hiking Hebron Rock colony with 4 wild kids
3,2, GO
YOU’LL ALWAYS BE TIRED.
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, CLEANED, CHECKED OFF, ETC.
YOU CAN’T THINK ABOUT IT OR YOU’LL TALK YOURSELF OUT OF AN ADVENTURE & SOME OF YOUR BEST MEMORIES.
PACK SOME WATER, FOOD, EXTRA CLOTHES, A FIRST AID KIT, AND GO.
GET IN YOUR CAR, AND DRIVE.
SURE.
IT MAY BE A LITTLE EASIER WHEN THEY’RE OLDER BUT THEY’RE NEVER GOING TO BE THIS AGE AGAIN. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE HIKING, BEING OUTSIDE AND SOAKING IN NATURE, THEIR ESSENCE, A PART OF THEIR BEING.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL GIFT. TO BE SATISFIED BY SOMETHING SO SIMPLE, SO PURE, SO ACCESSIBLE, AND SOMETHING THAT MATTERS.
NATURE MATTERS. THE TREES MATTER. LIFE MATTERS.
I SOMEHOW FORGET THIS FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT PARENTING IS ALMOST ALWAYS EASIER WHEN YOU’RE OUTSIDE.
THERE are NO TOYS TO FIGHT OVER, YOU’RE ALL PRESENT, YOU’RE EXISTING TOGETHER AND ODDS ARE THAT YOUr sympathetic nervous system is relaxed..
As the parent, your nervous system is the central nervous system of the home. If you’re overwhelmed about everything that needs to get done - your children feel an underlying sense of uneasiness & stress.
The visual clutter can wait but oUr memories are the only things that we’ll be left with at the end of this sweet life.
if you’re like me, you’re a planner, a researcher, and with that sometimes comes the inability to execute because you’re considering every variable before making a decision. give yourself some love by not living in your head. be adaptive. things will happen, not everything goes according to plan and that’s okay. that’s beautiful.
I didn’t imagine encountering as much as we did that day.
We hiked almost all day and really took our time (why do we feel a need to rush through every part of life?) in total, it was about 4 miles. We did the Hebron rock colony trail with our friends and kids (2, 3, 4, and 6 year olds).
Hurricane helene swept through Boone last year and so instantly changed the geological evolution that took millions of years to form so the trail looked a little different this time.
I’m not going to tell you every detail. I want you to go experience it yourself.
but I will highlight my favorite parts.
First, rhododendrons everywhere.
When I first moved to north carolina, one of my friends referred to the woods here as north carolina jungle. i see it now and i’ve come to adore these jungles with the abundance of life that it breeds.
second, we came across a stream with 2 rock ledges that we had to throw our kids across. This was a time i needed to trust and not overthink.
Right before this part, we had come across a medium sized snake. it didn’t look very friendly. I had been hiking barefoot so i was grateful that my daughter found the snake before my feet did. I knew that snakes were a possible encounter we could make. this isn’t to scare you off. be aware of your surroundings. we got fairly close to the snake but we didn’t bother it. we retreated, went a different way, and the kids couldn’t stop talking about how exciting it was to have seen a big snake.
third, the rock scrambles at the end really made this whole journey worth it. but really every part of this hike felt worth it. the mere act of being together with friends who light up your soul. When you spend so many hours with people and you’re hiking you begin to get tired, and you accept that quiet is comfort. the people pleaser in me wants to entertain people and make everyone feel good. it’s exhausting and hard to turn off. but after so many hours hiking, it naturally turned off and i truly felt myself.
it was freeing.
