Category: Hiking

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Hiking Outdoor Adventures Tips & Tricks

8 Tips For Choosing the Right Hiking Shoes for Your Kids

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With all the outdoor activities in our life, clothes take it pretty hard. For example, we went through cheap Payless tennis shoes in about 2 months. I no longer think that if I buy something for Rachel it’ll last long enough for Cara to be able to wear it. Usually the article of clothing (pants, shoes, socks, whatever!)  wears out before even Rachel outgrows it.

Add to that our crazy, awesome hiking adventures and we spend a lot of time on our feet. One thing that has really helped my kids go the distance is their footwear. Good shoes really do make a difference when you are conditioning your . I figured that Sam and I were pretty picky about a footwear, why should our kids be any different?

The best part? It doesn’t have to be expensive!

When hunting for kid’s shoes here are a couple of ideas to help:

1. Make Sure They Are Lightweight: Heavier shoes tend to weigh us down. Every step you take has to move those shoes, and the repetitive motion of walking really adds up. Your kids don’t need high top, ankle support shoes (unless they’ve also got a heavy pack for overnighting and maybe not even then). Find something that’s low cut and lightweight!

2. Shop Clearance Sales, But Be Careful: All of our kid’s shoes come from REI. It’s actually my favorite place to buy clothes as they have some amazing clearance sales, and shoes top that list! They usually have a rack or two of clearance shoes, and if nothing fits make sure to ask as they’ll often have extra in the back. Rachel’s shoes (purple ones) were on sale for $35, and we got both Andrew & Cara’s for around $20 each. I did a quick search for “Kid’s Hiking Shoes” and came back with a great list of both regular priced and clearance shoes!

The second part of this, is that usually these shoes are on clearance for a reason. Be careful and take a good look at the shoes before you buy. With Cara’s the toggles didn’t stay on super well (probably why they were discontinuing selling them) but we stuck the toggles back on and tied a knot in the laces instead. Works like a charm and we didn’t pay full price!

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3. Make Sure Your Kids Walk Around in Them: Most stores will let you wear shoes inside and still return them. REI also has a synthetic rock our kids ran up and down to simulate hiking on a “hill”. Shoes will break in and get more comfortable over time, but you do want them to be comfortable from the get go. And don’t give up!! Cara tried hers on twice and ran around the entire store before she deemed them wearable. Now she loves them.

4. Look for Soles with Good Traction: You don’t want something with little to no tread, as your kids will slip and slide all over the trail. Having great shoes has really boosted Rachel’s confidence on the trails, especially when we are hiking over rocks.

5. Decide Whether or Not They Should Have Tie Laces: This a toss up for me. For younger kids its definitely best to have shoes with bungee laces or the toggles. Quick and easy to put on and you aren’t going to constantly be re-tying them. For older kids that can manage on their own its really a personal preference. Both my older kids actually prefer to have laces (especially when they are orange!)

6. Reinforced Rubber Toes Are Awesome: The toes get the brunt of the wear on shoes. Kids tend to kick things and drag their toes so naturally this area wears out quickly. Finding shoes with reinforced rubber toes are best. Rachel’s don’t have them and we’ve noticed the front lip thing has already started peeling off. It’s annoying. Next time we’ll be more choosy.

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7. Don’t forget about the socks! Just as shoes are important, so are socks! Once again, Sam and I like to wear good hiking socks, so why shouldn’t my kids? When we expect them to hike 5-10 miles we want to give them the tools to do it. Our favorites (so far) are these SmartWool Striped Like Hike Crew Socks from REI. Lightweight with a little bit of cushion, these are perfect for little hikers. My kids have commented often on how comfortable they are!

8. Brands to Look For: We aren’t usually brand shoppers, but there are a couple to look for that we feel make good, quality shoes. Solomon, Keen, Merrill, Chaco, and North Face are usually winners. I love my Solomon shoes, Sam prefers Merrill, Rachel’s are North Face, Andrew’s are Merrill and Cara has a lesser known brand, Hi-Tec, but they are awesome. The nice part about buying from REI is they don’t keep items (or brands) in stock that don’t hold up.

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If you really want your kids to go the distance and ENJOY doing it, investing in good equipment is important! Good socks and shoes can give them the confidence they need to push past their mental limits. Who knows? Maybe YOU’LL be struggling to keep up with THEM before long!

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Hiking Musings of Sam Outdoor Adventures

The Shoes We Wear – I Finally Retire My Hiking Shoes

SAM_3159-Edit copyI imagine the average person doesn’t think much about their hiking shoe purchases. I’d wager that a good percentage of people don’t even have hiking shoes. Being the active person and family that we are, I take my outdoor gear a little more seriously.

Added to that, I have slightly wide feet. Choosing shoes can be difficult, and to purchase these shoes I tried something different this time around. I ordered several sets of shoes from Zappos, and spent a few days walking around the house in each pair. The winning pair was this pair of Merrells, which came in a wide size.

Looking back over the years, these shoes have carried me on a wide variety of trails around Utah Valley as I explored valleys and ridges. After my little brother talked us into hiking the John Muir Trail in California the summer of 2013, these shoes carried me on all of my training hikes as well as the 240 miles on the John Muir Trail. Our pace was fast enough that I was sure to experience some foot discomfort no matter which pair of shoes I was wearing! They held up great, and I was grateful to have them. Among other places, these shoes have stood atop Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states.

These shoes left with us on an adventure that led to our current life of full-time Airstream travel. They have hiked trails in Virginia, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Washington, Oregon, Vancouver, Minnesota, Illinois, Nevada, and all over Utah.

I finally wore these shoes out, as they began to come apart in multiple non-repairable places. I replaced them 6 weeks ago, but kept them for this final shot. Here in the Alabama Hills in the shadow of Mount Whitney, I took a final picture to commemorate all the wonderful places these shoes carried me.

I wonder what adventures my next set will see?

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California Hiking National Parks Outdoor Adventures

Our Kids Complete the Most Epic Hike EVER in Yosemite National Park

Our kids never cease to amaze me. They have adapted so well to this traveling lifestyle of ours and I see them growing and thriving in the most spectacular ways.

Hiking is definitely a huge activity for us. We started with short hikes when they were little, and gradually have been able to increase the distance as they become stronger and more used to the physical effort. The hike we completed in Yosemite definitely topped the list for difficulty, duration and amazing views.

When We Visited: December 8, 2014

Ages of Kids: 9, 7, 4

Where We Stayed: Yosemite Ridge Resort.  Our timing worked out for a visit across a Sat-Mon, with Monday being the day we spent all day at the park. We opted to stay outside the National Park near Groveland at an RV Park so that 1) Sam could have a prayer of getting Verizon coverage so he could work some on Saturday to make up for play on Monday, and 2) It was much, much closer to church.

I had one purpose for visiting this park, and that was to hike. A big one. It had been quite a while since we attempted an all day excursion, and having just seen the valley floor on my previous visit, I wanted to get up into the hills and really experience Yosemite. Even if that’s all we did on our visit, we felt that would be a better way to see the park than exploring a few of the shorter trails closer to the valley floor. We needed to get UP.

If we could snag a Jr. Ranger Badge while we were at it, I was okay with that too.

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I don’t think any of use quite comprehended what we were getting ourselves into as we left the Visitor Center and headed for the trail head. We planned to hike up to both Vernal and Nevada Falls, a distance, on paper, of 5.4 miles round trip. We also knew there was an option to come down the John Muir Trail, which considering it is the last section Sam hiked of his 240 miles we were kind of excited to all hike together. Coming down the JMT rather than back down the Mist Trail would add about 2.5 miles, however, so we figured we’d just see how it went.

Everyone started out in great spirits. We had psyched the kids up for a long, difficult hike, but we knew that they could do it. The first section of the trail is paved and steep. We kept leap frogging a high school field trip group, and Cara kept teasing them about hiking faster than they were. Sam and I joked that these kids would never live it down if a 4 year old beat them to the top of the waterfall.

About .8 miles up the trail, we hit the footbridge and our first view of Vernal Falls. I handed my camera off to the field trip instructor and started giving him directions when he promised that he was a photographer and knew what he was doing. Perfect. We rarely get photos of all 5 of us and this is one of my all time favorites!

The little things that help our kids accomplish something difficult are pretty varied. For Cara, listening to music is a huge help. On this hike, Rachel really want to bring Rebecca, her American Girl doll along for the hike. She’s not very heavy and has a backpack she straps into, so we thought, “why not?” It was adorable to watch Rachel hike up the trail with her doll strapped to her back. I think it gave her encouragement to think she was “helping” her doll along and responsible for someone else throughout the hike.

Before reaching the top of the falls, we had to climb 600 granite steps that had been shaped out of the mountain. It was quite the work out and we were all pretty tired & hungry by the time we reached the top!

Feeding both body and spirit is definitely important. We packed in lunch to eat at the top of the falls and not only filled our hungry bellies, but re-energized the kids to keep hiking. Its amazing what a milestone can do for encouragement! We did beat the school group to the top of the falls, and they endured some good natured teasing from 4 year old Cara, despite having to stop here and there for a lecture from their teacher. Cara was very proud to be competing in league with ‘big kids’ and it gave her confidence and courage.

At this point we had a decision to make, continue to the top of Nevada Falls or head back down? We definitely wanted to keep going, but Rachel was having some severe cramping in her hip flexor and was struggling to even walk. We sat down and talked about pressing on in spite of difficulties, how excited everyone else was to see the other waterfall, and we stretched out her leg so she felt confident she could keep hiking. Had we remembered to bring our hiking poles, they also would have helped tremendously, but they were sitting back in the Airstream too far away to be useful.

We are proud of Rachel for how determined she was to see this thing through. We walked a little slower on the second half of the trail, and stopped frequently to stretch, but she kept hiking with very little complaining. I’m glad we kept going because the views just kept getting better and better!

Just before we hit the top of Nevada Falls we had another steep, switchback, rocky section to hike. This time, however, we had the company of the sun which peaked over the nearby cliffs and bathed us in golden light. It was the first time that day we had seen the sun and I just stood for a minute and let the warm sunshine wash over my face. 

We saved our very favorite granola bars to eat at the top of Nevada Falls, and stopped for 20 minutes or so to complete their short Jr. Ranger books before heading back down the trail. Spending a few minutes which such a view (and our favorite snack!) was ample reward for our effort up the trail. Our break was short, as we’ve learned to keep moving so our muscles don’t freeze up, and by this time it was about 3pm and we needed to get off the mountain before it got dark.

We made it! This was our “We can’t believe our 4 year old hiked all the way up here” self-congratulatory selfie photo.

The slog downhill began. The kids were pretty tired by now, and it was getting late into the afternoon. We were slightly worried we wouldn’t make it back to the visitor center in time to turn in our Jr. Ranger Books, but more importantly that it would be dark before we could get off the mountain. The views coming down the JMT side of the trail were spectacular, however, and was worth the extra distance we hiked.

Lots of trail snacks, “I spy” games, music and anything else we could think of to keep them hiking. Sam and I were tired, which meant the kids must be doubly so. Little Cara had given her all, and just couldn’t make it the last mile. We alternated between carrying her and having her walk and it was pretty slow going.

We made it back to the car just as it was getting too dark to see around 4:55pm. The visitor center closed at 5pm so we raced back along the road to the closest drop off point and the kids and I ran from there on our already exhausted legs. We ran up to the visitor center just as the last ranger was walking out the front door. He was so great – the kids explained which hike they had just finished and he congratulated them and went back inside for the badges. Without even checking their sheets, he just asked what their favorite part was and handed them over. Obviously he was ready to go home too!

On the way out, we made a quick pit stop at the food market to grab some snacks for the way home. Everyone was tired, but it was definitely a fantastic accomplishment for everyone! Although on paper, the trail was supposed to be only 7. 5 miles or so, tracking with Endomondo I clocked 10 miles and 2000 feet of vertical elevation. We are so proud of our kids and what they accomplished!

Our decision to begin hiking serious hikes with the kids was deliberate, and over this last year we’ve seen them grow and become both physically and mentally strong. We have a learned and grown so much through these experiences, and I look forward to what we will accomplish this year!

Categories
Hiking Oregon Outdoor Adventures Video

Wandering Update: Hiking at Cascade Head near Lincoln City, Oregon

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While we were staying along the Oregon Coast, we managed a hike to the top of Cascade Head near Lincoln City, Oregon. This was probably the one day it didn’t rain in about a week of being there and we took full advantage by getting out and exploring. To find our hike, I basically Googled “Hiking in Cascade Head” and we found an article on Portland Hiker’s Field Guide that had a great description and directions.

Check out our video of the hike:

The trail started out on a small path next to the road until we hiked up to the original trail head (we believe it was moved due to lack of parking). Things got pretty interesting as the terrain was steep and involved some serious stair stepping.

Cascade Head Hike_01Once we made it out of the trees and up on the bluff we were greeted with views like this:
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And this:

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The wet mud was great for spotting recent elk tracks, and the kids had fun pointing them out. Down on the ridge just above Sam is a whole herd of elk. Super far away, but that’s the way we like them.

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Overall the hike was about 6 miles, and the kids did great on the muddy trail. It’s amazing to me how we can be warm and sweaty on the way up, but need to pull out the jackets at the top and on the way back down. So proud of our little hikers!
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Featured Destination Hiking National Parks Oregon Outdoor Adventures

Visiting Wizard Island at Crater Lake National Park – Oregon

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Our adventures can be pretty spontaneous. Sometimes that also means expensive, but the two don’t neccessarily go together. We arrived at Crater Lake National Park in the afternoon, pulled over into a longer RV parking spot, and walked over to the Mazama campground kiosk to check in. There was a bit of a line, so Jess grabbed the park pamphlet to peruse while we waited. Hiking suggestions, viewpoints, fun things to do, history of the park, and then we saw it. Boat tours of the lake.

“Babe,” she whispered. “We could actually go out onto the lake.”

Not only onto the lake, but onto the island in the middle of the lake. Yeah, this was going to be good.

When We Visited: August 27-29, 2014
Ages of Kids: 8, 7, 4
Where We Stayed: Mazama Campground
What Was Awesome: The Wizard Island Boat Tour!
Jr. Ranger Double-Duty: This park has both a badge AND a patch. The badge we earned by completing the self-guided booklet as usual. The patch we earned by attending one of their Jr. Ranger programs led by a park ranger. It was super fun as the kids got to design their own Crater Lake postcards and mail them to friends & family!

Our turn in the line came to check in, and we secured our spot for two nights. A few circles through the campground loops revealed a few things. First, we were unlikely to reach the wifi from the lodge from any available sites. Second, it was beautiful. We found a nice pull through that would fit us, and then ignored the DO NOT ENTER sign and drove through the loop backwards to pull into the site. After some quick setup and dinner, we picked an evening hike.

Evening hikes are one of our favorite evening activities. As often as we can, we find a place to explore for an hour or so between dinner and bedtime. We chose the Godfrey Glen Trail, a 1 mile loop trail only a few miles up from campground. We were entirely alone on the hike, and we find that to be both common and preferable for our evening hikes. The trail snaked through the forest, and over to the cliff edge where the soft pumice landscape showed some interesting erosion. Though the rock material was different, this reminded us a bit of a less vibrant Cedar Breaks National Park in Utah.

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The next morning, I woke up early and hauled my groggy self over to the lodge to get some work done. I found some empty tables behind the restaurant that were not in use, and set up for a work morning. The wifi was not zippy, but it was stable, and I my morning was good.

Jess and the kids headed up to the visitors center and rim for some exploring while I worked. After lunch, we all headed back up together for some exploring and a Junior Ranger activity. Jess had come back that morning all sorts of even more excited about the boat tours of the lake, and we decided it a worthy activity. I headed to the lodge to procure some tickets, and the kids set about coloring the landscape onto some postcards to mail to friends.

During our time at Crater Lake, we met so many people astonished at the number of badges the kids had earned. The kids were quite energized from the experience, seeing perhaps a glimpse of how rare and wonderful their experiences are. It was encouraging to Jess and I as well, as the journey and task isn’t always free from complaint and frustration.

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Junior Ranger badges & patches added to the collection, we headed out along the Rim Trail to Discovery Point. The water of Crater Lake is all snowmelt, and there are no above-ground exists. As a result, there is very little sediment in the water. The color of the water is an unbelievably vibrant blue, captivating us during our wander along the rim. Our hike was beautiful, and with the exception of one Cara meltdown, a relaxing hike. We were tired after the hike so headed out in the truck next, driving counter clockwise along East Rim Drive.

The highlight of the East Rim Drive was our stop at the Phantom Ship Overlook. The angle of the sun presented the Phantom Ship overlook in stark contrast to the glare of the sun. The rocks of the Phantom Ship are among the oldest in the entire area, and we managed some amazing captures during our stop there. Our view there was so spectacular that we remained unimpressed with the next few overlooks, and found a nice spot for dinner at the picnic area just past the Mount Scott trailhead.

Right there in the parking lot we discovered another rare gem: We have found and experienced the nicest, cleanest pit toilet that we have ever happened upon. It was so awesome, it got posted to my Instagram account.

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We rarely do ‘touristy’ activities when we wander, and even more rarely do we do expensive activities. This boat trip to Wizard Island cost over $200, but was worth it. Because of the boat tour, we needed to extend our stay by one night. I visited the campground booth after we returned from our drive, and was a little worried when the guy told me that he was all full that night, and couldn’t do anything till the next morning. Our boat trip was early enough that we would have nearly no time to pack up the Airstream and move it if we couldn’t get a spot. I fretted and worried but it turned out just fine. The lady at the booth the next morning extended our stay, and we took off around the lake headed to our tour.

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The boat tours leave from Cleetwood Cove on the north side of the lake. We hiked down the mile trail to the boat docks. Our trip included a ranger guided tour around the lake, which turned out to be quite fun. Our first stop was a visit to the “Old Man of the Lake”, a vertically floating log that migrates around the lake. It had floated into the beginning of our tour, giving us a rare chance to see it up close. The tree fell into the lake at some point long ago, with it’s roots wrapped around a large bolder. The bolder has since fallen off the bottom, but the log continues to float in it’s vertical orientation. Our ranger explained the geology of now gone Mt. Mazama, the mountain formed the the lost peak that covered crater lake. The peak collapsed into an empty chamber below the mountain after an eruption, forming the area now filled by the lake.

Our main stop on our boat tour was Wizard Island, a cinder cone that formed after the mountain collapsed. We had a few hours on the island, which we used to hike to the top and have some lunch. The sides of the cone were steep on the upper slopes which gave Rachel a bit of a fright, but we all made it both up and down.

We filmed a Wandering Update video on top of Wizard Island. Check it out on Youtube!

After boarding the boat, we made a few other stops, most notably circling the Phantom Ship. It was interesting to see up close, looking very much weather beaten and eroded after centuries of wear.

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The last leg of our lake tour was our hike back to the rim from the boat docks at Cleetwood Cove. The hike up took much longer than the hike down that morning. Andrew made a friend of an older gentleman and his wife, and proceeded to talk their ears off the entire trail.

Our time at Crater Lake was wonderful. We left tired, a little sore, and very grateful to have had such wonderful adventures. Jess and Rachel have decided that Crater Lake is their new favorite National Park, and there is little complaint from the rest of us.