that causes intense and unabating itching. I tried to ignore it… maybe it was just hormones.

But about two minutes into our lunch, I went to grab a swig of my sweet tea only to realize my cup was covered in these almost microscopic little orange bugs. Uh oh, I though. I looked around and found that the boys cups were covered too. I looked down at my arm just as one went to pinch me. Those little blood sucking, skin pinching stinkers were EVERYWHERE.

Soooooo…. we wiped off our cups and arms and continued our picnic in the air conditioned van instead.

While sitting there, we took guesses at how long anyone else would make it at our table before itching to death and walking away.

It was entertaining, anyway.

A Good Learning Experience

We headed off to one our favorite trails (thankfully the buggies didn’t follow.)

I had a heart to heart with the boys before it began, reminding them that listening to mom THE MOMENT I spoke was vital for everyone’s safety. It’s really good practice for them, seeing as they love hiking but they also need to understand that listening to mom is for their good and makes for a much more pleasant adventure.

They really did AMAZING.

We had only one little hiccup: “But moooooo-oooom, I promise I didn’t mean to push him in the face. I just wanted to be first!!!”

That was my favorite. And earned me a companion at the back of the group where we talked about the qualities of a good leader.

I did have a few fears come to mind that I hadn’t contemplated before: Snake bites, bear attacks, meeting a creep on the trail. (What? I’m a mom, it’s my job to consider every possibility.) I think perhaps some pepper spray or something with a wee more pizzazz might be in order in the future. But for today, I decided my 7 year old’s walking stick and completely lacking kung fu skills could get us out of any scrapes we might in which we might find ourselves.

We sang songs, figured out how to share my camel back without the slobber issue (open wide and squirt!), and closely studied a centipede whose life I saved from a four year old stomping before we continued on.

“Can I kill him, mom????”

Then we went off trail to a little water fall at the end of our hike so they could feel like real explorers, venturing off into the wild.

Otherwise we stayed on trail. I’m directionally challenged and any other decision would have been disastrous.

Shortly after, we made it back to the van, safe and sound.

A Good Day

All in all, I’d say our first solo hike was success.

I’m thankful to be able to introduce my boys to an activity I loved as a kid and still love to this day.

I’m thankful to be surrounded by beautiful reminders of our glorious Creator.

I’m thankful to train up three little mountain men who can one day stomp on snakes and gut punch bears and the boogie man so I won’t have to.

It was a good day.

And I’m thankful.