National Parks

Becoming a National Park Service Junior Ranger

One of the great programs that the National Park Service provides is the Junior Ranger Program.
The Junior Ranger motto is...

"Explore, Learn and Protect!"


The NPS Junior Ranger Program is:
"An activity based program conducted in almost all parks, and some Junior Ranger programs are national.  Many national parks offer young visitors the opportunity to join the National Park Service "family" as Junior Rangers.  Interested youth complete a serious of activities during a park visit, share their answers with a park ranger, and receive an official Junior Ranger patch and Junior Ranger certificate.  Junior Rangers are between the ages of 5 to 13, although people of all ages can participate." 
[United States. National Park Service. "Junior Rangers | National Park Service." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2015. <http://www.nps.gov/kids/jrRangers.cfm>.]
We had the opportunity to visit John Muir National Historic Site, which was John Muir's home in Martinez, California in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 1900's.  We had a lovely family picnic on the grounds just as I imagined John Muir and his family did many times!



While visiting the Visitor Center, we were pleased to find out that our son was finally old enough to participate in the Junior Ranger program so we acquired the Junior Ranger booklet and began the program.

After completing a serious of booklet activities which included:
  • Answering questions
  • Scavenger Hunt in John Muir's home
  • Detective Time
  • Drawings
  • Observing a Tree
  • Investigating Reporting

We were able to proceed with our son's "Junior Ranger Pledge" with NPS Ranger Jim! [Video]


My son was so happy he was finally a Junior Ranger that after he got his badge, we headed for a hike on Mount Wanda, which was named after one of John Muir's daughter!

Chasqui Mom, Junior Ranger David and NPS Ranger Jim

Hiking on Nature Trail on Mount Wanda, John Muir National Historic Site
It's very special to my husband and I, that my son was able to become a Junior Ranger at John Muir's home and then we were able to hike on the same trails that John Muir hiked with his children.  It was a very fitting for the occasion!


Thank you National Park Service and Ranger Jim, from the bottom of our hearts!


Related Post and Links:

  1. Backpacker Magazine: Oakland, CA: Mt. Wanda, John Muir National Historic Site


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Hiking & Rock Scrambling: Bearfence Mountain ~ Shenandoah National Park


Awesome.

I could finish my post with that picture of the top of Bearfence Mountain.  Everyone around me in the East Coast kept saying, "Now remember our mountains are not like California mountains" but I've learned to love all my National Parks.  National Parks are like my children, you can't compare them to one another because that would be mean, and each one provides its own uniqueness.  Instead, I have learned to enjoy each child, in this case Virginia's Shenandoah National Park, for what it is.



I recently read "Wilderness Society's "15 National Parks for Fall Color" and Shenandoah was No.2 on their list, so I was very excited to visit during fall peak period.  We don't have as many "Fall Colors" in the San Francisco Bay Area as the East Coast does, so it was a nice change in weather and scenery for our family.


Appalachian Trail and Bearfence Mountain

As a family of hikers at heart, we were very excited to hike on the Appalachian Trail even if it was a tiny section of it.  Jennifer Chambers of Hiking Along also recommended Bearfence Mountain because it would give us 360 degree view of Shenandoah, its beautiful fall colors, and her recommendation did not disappoint.  She also knew that my toddlers would love rock scrambling at the top of Bearfence Mountain which they certainly did!

Our first steps on the Appalachian Trail near Bearfence Moutain.
Trail Directions & Description: Parking lot is off of mile marker 56 on Skyline Dr in Shenandoah National Park.  If you follow the Bearfence Mountain Trailhead Kiosk, this is a 1.2 mile circuit hike with less than 300 ft elevation.  We took the first turnoff to the viewpoint so the hike was shorter than 1.2 miles and took us about 1.5-2 hours.

For more detailed trail information please visit: Lewis Mountain Area Road and Trail Map (National Park Service)

The trail starts off with wooden steps which always motivates my son to hike more than an uphill trail with no steps.  I don't know why but he loves going uphill on stairs but he loves to race to the top...I'm just happy he's not complaining about going uphill!

My boy on the crossroads of the AT and Bearfence Mountain Trail

We went south on the Appalachian Trail, to the 180 degree Bearfence Mountain view point.  It was a very slight up hill with a partial stone trail, easy enough for my 3 and 4 year old children and I, a 5 month pregnant lady!  The overall elevation change is about 300 ft, which is like going up a small hill but it still was a good little workout for us.


It was a very beautiful cool fall hike up to the view point, where we took a little break to enjoy the amazing views looking unto the west of Shenandoah National Park.  We had promised our children as we left Big Meadows campground that we would find more ladybugs and caterpillars on our hike.  Of course the second we sat down we found the fuzzy caterpillars and the bright red ladybugs.

180 degree Bearfence Mountain View Point.  Oh beautiful fall!
At the time we were a little confused because Jennifer Chambers had told us there was 360 degree view point, and we walked around looking for it but then we realized that we'd find it during the rock scramble.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed the first view point but they heard that we were going "rock climbing" aka rock scrambling and they were itching to go climb!

Time to Family Rock Scramble!

The New Outdoor Experiences.....

We experienced two new outdoor "aspects" on our hike to Bearfence Mountain:

  1. Rock Scrambling: It'ts kind of a hybrid of hiking and rock climbing, with no ropes or climbing gear and not really on a traditional trail.  For a more detailed description of rock scrambling please visit "Basic Rock Scrambling".  The difficulty of  Bearfence Mountain rock scramble climb was easy enough for my four year old son and a five month pregnant Chasqui Mom to complete.  Granted we were still very cautious and hand guided our son down certain sections of the way. Note: There is both an uphill and downhill rock scrambling on Bearfence Mountain.
  2. Trail Blazing:  This isn't very common in California, or at least in the San Francisco Bay Area.  What is it? It's a painted mark on rocks, posts or trees to designate the way or trail.  I can see how someone can easily get lost with all the foliage/snow covering the ground or in this case the trail on the rocks (see middle picture in collage).  It also provided a "game" for our children to find the next blaze on the trail, kind of like hide-and-seek for toddlers.
But the best new outdoor experience was seeing Shenandoah National Park in its most beautiful time of the year and enjoying the 360 degree view of this awesome park from the top of Bearfence Mountain!

View of the west 1st picture, view of the east
I would highly recommend this hike if visiting Shenandoah National Park, especially during Fall.  It's a great short hike with a kick that families with little ones can enjoy, not to mention amazing views of the park and the great feeling a "conquering" a mountain with toddlers.


Thanks again to Jennifer Chambers of Hiking Along who recommended Bearfence Mountain for our adventurous family.  That is the great thing about being a blogger is that I get to meet like-minded people who instinctively know where we can enjoy the outdoors to the fullest!


Also if you are in the Washington DC greater area.  Chambers newest book "Best Hikes with Kids: Washington, DC, The Beltway and Beyond" would be a great resource to find family friendly hikes.  Bearfence Mountain is listed as a "difficult family hike" in the book due to the rock scrambling, but it is highly recommended by Chambers.

Hike Date: October 20, 2014

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A Wondrous World of Family Hiking in Muir Grove


Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world
~ John Muir ~

Have you ever seen a child romp through the forest? Have you listened to a child talking while walking through the mountains? Sure, hiking with children is difficult, slower, tedious and harder on your back, but there is a different level of wonder that is seen through a child's eyes.

Muir Grove in Sequoia National Park might not be a big attraction but it truly is a nice hike.  The great thing about Sequoia National Park is that there are Sequoias very near the General's Highway.  This gives great accessibility BUT this also means very large crowds which is something my family is not a big fan of.  We wanted to see the Sequoias but wanted the solitude of the "Outdoors", so off we headed hiking to Muir Woods near Dorst Creek Campground.


Hiking to the Sequoias

This is a moderate, family-friendly, 4.2 mile round trip hike to Muir Grove, but in all reality we added a little over 2 miles for a total of 6.3 miles from our campground in Dorst Creek.  We walked from our campsite to the trailhead but we got a little confused about where it was, we eventually found the Muir Grove trailhead but added two miles over all to the hike.  Every step adds up when you think about it.  The trailhead is near the campsite #178, which crosses a little bridge over Cabin Creek.


Immediately on the trail, we enjoyed the sounds of the flowing Cabin Creek and were glad the creek was not dried up yet due to California's severe drought.  It was quite refreshing to hear water flowing and to see the greenery all around us.

The hike has a slight uphill trail to Muir Grove with sections of flat and down hill sections.  The trail is a very shaded with just one section of exposed granite halfway to Muir Grove.  There were signs of bears everywhere....almost every fallen tree had been shredded by bears so we made sure our son never ran ahead.  I happily told my son to blow his whistle as much as he wanted!  Thankfully we never saw a bear while hiking to Muir Grove.  All we saw was lush beautiful forest greenery!!


Ferns galore...


Just hiking along...


My daughters view point from down below...

I would suggest taking a kid carrier for little ones who can't hike this distance.  My 4 year old son was able to hike the entire 6.3 miles but my 2 year old could not.  Of course when we saw the Sequoias down the trail, everyone got excited to see the REALLY BIG TREES!!

Entering Muir Grove

Doesn't matter how many times I see Sequoias I'm always blown away by their sheer size.  They provide a perspective that only Sequoias can provide.  Just seeing the Sequoias brought back my happy childhood memories of endlessly running around the base of the trees with my older brother. I was very happy we had hiked out to Muir Grove with my children.



"Daddy, Mommy! Those trees are REALLY BIG! And they have caves!" my toddlers squealed.  Now I understand why my parents brought my brother and me to Sequoia National Park so much.

When we arrived to Muir Grove, a couple of hikers were having lunch but they quickly packed up and left.  We packed our lunch as well: Bolillo sandwiches.  We enjoyed a picnic all by ourselves in the middle of Muir Grove.  After lunch, my son and I explored the "caves" and I happily listened to my son imagining finding bears in the tree hollows and pretending to scare them.  A little bit of family time at Muir Grove....


Time to EXPLORE....


Daughter hugging daddy, surrounded by the Sequoias hugging us....


Always look up....


The world from inside the tree, from my daughters eyes....

I must say this might not be a popular hike in Sequoia National Park but it was my family favorite.  Muir Grove...where we played hide and seek, had Bolillo sandwiches and pretended we were giant bears in the tree trunks.  Welcome to the world of family hiking, it's more fun this way.


Trail Report Detials
Who: Two Adults, Two Toddlers
Family Friendly: Moderate
Mileage: 4.2 miles from Trailhead, 6.3 actual from campsite




Elevation Change: 896 ft
Trails Description: Out and back trail, slight uphill hike




What's your favorite day hike in Sequoia National Park?


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Related Posts and Links:

The Amazing Crystal Cave at Sequoia National Park

One of my childhood dreams was to visit the Crystal Cave in Sequoia National Park.  Unfortunately the one time my parents tried to take us to the Crystal Caves the trail was covered with ice (during summer time!), so the National Park Service wasn't allowing visitors due to the slippery trail.


Years had past and I never visited, so we when we were planning our Sequoia trip this past June I made sure we were going to visit the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites!  There are really no words to describe the wonderful underground world but here are some tips and information about the Crystal Cave.

There is a little bit of hiking to get to the cave 1/2 mile for a total of a 1 mile hike roundtrip, this does not include the walking inside the cave.  Very easy hike down to the cave but that means a steep hike up to the parking lot.


Tips for Families with Children



  • Soft Kid Carrier ~ A full blown kid carrier is probably over doing it for this 1-mile hike since ANY type of kid carrier is not allowed into the caves.  All bags, backpacks, kid carrier (fabric too) has to be left at the cave entrance.
  • Water ~ Bottled water is not allowed inside the cave but you can take the water and leave at the entrance of the cave.  We didn't bring any water which wasn't a big deal on the way down but we all got a little thirsty on the hike up.  Bring water down and leave it at the entrance before entering the cave.
  • Extra Layer ~ The cave is ALWAYS 50 degrees Fahrenheit, no matter what the weather is outside the cave.  It was in the 80's when we visited in late June, at first it felt great to be in this "natural air conditioned" cave but the change it temperature does make it chilly after a sweaty hike.  Take sweaters for the whole family especially for little ones who cool off quicker.
  • Darkness ~ Caves are dark, but they do have lighted areas or else we could not see all the great rock formations.  My toddlers enjoyed the semi-darkness but at one point of the tour, the guide turned off all the lights and it was completely dark.  Make sure you are holding your child, especially if they are scared of the dark.  No flashlights or flash photography is allowed.
  • Pricing and Ticket Location ~ Adults were $15/ticket, 5-12 years $8/ticket and under 5 years $5 ticket.  Tickets are not sold at the actual Crystal Cave bookstore.   Purchase tickets at one of the visitor centers.


The Crystal Cave Tour

The tour actually starts half an hour BEFORE the schedule ticket, i.e. 3:30 pm ticket time, meetup with guide at the book store at 3:00 pm to have enough time to hike down to the cave entrance.  If you get down early there is a beautiful waterfall and creek to relax by. Traffic to the Crystal Cave can be quite a hassle due to all of Sequoia's road construction, so we left 2 hours before our schedule time per the docents suggestion.  Photography is allowed but with NO FLASH, fortunately my camera had a nifty nighttime feature that allowed my pictures to come out.  I can describe the caves to you but I'd rather show pictures!


Walking through the first level....


My kids thought these were icicles and everything was snow to them...


The cave family...


Fairyland, those little stalactites were 100 years old....


Stalagmite (coming from the ground) aka Jabba the Hutt...


 Chasqui Mom Last Thoughts.....

I truly was beyond amazed by Crystal Cave, I couldn't even pay attention to the guide explaining how this beautiful place was created because I was so mesmerized by this place.  Something about the water flowing above and through the cave created it, over thousands and thousands of years. It was a family favorite during our week-long vacation at Sequoia National Park and my kids definitely have a fascination with caves now!

It might be a little touristy location for an outdoor enthusiast but I highly recommend visiting this Crystal Cave.  I'm glad that many years ago some National Park Rangers slid down this mountain on their butts and found the beautiful California treasure by accident.  Now thousands of people can experience this amazing place in addition to everything else Sequoia National Park has to offer.





Have you visited Crystal Cave or a similar marble cave? What did you love?


Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's FacebookInstagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

Related Posts and Links:
  1. Crystal Cave ~ Sequoia Natural History Association
  2. Pinnacles National Park ~ Bear Gulch Caves

Cleaning Up Limantour Beach ~ National Trails Day

From the mountains to the oceans, there's something I usually see on the trail that I really don't like...trash.  Everything in nature is interconnected so when someone leaves a piece of trash in the California Sierra Mountains at some point rain, creeks and rivers will sweep it to the ocean.  We have made it a habit to pick up trash when we are hiking, so on National Trails Day we decided to volunteer for a beach clean up!


National Trails Day was founded by the American Hiking Society in the late 1980's to celebrate America's magnificent Trails System. During the first Saturday of every June, many events are organized such clean ups, hiking, bird watching, biking, trail restoration and much more.  Since we always do everything as a "familia", I was happy to find out that even my toddlers could participate at beach clean up which was being hosted by the National Park Service and Point Reyes National Seashore Association at Limantour Beach on National Trails Day.


At first sight, Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore looked very clean and I was somewhat disappointed that maybe we were not going to be able to find much to clean up but we were wrong.  Our family alone found a brick, lots of shotgun shells, Styrofoam pieces, cigarettes, hair barrettes, bottle caps, straws, razors, Easter Basket plastic grass and more trash that we couldn't identify.  Combined all 23 beach volunteers picked up over 900 pounds of beach trash which included a large fishing net and a 20 foot plastic beam that weighed over 600 pounds.  We actually had a break and snacks on the plastic beam and we wondered "How in the world did THIS get here?!"

For more photos of the Limantour Beach clean up and trail restoration please click HERE.


Chasqui Mom Last Thoughts...

We enjoy the outdoors quite often by hiking, riding, camping and backpacking, but it was fantastic to volunteer our time and enjoy the outdoors by making it a cleaner world.  My children might not remember this specific event at Limantour Beach but they were left with a lasting impression that trash belongs in a trashcan.  Every time we are out and about and they see trash we pick it up, whether it's on the trail or on a neighborhood walk.  



This year I have had the honor of joining the American Hiking Society Board of Directors and I look forward to serving America's hikers in the following years.  Jennifer Chambers, the Chair of the American Hiking Society Board of Directors is also a outdoor family blogger at Hiking Along and also had a great clean up at Northwood Chesapeake Bay Trail.

Head on over to Hiking Along and read about "Celebrate Trails?"

A few of my fellow outdoor family bloggers enjoyed National Trails Day by Hiking!!

Photo courtesy of Tubbs Snowshoes. Moosefish kids!!

Moosefish - John Soltys sand his family joined Tubbs Snowshoes on a hike to Serene Lake in Washington! Oh the joys of hiking with kids and encountering different people on the trail. [Picture above]

Wild Tales of - Kate and her family headed out to Seward Park located in Seattle on Lake Washington.  It's always great to hit the trail as a family including our pets!

On The Beaten Path - Even though Jill and her family are in Canada, she wanted to feature The Sunset Coast Trail, which her family backpacked in May!


How and where did you celebrate National Trails Day?


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Hiking the California Coast: Tomales Point ~ Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes National Seashore is a National Park jewel in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Point Reyes will always have a special place in my heart, because it was where we had our first family backpacking adventure.  Not only is Point Reyes a great place for family backpacking, it also has many fantastic location for numerous day hikes.


Ever since my husband and I "discovered" Point Reyes we have always wanted to hike out to Tomales Point, but we just haven't found the opportunity to make it there.  Even though Point Reyes is in the San Francisco Bay Area, it's still 2.5 hour drive to reach the trail head from the East Bay!  It was definitely worth the drive, since we had an out-of-town guest coming to California for the first time.  We wanted to show the beauty of the California coast, so off we went to Tomales Point.


Hiking the California Coast

When you think about hiking on the California coast, everyone thinks about warm sunshine, beautiful views of the Pacific ocean and cliffs.  I would say that on all our coastal hiking outings: Año Nuevo SPRancho Corral de TierraBaker BeachPirates Cove and Backpacking Point Reyes have been for the most part, completely the opposite of sunny/warm and Tomales Point was no different!



Weather Conditions ~ The majority of the hike was foggy, it wasn't until 4 p.m. that the sun FINALLY broke through the fog.  It was cold, misty, foggy and windy during most of the hike and then winds became stronger after the sun broke through the fog!  I was almost knocked down a couple times near "Windy Gap" by the gusts!  I normally bring multiple layers for myself and especially for the kids since they get cold sitting in the carriers.

Foggy trail near same location below

Fog-less Tomales Point  
I usually do not like "Out and Back" trails because I want to see new scenery the entire hike but since it was foggy one way and sunny on the way out, it was like two completely different hikes!  Everything looked different from the foggy morning hike.  We were also able to see the tide roll into Tomales Bay, which none of us have ever seen before!

Bird Rock in the Pacific Ocean
Trail Conditions ~ Tomales Point Trail is an out and back trail, 4.75 miles (one way) for a total 9.5 miles.  We were aiming to hike to the bluffs but we were not committed since 9.5 miles is a really long hike with toddlers.  We did not complete the entire trail, we opted out to not hike the last 0.5 miles to the bluffs (see trail report below).  Everything I read about this hike said it was an easy "10 mile" hike but everything takes twice as long with kids.  With that said, my toddlers LOVED this hike and the adults did too!

The trail itself was mostly single track with some wider trail sections.  It was a combination of hiking on beach sand and compact dirt.  A huge motivator to get my kids hiking and out of the carriers is SAND. There was a trail section where we were hiking uphill (with toddlers on our backs), in sand, "bushwhacking" our way through the tall wildflowers...I don't know about you but that was HARD.  I made it about 20 ft and then my daughter yelled "Ooh sand!! I want to get out!!" and I happily let her out.  My kids love to bring their shovels in case they find sand on hikes. 

Getting There ~ Tomales Point Trail Head is at the end of Pierce Point Road a 40 minute drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center, which I highly recommend visiting.  Directions to Tomales Point Trailhead.


Abundant Wildlife

One of the main attractions of Tomales Point is the wildlife, in particular the Tule Elk.  I was hoping to see a few Tule Elk but I was surprised that we hiked all day with the Tule Elk.  Of course we always kept our distance since wildlife should never be disturb, but we took many moments to just stop and stare at these beautiful creatures.  National Park Service states that "In 2009, over 440 were counted at Tomales Point" and we definitely saw at least 50 elk during our hike.

Can you find the Elk scratching it's ear like a dog?

Seeing wildlife with kids is really amazing, so many teachable moments that I will need to write another post about it soon.  My kids haven't really grasped the concept of specific type of animals, so when we told them those animals were "Tule Elk" they just gave us blank stares.  When I told them they were kind of like deer they were a little confused because they didn't look like deer.  It wasn't until we saw the bucks with antlers, that my toddlers were satisfied with telling me that we were hiking with "Reindeer". 

Why did the turkey cross the road?
We also found some wild turkeys crossing the trail.  As we let them cross our path, I joked with our children that we were going to eat them and my son turned around and said "Mommy, we don't eat turkeys!".  Sorry buddy, we do and they are delicious!  Wild turkeys are not native to Point Reyes National Seashore, so maybe we could have eaten them...


Wildlife Proximity ~ We've had a few close wildlife encounters in the past, so we are very careful when wildlife is nearby.  As we were hiking along the ridge, a herd of Tule Elk (bucks) ran across the trail 30 feet ahead of us.  The low bushes hid the elk, so we could not see them until they were running across the trail (picture above).  Thankfully we had our "herd" of children near by and my daughter (two years old) was up high in the carrier. My daughter was able to see the herd running and said, "Daddy, that is beautiful!".


Wildflowers Galore

I have never hiked where I was completely surrounded by wildflowers.  My hiking ground is the San Francisco East Bay hills that dry up the second the rainy season stops, so all the hills surrounding me are currently golden brown with a few sparse wildflowers.  The California coast stays a little more damp due to the fog, so even our precious California Golden Poppies were out in droves!


The one flower that stopped us in our tracks was the Cobwebby Thistle - Cirsium Occidentale (spiky pink "flower").  We found it near the last mile of the Tomales Point Trail, the closer we got to the end the more abundant they became.  I could only identify the California Golden Poppy, and some type of purple lily but we were always surrounded by wildflowers.  If you have allergies to pollen, I would suggest waiting until wildflower season is finished because we were covered in pollen!

My daughter was in HEAVEN...she absolutely loves flowers, one of her favorite things about the outdoors.  It took us forever to walk through the field of flowers (about 4 ft high) because she had to stop and smell all the flowers.  I had to "part the waters" with my hiking sticks so she could walk through and not get hit in the face.


Trail Report Details

Who: Four Adults, Two Toddlers
Family Friendly: Difficult
Mileage: 8.5 miles Round trip



Elevation Change: 1256 ft
Trails: Tomales Point Trail (Out and Back) 




Approximate Time: 4 hours (Moving time) ~ 7 hours 15 mins (Breaks Included)
Method: Toddlers Partially Hiking/Carriers


I would not suggest this hike in its entirety for families new to hiking, hence the difficulty rating but if your are used to hiking with your kids this hike would be a great all day hike.  A more family friendly hike at Tomales Point Trail would be hiking to Windy Gap (approx 1 mile - 2 miles roundtrip) and exploring the barns near the trail head.  I absolutely loved this hike, from the wildflowers, wildlife to hiking the beautiful California coast, Tomales Point is a hike definitely worth the drive, effort and time.  


Have you been to Point Reyes National Seashore before?  If so what parts?


Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's FacebookInstagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!


Related Posts and Links:
  1. Point Reyes National Seashore - National Park Service Site
  2. Backpacking at Point Reyes: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Celebrating Children's Birthdays Outdoors

As you probably figured out the outdoors is a large part of our lives, so when milestones come around like celebrating our little ones birthday's we like to indulge our children in the outdoors.  This last year we tried something new, we asked our little ones where they wanted to go for their birthdays.  I already knew the answers before they even said where they wanted to go:  the beach and the snow!

Sandy Venice Beach ~ My Daughter's Wonderland

During the last days of summer, my little girl turned two years old and even though we celebrated my little "Tinkerbell" with pizza and family we wanted to give my daughter want she loves the most, the beach.  We headed over to a special beach (the one my husband proposed to me), Venice Beach one of four beaches at Half Moon State Beach.  I was happy to celebrate my special girl at a place that I have fond memories of.


My daughter loves the outdoors and in particular the sand at the beach, so why not let her enjoy her favorite place on the day she entered into this world.  We packed a little picnic, played in the sand, ran away from the waves but it didn't last too long because it was one of those cold summer Northern California beach day.

Snowy Yosemite Valley ~ My Son's Birthday Wish

Ever since our road trip to Rocky Mountain National Park over the summer, my son had been dying to go play in the snow.  When he saw white glaciers on the tops of the Colorado mountains, he yelled with glee "Mommy!! That is SNOW!! Let's go get our snowboards and go down the mountain!".  Almost every day since he had been asking to go to the snow, so a few days before his birthday California had one of the very few storms that turned Yosemite Valley into a white winter park.  After a few days after his bowling birthday party, my son's birthday wish came true!


The excitement was almost unbearable for him, we sang Happy Birthday all day long and he kept on saying that it was "Christmas time now".  He had a lot of firsts on his 4th birthday like building a snowman, snowshoeing, sledding, and snowball fight.  Yosemite National Park was a magical snowy birthday for our little mountain man.


An Outdoor Tradition We Will Continue

I love loud birthday parties with all my extended family but at the same time I love the quietness of celebrating my kids birthdays outdoors, just the four of us.  Watching my kids enjoy and explore the outdoors with wonder is one of the great aspects of parenthood.  Thank you God for entrusting me with my beautiful babies!



















Love you my children.


Do you have any outdoor family traditions? For birthdays, anniversaries, etc?

Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's FacebookInstagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

Pirates Cove Adventures with Amigos~ Guest Post on Latino Outdoors

Queremos aventura, algo diferente! My friend, Lorena has caught the "Outdoor Adventure Bug" as I call it.  I had to find a hike that lived up to our previous adventures like Rancho Corral de Tierra at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  We tossed around ideas like Mt. Tamalapais, Pinnacles National Park, and the Santa Cruz Mountains, but nothing sat well with me.  I literally spent days looking for an adventurous place to hike, especially since Lorena and her husband Eliu had just returned from an Anniversary trip to the sierras trip and then I found Pirates Cove....





If you want to go there....
The 5.9 mile loop hike starts at Tennessee Valley Road in Mill Valley, which has a dirt parking lot, bathrooms and picnic tables. Start hiking on Tennessee Valley Road and take a quick right onto Fox Trail which is an uphill 1.0 mile hike to Coyote Ridge.  Fox Trail turns continues to Coast Fire Rd for 0.9 miles, which has FANTASTIC views of Muir Beach.  Turn left onto Coastal Trail for 1.0 mile to Pirates Cove spur.   NOTE: Pirates Cove spur is very rugged and steep, please take caution.

Return back up the spur and continue straight up the stairs and head to the right for 1.1 miles on an uphill hike on Coastal Trail.  Continue on Tennessee Valley Trail on a 1.1 downhill hike back to the parking lot.






Mileage: 5.9 Miles
Elevation: Approx. 1,800 ft
Elapsed Time: 6 hours 28 minutes (Including Lunch Break)
Group: 7 Adults & 2 Toddlers
Family Friendly (Difficulty Level 1-10): Level 6



Related Posts and Links:
  1. Latino Outdoors: Pirates Cove Adventure with Amigos
  2. The Hidden National Park - Rancho Corral de Tierra

Join in on the conversation by leaving a comment here! You can also join in on the conversations on Chasqui Mom's FacebookInstagram and Twitter that is updated daily with outdoor activities and other wonderful posts and links from #OutdoorFamilies!

The Alpine Tundra at Rocky Mountain National Park

Never Summer Mountains - View from Fairview Curve
Do you know how it is to go somewhere so beautiful that each corner you turn just takes your breath away? Driving from the West to East on Trail Ridge Road through the Alpine Tundra in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) did this for me, it was one of the most beautiful things I have seen.

Fairview Curve: Never Summer Mountains

Our first stop on Trail Ridge Road was at Fairview Curve (10,120 ft) that had phenomenal views of the Never Summer Mountains, the only volcanic range in RMNP.  I thought "Never Summer Mountains" was a funny name for a mountain range but Summer probably never reaches that mountain range.  The day before we hiked at the Colorado River Trailhead in the valley bellow called, "Kawuneeche Valley".

Continental Divide: Milner Pass

What is the Continental Divide? It is the line that divides the flow of water and snow melt.  On the East Side of the Continental Divide all the water flows to the Gulf of Mexico, part of the Atlantic Ocean and on the West side of the Continental Divde flows to the Pacific Ocean.  To be able to stand at Continental Divide - Milner Pass (10,759 ft), a section of natural occurrence was pretty exciting!




Podre Lake flows to the Missouri then to the Mississippi and ends up in the Gulf of Mexico!


Beaver Creek which is down Ute Trail flows into the Colorado River all the way down to the Gulf of California.


The Alpine Tundra and Visitor Center

The RMNP Alpine Tundra will always hold a special place in my heart.  I felt like I was in another country, I felt like I was back in the place I long to return to, the Peruvian Andes.  The cold, thin air brought me right back to my memories of hiking the Inca Trail.  I instantly fell in love with the Alpine Tundra.


We stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796 ft., so we could get our "Passport To Your National Parks" book stamped and let the kids run around.  Amazingly my kids had no issues with adjusting to the elevation change, we live at sea level!  This was also a very memorable moment for me as a mother when my son saw "snow" near the Visitor Center.  He turned to me and with a giant smile and eyes as wide open and says, "Mommy!! That is SNOW!! Let's go get our our snowboards and go down the mountain!".  Soon little buddy...





As we left the Visitor Center, I saw a stairway on Alpine Ridge Trail to Huffer Hill.  I wanted to go to the top but we were headed to hike at Glacier Gorge Trailhead. We had already made too many pit stops so we jumped back into the car and headed down to Glacier Gorge Trailhead.  The beauty of the Alpine Tundra didn't stop with the mountains, we also saw many wildlife in particular the North American Elk all over the tundra.



Many elk roamed the tundra in the far distance when we were going to Glacier Gorge, but on the return trip to Grand Lake after our hike, the Elk were so close to the road that we actually had to stop so the cars would let them pass.  The kids were ecstatic to see them from the safety of the car, we had a very close encounter on the trail, story to come!

Chasqui Run: Alpine Tundra Huffer Hill

After a full day of hiking near Glacier Gorge, on our drive back on Trail Ridge Road to our cabin we stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center.  I wanted to go up Huffer Hill but not walk ...RUN up the hill.  My husband told me I was crazy but I wanted to do it so of course he indulged me,he stopped and waited in the car with our sleeping kids.

I took off running the second I closed the car door, I hit the stairs and ran as much as I could and walked until I caught my breath and ran again until I reached the top.  It was mostly dark, terribly cold, the air was thin but I had such a HUGE adrenaline rush.  I made it to what I thought was the top then end of the stairs and I may have done a "Rocky" victory dance....

The end stairs was not the actual top but there was still another 20-30 feet of paved trail to reach the very top so I finished running it.  I'm not going to lie, I was dizzy, my chest was rattling, coughing but it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

I WAS ALL ALONE.



On top of a gorgeous mountain, with the sun barely peaking from behind the mountains. 360 degrees of me and pure mountains.  It was a moment that I will never forget.  I felt so connected to God, so alive, I was on top of the world at 11,938 ft in the sky.  I enjoyed my alone time for a few more minutes and started running down Alpine Ridge Trail.

I was still on my adrenaline high and ran all the way down back to the car.  I got back to the car and my husband turned to me and said, "I saw you running and thought you were going to tumble down!".  I told him, I have now had a "Chasqui Run" in the Alpine Tundra in the Colorado Rocky Mountains an ode to my ancestors.

To my surprise once back in cell phone service territory, I checked my Strava stats on my "Chasqui Run" and I had earned my first Current Record - Queen of the Mountain (QOM) on Old Fall River Road Climb. 



The Alpine Tundra took my breath away....Have you ever experience a place so beautiful that it took your breath away?


Related Post and Links:
  1. The Colorful Colorado River Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park
  2. Dinosaur National Monument, Oh My!!
  3. Summer Road Trip 2013
  4. Rocky Mountain National Park - National Park Service

My Beautiful National Parks and Forests are Closed

I am very sad that my National Parks and Forests are closed due to the Government Shutdown.  No politics here just memories of my beloved parks with my family.

Highland Lakes, Stanislaus National Forest - California


Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge - California

Baker Beach to Fort Point GGNRA - San Franisco, California 


Pinnacles National Park - California

Pinnacles National Park - California

Pinnacles National Park - California

Point Reyes National Seashore - California

Point Reyes National Seashore - California

Point Reyes National Seashore - California

Pinnacles National Park - California

Pinnacles National Park - California

Yosemite National Park/Hetch Hetchy - California

Yosemite National Park/Hetch Hetchy - California

Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

Arches National Park - California

Pacific Crest Trail - National Scenic Trail - California

Dinosaur National Monument - Utah

Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

Yosemite National Park - California

Rancho Corral de Tierra Golden Gate National Recreation Area - California

Please visit the National Parks Conservation Association to see how to get our parks open again.

The Hidden National Park - Rancho Corral de Tierra

Have you ever heard of Rancho Corral de Tierra?


Well there it is, Peak Mountain at Rancho Corral de Tierra, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (National Park Service) in my San Francisco Bay Area backyard, a National Park that I did not know about and I bet a lot of Bay Area residents don't know about it too.  A few months ago we were driving down Highway 1 from San Francisco and I saw trails above Montara (south of Pacifica)and told my husband, "I want to hike there!".  I pulled out my phone to find out what park that was but it didn't show the "green area" which designates a park other than McNee Ranch State Park, which was next to the area I wanted to hike in.  I thought it must be private property and forgot about it.

Labor Day Weekend was coming up and my husband had seen an article on an addition to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Rancho Corral de Tierra only to find out it was where I was wanted to hike a few months earlier.  I started researching for hiking trails, seen if anyone else had written a post or been up there with toddlers but I couldn't find anything in the particular section we wanted to hike.  Only a very rough "trail map" by the National Park Service with a warning about steep, eroded trails.

"Rancho Corral de Tierra", Map., July 2013., National Park Service. Web. 12 Sep. 2013.
If you haven't noticed by now, we like adventure and when we figured out that this was a "rarely visited", underdeveloped park we were immediately intrigued.  Before I even start writing about our hike, I would like to state that we knew this was NOT a kid-friendly hike and I would not encourage beginner family hikers to hike this mountain.  With that said I know our abilities, my husband and I are strong hikers/backpackers (for years) as well as my children's limitations. We felt that we were capable of doing this hike with our children.

Rancho Corral de Tierra Farallon Trailhead
Finding the trailhead was a little difficult, I kind of eyeballed it and we decided to meet up with our friends, Eliu, Lorena and Esdras at Montara State Beach.  Then we drove a few blocks across Highway 1 to 2nd Street and Farallon/Kanoff Street.  Low and behold we found the trailhead and the end of Kanoff Street.


I normally don't put our GPS information at the beginning of a post but it is needed as a point of reference as you read about our this hike.  The Farallon Trailhead is where the black arrow is located. 


We started our hike (red line) heading northeast from the trailhead towards McNee Ranch State Park, on Farallon Trail. That is the last trail name that will be written because there were no more named trails in this park! If we continued on Farallon Trail it would have taken us to McNee Ranch State Park.  

Peak Mountain shrouded in Fog
The beginning portion of the trail was dried up grass fields and low lying coastal plants. 90% of the trail was uphill until we reached Peak Mountain.  I guess I knew that it was going to be all up hill but the fog had rolled in so we couldn't see HOW much of the trail was uphill.  We made it to the top of our first hill and took a break to figure out where in the world to go next.

Not even THE steep hill!

Siri, Where are we?
With no trail markers, we weren't lost but we really didn't know where to go next, my husband pulled his GPS, I inspected my phone and we still couldn't figure out with certainty where to go so we made and educated guess and headed east down the hill. But before we left the top of our first hill we saw our first and only wildlife during the trip.  I believe it was a Garter Snake, the specifics I would not know but if you can identify this snake please leave me a comment!

Garter Snake?
In the picture below, the trail is visible but at the time we didn't know where we were going. The trail eventually started on the right middle side of the picture, followed the ridge to the pine trees, followed the ridge and to the left you can see a faint trail going in between some power lines to Peak Mountain on the left side of the picture.

Looking for the trail.
But before we actually reached the first ridge, we came down this hill and walked into a forest of pine trees that reminded me of scenery at Point Reyes National Seashore.  We found an illegal "campground" or a dump site...a fire ring with broken mattresses, recliners, tires, trash, remnants of illegal fireworks and last but not least condoms hanging in the trees....thanks people who probably don't love the environment.


From Left to Right: Esdras, Lorena and Eliu

All of our hiking buddies were our musician friends from church.  From the right we have Eliu who plays and makes guitars, Lorena (who has hiked with me before at Tilden Regional Park) is a great singer, and Esdras (on the left, who plays almost every instrument) is a piano player and our worship leader.  We had Mexicans, Salvadoreans, Peruvians and my husband who is an "Honorary Latino" (he's Caucasian) hiking and exploring at an unknown National Park, Fantastic!
Lorena, where's the trail?
We followed what we thought was a trail but ended up turned around in some tall grass bushes and decided to turn back to where the had trail split off.  If you look at the map above, we turned back in the middle of the trail (red line) where there is a tiny loop and headed south through the forest.  I pulled out my phone again to check out Google Earth, to see if we could find our way to the "actual" Rancho Corral de Tierra.  I don't know if at this point we were on private or county land but we continued on through the pine forest.  My husband was the first to emerge from the forest and he started laughing and says, "Come and look at this!" and this is what we saw....


Up we went....


Sliding....


This was the steepest trail we've ever done with our children, I've never had to actually use my hiking poles to jam into the ground so I could pull myself up mountain.  I did that quite often on this hike!  My son was having a blast, crawling on all fours at some points saying, "Mommy, I'm rock climbing!", not really buddy but ok!  The circled area is this steep section, a 50% grade (pictured below).


We all survived the steep section and relieved to find a flat trail/fire road at the top, still not knowing if we were going the correct way (trespassing signs were around us) we headed north on the trail and we were finally happy to see that our efforts had paid off and we had found the elusive Rancho Corral de Tierra!!!



It took us a little while to find the actual entrance with possible trespassing, but we were determined to find it and we did.  I felt like I could finally relax and enjoy the steep hike!  The hike went along the ridge line along the tall grassy bushes, by the pine trees, and followed the ridge.  During sections of the hike Lorena and Esdras would race up the trail and I'd though to myself, "Is that how much energy I had when we didn't have kids?" Hah! I told them they would pay for it later with being sore...

My daughter was being carried most of the time since the trail was too steep for her but steep trails seem to energize my son, until he actually gets tired from hiking straight up a mountain.  We still didn't know where we were going exactly but at some point I turned to my husband and said, "I think we are going up that mountain between the power lines...".  My husband said, "I think we are too..."

It took us four hours reach the top of Peak Mountain at 1,825 ft from sea level.  The last half mile, my husband had to come back from the peak because my son was too "tired".  When we reached the peak, my son ran around like a wild mountain child...he wasn't tired and hike most of the way down the mountain.  We had amazing views of the Bay Area, from Point Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Tamalpais, Mount Diablo, Mission Peak, Half Moon Bay and of course the Pacific Ocean. (View pictured at the beginning of the post).

We had a Curry Chicken Wrap (without Curry) or as my husband dubbed them on this trip, "Mountain Tacos", Trader Joe's Salami, Cheese and Banana Chips for lunch and took our glamour shots on Peak Mountain!

Photo Courtesy of Lorena Armas


We could see the other peaks and the actual trails from McNee Ranch State Park that had many hikers on it.  We did not see any hikers on this side of the mountain until we were hiking back and saw a couple of hikers on their way up to Peak Mountain.  After lunch, we packed up and headed back down to sea level also known as sliding down the mountain. All of us at some point almost fell down or in may case slid down the trail on my rear end with a child strapped to my back, ouch!  There a no switch backs on this trail, 1,800 feet straight up a mountain.

None of us wanted to go down the extreme steep section near the fire road so we headed down the fire road which eventually dumped us in a residential neighborhood, so we "urban hiked it" to our cars through the streets.  We actually saw an alpaca farm, Alpacas By the Sea walking through the neighborhood which was nice to see!


Our friends said if we had shown them the mountain we were going to hike in the beginning they would have been very intimidated and I told them if it wasn't for the fog covering the mountain I would have been intimidated too!! Seven hours, 6.3 miles maybe some bumps and bruises but we all made it to Peak Mountain in Rancho Corral de Tierra - Golden Gate National Recreation Area!  It was an adventure.

Related Posts and Links
  1. Rancho Corral de Tierra - Golden Gate National Recreation Area - National Park Service
  2. Rancho Corral de Tierra - Map by National Park Service
  3. Tilden Regional Park - 2013 Trails Challenge Completed
  4. The Ever Changing Point Reyes National Seashore
  5. Curry Chicken Wrap by Backpacker Magazine
  6. Montara State Beach - California State Park

Bears, Waterfalls and Decisions at Hetch Hetchy

Backpacking at Hetch Hetchy - Yosemite National Park this past June was certainly an adventure! We had programmed a Senior Backpacking Trip for our graduated high school seniors from our Spanish-speaking church where my husband and I are youth leaders.  Originally only my husband was going to lead the group but situations arose that I along with our two children were able to attend.


A huge heat wave had come over most of the West Coast but we were hoping that the temperatures would drop due to the higher elevation at Hetch Hetchy.  Temperatures were nearing 100 degrees in the immediate San Francisco Bay Area, so we hoped it would be cooler in Yosemite.  Alas, it was not cooler.

The Group
We planned to hike the Lake Vernon Loop, approximately 27 miles over a 3 day/2 night backpacking trip.  That is what we planned but things were about to change as we started out on our adventure!  It was all of the graduates first time to Yosemite National Park, and almost everyone's first time to this section (Hetch Hetchy) of Yosemite so everyone was very excited.

Backpackers Camp
We arrived Friday afternoon at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Backpacker Camp, set up camp, had dinner and made our final preparations to start our trek the following day.

Setting Up Camp

Gear for Six Adults & Two Toddlers
A few of us went on a search for water, since all the bathrooms did not have potable water.  The bathrooms had sinks and flush-able toilets and even had a separate kitchen "washroom"  There were signs on the walls stating that potable water was located at the "Comfort Station" but the few backpackers we saw never heard of the elusive "Comfort Station".  We eventually drove down to the Hetch Hetchy Day Use area and found the drinking fountain.  It was still quite warm when we finished all our preparations that night, so we all climbed into our fly-less tents and stared at the beautiful starry night and drifted off to sleep.

Day 1 - Bears, Waterfalls and Decisions
The following morning we started our trek a little later than we hoped but everyone was in good spirits and we started our first day of backpacking.  Everyone gasped when we had our first view of the reservoir and Wampama Falls.  The youth were amazed that Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is one of the Bay Area's water source and that they were going to drink "their" water from the source.

View of Hetch Hetchy from Wampama Falls

We all happily hiked along the reservoir, crossing the O'Shaughnessy Dam into the tunnel, where we finally started hiking off pavement.  We all knew it was going to be hot but we never knew it was going to be scorching hot.  We calculated low 90's but in reality we were hiking in over 100 degree weather for large portions of the day, peaking at 105 at the hottest point in the day.

O'Shaughnessy Dam
About two hours into hiking, we were walking in an open rocky meadow when another hiker (not of our group) all of a sudden said, "Wow whats that?!" and low and behold it was a small California Black Bear and her two cubs! It happened so quickly that none of us reacted they way we though we would react.  It was the groups first time seeing bears in the wild, except for my husband.  I think we were all internally scared but after a few minutes had passed of the mama bear and cubs munching on some berries, we made a safe passing of them on the trail.

Mama Bear and Cubs
The bear sighting gave us an adrenaline rush and we made it to Wampama Falls, then Tiltill Creek Falls where we all happily hydrated.  We eventually made it to Rancheria Falls on our first day but just barely!  The hike itself wasn't technically difficult but with heat wave upon us made every slight uphill feel like a giant mountain.  We would all huddle around the shade like cows, drink water and have snacks.  There was one large non-shaded section between the two first waterfalls but thankfully that section was switchbacks going downhill.

Get ready, no shade here!
After hours and hours of hiking along the reservoir (about 8 miles) we made it to Rancheria Falls dehydrated and exhausted.  The heat made everything less enjoyable, but after we kicked off our boots, had some cool refreshing river water and relaxed at our gorgeous campsite by the river and as time passed all our suffering had been forgotten.


We had to reevaluate our trek at this point, for the following reasons:
  • THE HEAT
  • Day two was scheduled to have two ~1500' climbs on exposed rock faces.
  • The members of the group where suffering physically, including myself.  Nausea, headaches and some "other" digestive issues had hit the group.  Thankfully it was all related to the heat, food change and not related to the treated water.
The leaders had a little pow-wow, figured out that our meals had not been affected and we decided we were going to camp at Rancheria Falls for the two nights with a day hike to Tiltill Valley, instead of the Lake Vernon loop.  Some disappointment was felt by all but we had to make the correct decision based on the circumstances we were in.  These are the great moments where we can use outdoor experiences to real life, especially for graduating students entering the military and college life.

After our bellies full of pepperoni bacon pizza, we taught the group how to properly leave a camp clean and bear safe, we had a water-filtering team down by the river and I laid in the tent with my babies relieved that the day had come to an end.

A few more pictures of the day...




To Be Continued! Coming up Day 2 and Day 3....

Related Posts and Links:
  1. Wordless Backpacking at Hetch Hetchy - Yosemite
  2. The Toughest Backpacking Cheese
  3. Latinas Outdoors
  4. Yosemite National Park - NPS.gov
  5. Backpacker Campgrounds at Yosemite - NPS.gov


The Colorful Colorado River Trailhead, Rocky Mountian National Park

Our first hike in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP)  was an easy one but gorgeous one.  We were itching to get exploring since we had been in the car for a few days and had been running errands our first day in the Colorado.   We stayed in a cabin in the Grand Lake which is in the west side of RMNP, not the main entrance which is around Estes Park on the east side of the park.




We were still adjusting to the altitude so we wanted a short and easy hike so I searched the internet for family friendly hikes and found this wonderful organized list of RMNP hikes by RockyMountainNationalPark.com.  The hike was listed as 3.7 miles one way but we weren't attempting to hike an almost 8 mile trek with the kids on our first day.  We decided we go out as far as we felt comfortable and turn back, I had been dealing with some post-root canal tooth pain so I wasn't keen on pushing it.



We picked the Lulu City trek which started on the Colorado River Trailhead.  The trail it self was fairly flat other than the initial two switch backs at the beginning of the trail.  We never made it to Shipler's Cabin or Lulu City, but like I mentioned earlier we just wanted to get out and hike.  The trail was very beautiful, open meadows with hundreds of wildflowers, that followed the Colorado river.  I was really amazed with all the "green" around me because I am so used to hiking in dry summer San Francisco East Bay hills.

Earlier in the day it hailed on us (we were in our cabin), a rare thing for Californians to experience, so the trail had tons of puddles for my children to splash in!  Thank you +Hi-Tec USA for making awesome boots!  My son was breaking in his brand new Hi-Tec Reno Waterproof Jr. Hiking boots for the first time in Rocky Mountain National Park!  They still have some mud on it, the way it's supposed to be!


I'm so used to California "brown" summers that I was in love with every mushroom, fern and wildflower that I saw.  Including the Colorado State Flower: The Rocky Mountain Columbine (2nd flower pictured), which stopped me dead in my tracks and I said, "That's the most beautiful flower I've ever seen!" It was all by itself in between some trees.




My son hiked most of the day and my daughter hiked small portions of the trail but was mostly carried.  We made it to a very large open meadow on one side of the trail and a very rocky portion on the other side of the trail and decided to take a long break.  My son climb on every rock he could, my daughter played in the dirt, while us parents tried to relax and snooze on the rocks.


We weren't sure how far the cabins were but decided we were going turn back after our break.  After we finished the hike we were figured only 0.3 miles away from the cabins from the large meadow.  Oh well, there will be a next time!  We could see all the dead trees that were infected by the "beetle" along the trail and it was very prominent across the meadow on the mountainside.  The rocky meadow was very picturesque and I wish we could have stayed for the sunset but we were all getting hungry and looking forward to having dinner at The Grand Lake Lodge.


We quickly packed up and headed back down the trail, stopped for a few breaks so the kids could skip rocks on the Colorado River.  We also saw some elk in the far distances in a meadow.  I was so excited to see wildlife since we had seen fresh tracks earlier in the day.  We saw some moose and more elk on the drive back which was nice as well, but there something more exciting about seeing wildlife when there is nothing in between you and the animal.



TRAIL REPORT


I'm a "numbers" person so I always include our hiking information...about 3 hours averaging 1 mph.  Some day we will hike faster!


9,300 ft is a big difference from hiking in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I loved it!!


Our 3.6 mile trek in Rocky Mountain!

We had only seen a tiny portion of Rocky Mountain and I already fell in love with the park as well as the "Never Summer Wilderness" which was across the valley, on the trail we hiked.  The name made me laugh, is it really "Never Summer" there?  Off we went to the Grand Lake Lodge where we enjoyed our delicious dinner and view of Grand Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park!




Related Posts and Links:
  1. Summer Road Trip 2013
  2. Dinosaur National Monument, Oh My!!
  3. Favorite Family Hikes in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park by RockyMountainNationalPark.com
  4. Rocky Mountain National Park by National Parks Service
  5. Grand Lake Lodge

Dinosaur National Monument, Oh My!!

What fun we had at Dinosaur National Monument, in Utah!  Our first intention was to camp at Green River Campground at Dinosaur NM on our second night of our road trip, but due to a bad storm and cranky toddlers we opted out to stay in a hotel in Heber City about 2.5 hours east of Dinosaur NM.  It worked out for the best since the kids (and parents) got to take a swim in a pool!


Sorry National Park Service, about my son climbing your sign....I guess that is what happens when you put a three year old in climbing gym, that has been sitting in the car for a few hours.  We had calculated our break correctly and stopped to see DINOSAURS!  My kids were ecstatic, especially since my husband recently gave our son a dinosaur book and he's been memorizing all the names.  Our boy was ready to see the Allosaurus!



I was terribly fascinated with this mountain rock formations, apparently that how rocks are in Utah.  I love California but Utah has some pretty cool locations that I definitely want to go back to.  My only complaint is the lack of available coffee locations that stay up past 7 p.m.


How cool is a ANY visitor center with a dinosaur in front of it?! I wish I would have recorded my kids faces with the saw the "real" dinosaur.  My daughter was terrified and my son screamed, "I WANT TO RIDE IT!!!" Sorry buddy....

We did a little shopping at the Visitor Center and purchased our new National Parks Passport, an Apatosaurus which my son named him "T-Rex" (ironic) and a stuffed Stegasaurus for our little girl.  Then we took the "Roller Coaster" (the Tram, but it's cooler if you call it a roller coaster to toddlers) up to the Quarry Hall Exhibit Center.  I wish I could have read all the signs, learned more about the history and taken better pictures but we had a little boy that saw a giant wall with Dinosaur bones in it that looked very climbable...so here are a few.





It was truly fantastic to see how perfectly the dinosaurs fossils were preserved.  I think we know there were dinosaurs that roamed the Earth because we learn about them in school, read about them in books, see them in movies but seeing these fossils with my own eyes made me really understand that these creatures were truly alive.  They roamed the same land I was roaming with my own children thousands and thousands of years after these creatures died.

Well since the dinosaurs roamed the earth so must we! Of course we decided to hike back down from Quarry Hall Exhibit Center to the Visitor Center on the Fossil Discovery Trail!  It was quite warm high 80's maybe even low 90's so we hiked a very short distance.  Just enough so we could all stretch our legs before the next couple of hours in the car.


The beginning of our 1.3 mile hike!


The only shade we found!  Loving all the rock formations.


Below is our little jaunt on the trail at Dinosaur National Monument on Strava.



Everyone got a little exercise and most importantly the kids got to run around and burn some energy before getting back into the car for the next few hours!  I really wish we had more time to spend at Dinosaur NM but with a time crunch to get to Colorado, we had to say goodbye to the land where dinosaurs once roamed. Apparently there are nice auto tours, hiking, camping and river rafting at Dinosaur NM.  Hopefully we will have a chance to come back some day and enjoy it more.  Until then I leave you with a desert flower....



Related Posts:
  1. Summer Road Trip 2013
  2. The Colorful Colorado River Trailhead, Rocky Mountain National Park

Summer Road Trip 2013

Just getting back from our whirlwind family road trip to Colorado!  Have too much to write about but here's a little glimpse of our trip all around the west!


The Loch at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado



Visiting the Allosaurus at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah.



Elk at the Alpine Tundra at Rock Mountain National Park, Colorado


A quick stop at Arches National Park, Utah


A little camping at Castle Rock Campground, Fishlake National Forest, Utah


A jaunt on The Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada!


A desert stop on the Pacific Crest Trail, in California.

Three National Parks, one national forest campground, two hotels, a cabin and a SUV were our homes for the last week.  So many stories, lessons learned and best of all lots of fun!

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High Peaks at Pinnacles National Park

This is a continuation post of our Youth Group camping and hiking trip from April 2013 at Pinnacles National Park with eleven teenagers, four adults and our two toddlers.

Day 3, Saturday, April 6, 2013:

Bright and early, my husband was already up with the boy breakfast crew.  Apparently the girls pranked the boys by stealing their shoes overnight so the boys decided to retaliated while the girls slept in.  They also made breakfast at the same time.  The girls shoes were missing when they arose from their beauty sleep and let's just say teenage girls are not as forgiving as teenage boys.

What is it with boys/men cooking while camping?
After everyone had been fed, we packed up our lunches we started our enormous task of packing everything up. Some of our youth had never been camping or don't have any experience in properly packing and cleaning up a campsite.  It seemed like an eternity but we eventually got all the camping equipment back in the three vehicles.  There wasn't an obvious competition but the Boy Scouts group (our camp neighbors) were so efficient and fast, they made us look really slow. I explained to our group these Boys Scouts had been doing for years so they wouldn't be discouraged.  We also shadowed them during a good portion of our hike but they were doing their "30 miles in a day" hike and had done few miles in the morning before we even left camp.



Our First View of the High Peaks
Saturday was definitely more crowded that the previous day at Pinnacles! The park had shuttles running between the Visitor Center to the Bear Gulch Day Use Area. Our drivers dropped off our group and took the vehicles back to the Visitor Center and took the shuttle back to the Day Use Area.  I remained with the remainder of the group and had lunch while we waited for the drivers to return.

We finally started hiking and I was in front of the group with our youth student-leader Dixie.  My husband graciously took our son and daughter and hiked in the back of our hiking group. The condors were out and we could see them taking off from their nests. They look like little black specks in the picture above but those were condors.  I absolutely loved seeing so many condors because on our previous trip to Pinnacles we did not see a single condor.


There are a few switch backs on Condor Gulch but not anything difficult.  I was really amazed at the teenagers energy and enthusiasm, especially since most of these teenagers never go hiking.  It was one of our student's first time hiking ever and she was at the front of the line being very enthusiastic, motivating everyone to keep hiking.  At one point she said, "Come on guys! If we run that last two miles we will be done in 15 minutes!".  I thought to myself, maybe we got a future trail runner on our hands....

Overlook view of Condor Gulch Trail
Overlook view towards High Peaks
We took a longer break at the overlook and had a little hiking/backpacking survey.  The views were amazing as you can see from the pictures above.  If you look closely on the left side of the High Peaks the white marks (poop) on the rocks, was where the condors nests were located.  We saw many condors take flight from there homes and soar right above our heads down in the the valley, it was truly amazing!

We continued up Condor Gulch Trail which was a total of 1.7 miles until we reached High Peaks Trail.  During the remainder of the hike my daughter hiked with or at least near me being carried by one of the teenagers.  Of course having my daughter with me slowed me down, so my husband went to the front of the group with our son.  I spent the remainder of the hike at the back of the group but it gave me a chance to get to know that group of teenagers better.  Our normal youth group size at our church events are between 15-20 students so it's hard to get to know everyone.  Hiking and camping as a group gives us, the youth leaders, a chance to build a better relationship with our students.

Esperanza Viva Youth Group and Leaders
Some of the youth were very tired at the halfway point and I'm not going to lie, I was too.  There is a big difference when I am camping and hiking with my own family versus taking a group of other people's teenagers in addition to my family.  There is more planning, stress, constant teaching and motivation and I feel like I'm complaining but I'm not! It is so great to see our students grow, view the world in different ways and seeing them be open to the idea that the world does not revolve around them!  During a difficult part of the hike, one of our students asked if we brought them there to punish them! A little later he asked if we had brought him there to show him how insignificant he was! He asked the latter question after seeing the Balconies and the giant rock formations at the top of High Peaks.

Balconies View from High Peaks Trail

Dixie kicking butt on the trail!
Vanessa getting ready to climb up to the Peaks!
This is my California....
We had to teach a lot of our teenagers correct and safe hiking etiquette like not throwing trash on the ground, letting faster hikers pass by and in particular (my little brother) to not hike on the edge of a cliff trail.  Sadly my camera died soon after the picture above so I hardly  have any pictures from the actual High Peaks.

Photo Courtesy of Noe Garay
High Peaks was an adventure! Many of our teenagers said the felt like they were Indian Jones after we climbed up on the peaks and crawled on the very edge of a giant volcanic rock.  I am very glad that I was not with my husband when we went through the "treacherous" portion of the trail because my son told my husband that he was going to jump into the canyon so daddy could go rescue him with a Pogo stick like "Diego" and then tried to run towards the ledge.  I think I would have gone completely gray if I would have seen that.....

The one amazing thing I will remember for the rest of my life happened right after we finished getting through the difficult part of the peaks.  I was standing there with Dixie, Alexis and Manuel and a condor flew right by our heads, literally 10 feet from us.  None of us had our cameras but I'm pretty sure it's better in our memories then any picture that we would have taken.  Now I that have seen California Condors up close and personal, I have to see the Peruvian Condors as well.

We took another break with two miles left and everyone was exhausted.  Some of the youth didn't understand the concept that food and water is energy for their bodies, and that's when we realized some of had not been drinking or snacking like we had been telling them too.  That's when my mothering skills kicked and I knew it was time for "scare tactics" to make them understand the dangers of dehydration and made them understand that food is energy.  As well as letting them know if we didn't finish before 6 p.m. we would have to hike an extra mile back to the Visitor Center.  Then everyone quickly hiked down to the Bear Gulch parking and we made it to the parking lot before 6 p.m.


TRAIL REPORT


Apparently hiking with a group of teenagers is as slow as hiking with toddlers, approx. 1 mph.


Elevation Change was approx. 1300 feet, highest elevation 2,500 feet but it felt much higher since we were right on the edge of a rock.


Condor Gulch - High Peaks - Bear Gulch Trail

Overall, it was a great first youth camping trip and will definitely be doing more in the future.  With each trip we learn more and more about our youth and how to lead a camping group better as well introducing our church youth to the great creation that God made to enjoy.

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Outdoor Father Series: "Discovering the World" by Jesse Avery

In honor of Father's Day coming up on Sunday, June 16th, I will be featuring three outdoor father's favorite experiences with their children.  Last up! My husband, Jesse Avery enjoys the outdoors through hiking, backpacking, camping, cycling, traveling and almost anything you put in front of him.  Jesse is an electrical engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area during the day and a great outdoors man during his free time.

I hesitate to call our backpacking trip to Point Reyes National Seashore my favorite outdoor experience but there was just so much about that adventure that was exciting and meaningful, and hey, if it was my favorite it was my favorite.

Outdoors or indoors I love seeing my kids discovering something.  I remember my own joy as a kid when I learned how to fish, swim, and jump off of big rocks into big rivers.  I still remember the first time that I saw Yosemite Valley as an adult and the awe I felt.  Watching my two children see new things and learn different bugs, and plants, and sights and sounds and skills in the outdoors lets me experience that joy and awe all over again, and helps remind me what a magnificent world we live in. 

Malakawena Beach, Big Island, Hawaii

This is not related to the Point Reyes trip – but the first time I realized what a pleasure discovery is was when we took David to the Big Island.  He was nine months old; we went to the beach and took him into the ocean for the first time.


When he first got in the water he was nervous, and went stiff as a board when the water first hit his chest.  Then he got curious and splashed a little and got some in his mouth, he made a face, then smacked his lips and splashed again, fear very quickly giving way to joy, and so he spent most of the afternoon happily splashing around in the Pacific Ocean, swallowing who knows how much and giggling so much it hurt me to watch.  Jthat same dayust watching him experience the ocean for the first time reminded me just how great the ocean is.

Now back to Point Reyes and staying with the beach theme: David and Sophia love the beach and the sand and the ocean so much that when we went to the Wildcat Camp beach on the second day they would let nothing stop them from enjoying it.  The beach is such a great place and it is worth any price to play in the sand and the water that both kids got naked and played for more than an hour in conditions so cold that Melissa and I had to wear our sweaters and huddle together for warmth.  At one point David was sliding on his belly through the sand for warmth because putting on his clothes would mean play time is over and he wasn't ready for that.  That’s how much fun the beach is, as an adult I have evidently forgotten that fact.

Wildcat Camp Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore
On our way down to the beach that same day I remember we found a field of ferns and other dense, low green plants still covered in morning dew.   There were butterflies flying around, the air was pretty still and the sun was just starting to break through the fog, Sophia stopped her walk and went up to the ferns to just stand there and stare.  The whole scene was so beautiful and alien to her I thought she must be thinking  it was a fantasy landscape out of one of her Tinkerbell movies and I figured as she was standing there that she was imagining of herself as a little fairy princess.  Just another moment I understood just how beautiful and powerful some places can be for the imagination.



Being outdoors with nowhere to be and no one to see provides a little more time to letting David ‘help’ as well, also known as learning new skills.  David is in this phase, which I honestly hope he never grows out of, where he wants to do everything I’m doing.  If daddy is riding his bike then David has to ride his bike, if daddy is making pancakes then David has to be on a chair cracking eggs and stirring the batter, if daddy is kicking a soccer ball, then David needs to kick a soccer ball, you get the idea.  Anyway he saw that I was lighting a match to start the stove to make food and coffee, so he had to help.  So at first when he wanted to help I held his hand and showed him how to light the match and put it up to the stove to light the burner, then I just sat next to him and talked him through it.  He had some trouble getting enough speed on the match to make it light, but he figured it out, he burned his fingers a couple of times when he let the match burn down too far before he put it to the stove, but again he figured it out.  So after the first night whenever it was time to cook David lit the match and helped me light the burner. 

There are of course other aspects of camping where ‘helping’ doesn’t work quite so well.  When we first arrived at camp and were setting up our tents David wanted to help, specifically spiking down the tent…  For a little boy the joy of hitting things outweighs the joy of setting something up.  I use my boots as a hammer in the back-country when a hammer is necessary, David followed suit and hit the tent spikes, the tent, the table, the other tent, his dad, his little sister, and then the tent again.  At one point he barreled into the tent so hard that he caved half of it in and I thought a pole was going to snap and I’d be sleeping under the stars, but the tent survived.

Another reason I love being with the kids outside – I get to spend time with them.  Melissa was very tired on the final day, so she refused to carry Sophia and Sophia refused to walk, so I got to carry my daughter pretty much the whole five hours back to the car from camp.  I rarely get to spend time with her since if Melissa is within sight then dad is nothing by chopped liver…  Anyway we spent time looking at flowers, singing all of her favorite songs (Barney, Veggie Tales and the Bunny Song…), looking at banana slugs, greeting other hikers and then exploring Divide Meadow.  That was probably the most time I've spent that close to Sophia ever, and it wasn’t magical, or earth shattering, but it was very nice and in general hiking with them provides me that opportunity with both kids, which again is very nice.


All that said - it’s a lucky Saturday when I get to spend all day with my family and this adventure in Point Reyes let us spend three whole days together finding plants and bugs and critters and water and sand and all sorts of other fascinating bits of the outdoors.

At any rate – I think my favorite part of being outdoors with the kids is watching them experience new things and learn how to be just a little bit more self-sufficient – hiking 20 minutes more on their own, finding a cool bug on their own, building a tent, or a fire.  I look forward to spending as many years as possible hiking around California, the USA and maybe even the world with them.... - Jesse -

The Longest Five Miles at Point Reyes

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Our last day of backpacking at Point Reyes National Seashore was definitely a fun but tiring one, especially for me.  As you can see below, that's my daughter who slept in MY sleeping bag on MY sleeping pad.  She's a very outdoorsy toddler but she can be a little "princess" when she wants to be.  I also had to document this in the middle of the night.


My daughter has issues with sleeping (too many to list) but she has to sleep with me, not next to me but pretty much on top of me all night, it's rather tiring.  Long story short she was not comfortable because she did not have a sleeping pad so at some point in the middle of the night I gave up and let her sleep on my pad in my bag and I "slept" on the hard ground halfway out of her kid's sleeping bag.  I did not sleep well, I was cold and couldn't stay asleep, which set the tone for the rest of the day.  Thankfully I 'm a petite woman so I could almost fit into her sleeping bag.  Ah, what mothers do to make their kids sleep.



Stay hydrated when on the trail!!

The kids and Jesse woke up very refreshed but I did not.  My hips hurt from laying on the ground and I was cranky until I had coffee.  By the way, Starbucks Via Instant Coffee is wonderful, I don't think I could ever go backpacking without coffee or chocolate covered espresso beans.  Once I had my morning coffee and breakfast, I felt 100 times better and had energy to clean and pack up to start our five miles trek to the parking lot.  Five miles really did not seem like a long trek, but it sure felt like it.


We took the same trails that we took on our first day backpacking, but in reverse order: Glen Camp Loop Trail, Glen Trail, Bear Valley, Bear Valley.  It was a gentle down slope which really helped our kids hike a lot.  I am proud to say that my son hike the entire 5 miles to the parking lot! Partially because my husband and I were too tired to carry him but David has hiked 3-4 miles all by himself, we've seen him do it many times.  We had a constant steady flow of trail mix, dried fruit and most importantly chocolate for all of us, especially for the kids.  Jesse and I switched our "hiking buddies" quite often, but I hiked with my son most of the day.

I was really tired from not sleeping, which totally affected my hiking.  I was really slow and sluggish but I just masked it by hiking at my son's pace.  It allowed me to enjoy the beauty of Point Reyes once again.  We took lots and lots of breaks which also made us even slower and made my pack feel heavier and heavier.  As we hiked, all I could think about was what could I do to make my pack lighter but four people's worth of stuff in two people's backpack was just a lot, period.



One of our many breaks was the bridge that connects Glen Trail to Bear Valley Trail.  I held Sophia because she really wanted to go overboard into the river.  The parking lot was 3 miles from the intersection of Glen/Bear Valley Trail, so there were a lot of hikers (day and backpackers) and bikers.  One runner in particular stopped and congratulated us for backpacking with our kids.  She continued to tell us she knew how difficult it was because they had gone on a backpacking trip with their FOUR young children.  Goodness!! All I could think about was how heavy their packs must of been!  Some other hiker thanked me for bringing my kids outdoors.  It was very encouraging to hear nice comments from other people, since I needed to mentally push through my sluggishness and coaxed my son to continue hiking.


Jesse picked up Sophia and hiked as fast as he could to Divide Meadow.  David was tired and I was too tired to carry him so the both of us hiked extremely slow.  Jesse found our beautiful break spot at Divide Meadow, left his pack and came to "rescue" David and I.  The second David saw his daddy, he yelled "Daddy, I'm tired!!" and literally laid down on the trail and fell asleep for a minute!  Poor buddy was really exhausted.  We all made it back to our tree log bench and had our feast of Trader Joe's Salami, dried cranberries and Clif Bars to get some energy back in us.


Best thing about hiking is eating and taking breaks to enjoy the view!!

Western Fence Lizard

My love and Chasqui Mom, photo taken by my three year old!

Artistic photo by my three year old son!

My daughter in Divide Meadow.

After we recharged, we started on our last 1.5 miles or so to the parking lot.  It seemed like an eternity because the kids were completely done, Sophia wanted to "hike" a.k.a play in the dirt and David wanted to be carried and neither of us wanted to carry him.  Jesse was gracious enough to lighten my pack and carry some of my weight.  We started throwing every bribe we could to motivate David...McDonald's, candy, ice cream as long as he made it to the car.  We had about 0.25 miles left and David was really struggling so I ran to the car and dropped of my pack, and ran back to meet them on the trail.  David happily climbed on my back and we all made it back to the car together!

HIKING INFORMATION


Distance hiked was 6 miles but the extra mile was probably due to the walking around on the trails chasing the kids.  It is a 5 mile hike from Glen Camp to Bear Valley Trail parking lot.


Elevation change was very gradual, high point about 600 ft, low point 150 feet.


Glen Camp Loop Trail - Glen Camp Trail - Bear Valley Trail

Overall, it was a rough day but as always we make the best of it.  A few days later the kids were asking to go "sleep in the tent" again.  I love my family and I love being outdoors with them.  Point Reyes was the best place to have our first "Pilot" family backpacking trip.  Three days and 17.5 miles of hiking with my family was wonderful!

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The "Go Outside and Play" Photo Contest Finalist!

UPDATE: On Monday, June 3rd my photo was the winning finalist! See HERE. Thank you all who voted! and support please support The Wilderness Society.

A picture from our recent family backpacking trip to Point Reyes National Seashore, has been selected as one of the three finalists for the "Go Outside and Play" Photo Contest by The Wilderness Society.  Let's just say I was really excited this morning!


Please vote for my picture by clicking "Like" on my picture on The Wilderness Society Facebook page by following the directions HERE.

Thank you! Happy Hiking!