What's in My Pack: Winter Edition

I am always curious about what people carry in their packs. I love looking for new ideas of outdoor necessities or what hikers carry for fun. Over the years I have worked hard at researching and finding the right gear. Ok, maybe I should be honest. I tell my husband what I want and he does all the research to make sure I am getting a good product. That is what makes us a good team. We are by no means survival experts, but enjoy looking for gear that works well and supports us if needed. Living in New Hampshire we have a variety of weather. Being prepared in the winter months is very important. Below are the items that you will find in my pack during the winter months.

My pack: When I was an ambassador for the 365 Mile Challenge I got a Deuter Speed Lite 22 Hiking Backpack. This pack has been perfect for all my hiking needs in all the New England seasons and variety of activities my family and I participate in. it is comfortable and fits everything I need to bring with me.

Enjoying the views of Mt. Monadnock with my Deuter Pack on my back.

Kahtoola Microspikes: These are one of the first things to go in my pack. The last few winters have been very icy and these have been a must on the trails from easy walking to hiking mountains. We have even bought our daughter a pair. I have been with people who use YakTraks or other cheaper brands on the trail and it can be very dangerous. This is one area you should not try to save money.

Fire Starting Tools: I enjoy starting a fire on the side of the trail or on a frozen body of water to make a lunch or heat up a drink. Besides the fun factor of having a fire in the woods in the winter, it can also be an important part of survival. Knowing how to make a fire and having the right tools can be a life saver. Thanks to spending a lot of my life in the woods. I can make a decent fire, most of the time. I carry a Point Below Lighter, a ferro rod, and Gofire Fire Starters which are water proof and have a 10 minute burn time to help get a fire started in wet conditions.

To get 10% off the Point Below Lighter, use coupon code: GettingLostTogether

Survival Tools: I also have a knife, compass and more recently an emergency blanket . I attended a Winter Talk that discussed the importance of having an emergency blanket incase you need to spend the night on the trail. I hope I never have to use it, but I feel good knowing I have one if needed..

Cooking supplies: I also carry a a MRS Pocket Rocket Ultralight Stove and a large stainless steel cup. This works well for making a meal or having some hot chocolate on the trail.

Additional items: First Aid kit, Flashlight, Deuter Trash bag, water bottle, Animal Tracks Guide, extra gloves, sunscreen, chapstick and snacks. For something fun I bring my sleds, that I like to call butt sleds to slide down some of the hills when hiking. Other recommendations a camping mat so you have something dry to sit on and a solar charger. I do not carry all of these items all of the time, it depends on distance of hike and how strenuous the hike.

I hope this post helps give you some ideas of items to have in your pack during the winter to make your journey fun and safe.

This page contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you.

Best Christmas Gifts of 2019

My husband gets frustrated with me around holidays where gift giving involved. He really likes to get me material objects, where I prefer experiences. Every time one of these holidays come around there is always an argument around what I want, me saying nothing, then him feeling that I am setting him up for trouble when the days arrives. As i am writing this he is sitting next me to shaking his head in agreement.

This Christmas was a little different. We had made some big purchases and decided to only purchase a few things for each other. We did not discuss what we wanted. Just hoped after almost 17 years together we are able to buy gifts we each enjoy.

Below are some of the gifts I am excited about.

A New Farmhouse Table: Ok i know this is not a small gift, but this was one of the big purchases that we made around Christmas Time. I am a little embarrassed to admit it, but I have not had a brand new table ever in my adult life. We have always had hand me downs or bought second hand kitchen tables I have wanted a Farm House Table for the last few years, but the cost was always a deterrent. This was the year we had to do something as our table was falling apart. We started looking around and decided to go with The Ashby Woodshed to make us a custom table to fit our small kitchen. They did an amazing job and made us exactly what we wanted. Being able to complete a goal for our home is always a great gift.

GripTight PRO GorillaPod Stand: I think my husband is tired of me messing with my phone and selfie stick during hikes as he got me this amazing iPhone stand. It can bend in all different ways. It can wrap around small tree limbs or I can set it up as a tripod. I tried it out on a recent hike around Gilson Pond. It is a pretty amazing addition for anyone who loves taking photo’s on the trail. It did take us a few minutes to figure out exactly how it works, but once figured out, it is very user friendly.

Nomad Base Station for Apple Watch and iPhone: I love a company that promotes minimalism. I hate having a lot of wires around for my Apple Watch and iPhone. This was the perfect compact wireless charger. I have been using it for almost two weeks without any issues.

I love that they focus their products for people who want to live a minimalist lifestyle.

Life Bivy Emergency Blanket: I have been good about making sure I have everything I need for all the New England Seasons of hiking. One of the things my pack was missing was an emergency blanket. My husband and I both did research on this one. Life Bivy was one of the better rated ones. I like how compact it is. Anyone who hikes in the winter knows that your backpack can easily get filled. Now I feel well prepared if something happens while hiking during the colder months.

Yeti Rambler 30oz in Purple: These cups speak for themselves. They hold ice all day, are sturdy and have some fun colors. You can never have too many Yeti’s.

Loose Tea: I love loose tea and drink it every morning. I have a small handheld infuser and am constantly on the look for new flavors of tea. My parents got me a sample packet of tea’s from My Three Leaves in Parkman Maine. Their teas are all made by them. I loved the Strawberry Breakfast tea. I messaged them through Facebook and ordered more.

Go Fire All Purpose Fire Starters: These fire starters are waterproof and come in individual packets. These will be perfect for hiking and winter exploring. Sometimes during the winter we like to go out on a hike and start a small fire and have hot dogs and hot chocolate. I’m not the best at fire starting and these will be helpful in the winter months or wet weather. I have a Ferro Rod, but sometimes it takes a little bit to get a fire going. I am happy to be able to have these individual fire starters in my pack. We have only tired them in our wood stove, but they light very easily and quickly.

REI Gift Card: Anyone who is an outdoors person is happy to receive this. No explication needed.

Kahtoola Micro Spikes: These were not my gift, but a gift for my 10 year old. The last couple winters have been very icy making it difficult for hiking without some form of spikes. Due to her small feet we were having difficulty finding spikes for her. She is a size 2 1/2-3 and she fits in the small Kahtoola’s. They are perfect for hiking in icy conditions.

The best gift of all was spending a quiet day at home with my family.

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Outdoor Challenges

As the new year approaches many people are thinking about their New Years resolutions and goals for the upcoming year. I changed my frame of mind around resolutions. They are always the same, like save more money, lose weight, go to the gym more, etc. There is nothing wrong with these resolutions, but I need something different. There is a statistic that by February most people give up on their resolutions.. I have been part of this statistic and want to approach the new year with a different mind set, like goals for the year that involved being outside. That is when I started looking for challenges that focused on what I loved. Being outside.

52 Hike Challenge: In 2016 I searched the internet for my first outdoor challenge to complete in 2017. I came across the 52 Hike Challenge and it felt like a good place to start. With this challenge you hike 52 one mile hikes in a year. I felt I could do that, well it was not as easy as I thought, but I finished it with some great friends who did the challenge along with me and provided support along the way.

Mount Monadnock from the North Pack Mountain

365 Mile Challenge: In 2018 I wanted to continue with my outdoor challenges and set out to find something different, this is when I found the 365 Mile Challenge. This challenge is doing 365 self propelled miles, preferable outdoors. This includes hiking, walking, biking and paddling. My daughter and I took on the challenge. It was not as easy as I thought it would be, but I loved the mother daughter time it provided us and the push to get us outside more.

On Temple Mountain.

In 2019 I think I was a little over ambitious. Even though I had a few more challenges I wanted to complete, I am happy to have finished two of them. My daughter and finished the 356 Mile Challenge for the second year in a row. My husband joined us for the Fire Tower Challenge. You visit 5 of the 16 Fire Towers in New Hampshire. This was a great way to explore parts of the state we have not been too.

In 2020 I worked on two challenges:

500 Mile Challenge: which was run through a facebook group by a women in my town. She supported others to get out and walk, run, hike 500 miles in a year. I happily finished by doing 550 miles in 2020.

1000 Outside Hour Challenge: This was harder than I thought, the goal is to spent 1000 hours outside. Being outside as much as my family and I were I thought it would be easy, but it was harder than I thought. I only completed 864 hours. It was still a fund challenge.

In 2021 I did another year of the 500 miles challenge and got 601.25 miles. I did another round of the 1000 Outside Hour Challenge and got 916 hours.

For 2022 I plan on doing another round of the 500 Mile Challenge, work on the Views and Brews Challenges and my daughter found a Scoops and Loops Challenge she wants to try. We will see how the year goes.

Below are some challenges I have not done, but are on my list to do at some point.

Views and Brews I’m pretty lucky because my husband is always up for an adventure with me, but when he heard there was craft beer involved he was pretty excited. You are challenged to hike an easy or a hard trail and then go grab a beer at the local brewery. “Our Patch is given to people who have visited at least 21 of the 29 Brewpubs in this State, tried at least one of their beers, and hiked/walked to one of the local attractions listed for that Brewpub. To qualify, you must visit the nearby brewpub in the same 48 hour period as you do the associated hike. So, for instance, you can do the hike Saturday and visit the Brewpub Sunday. Or, you can go to the Brewpub Friday night and do the hike the next afternoon. But remember, drink responsibly!” I did notice there are a few of these challenges in other states.

Moat Mountain Brewery North Conway

NH 4,000 Footer Club Living in New Hampshire and being a hiker it is hard to not know about this club. This is where you hike all of the 4,000 foot mountains in White Mountains. This is a huge challenge among hikers in New England. If you are looking for a challenge to push your hiking skills this is the one.

52 with a View The 52 With a View list contains fifty-two mountains with elevations under 4,000 feet and have incredible views in New Hampshire.

Belknap Range you hike 12 peaks in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. I hope to start this challenge this year.

Sierra Club has a variety of outdoor challenges you can check our on their website.

Additional Information

If you are looking for some trails ideas you can check out my hiking section or some of my favorite books. For a way to track of your hikes I love this Hiking Journal pictured below, stickers not included. I have used this to keep track of my hikes in 2019 and I loved it.

Remember it is also best to do a challenges with someone else to help with motivation. I have done these challenges with friends, my husband and daughter and have loved our times together. This is a great way to spend time with your loved ones.

I hope you are able to find the outdoor challenge that works for you. If you have other ideas of challenges please let me know.

This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you

Top Outdoor Gifts for Kids

It is Christmas time which means we are looking for that perfect gift. The gift that won’t break in a few hours after playing with it or won’t be thrown in the corner a couple days after Christmas. I am getting to the point that when I look for gifts for my daughter I want to try to make sure it is something that she will truly enjoy or use. Below are some of my daughter and my favorite kids gifts. In no particular order.

Camel Kids Backpack. This is the perfect gift for that hiker kid in your life or the kids who asks for a drink of water every couple minutes on the trail. This allows kids to get use to carrying a backpack with their own snack, water and anything else small they may want on the trail.

Snow Markers These are guaranteed to bring some outdoor fun during those snowy months. We got these for our daughter a couple years ago and even when the coloring mixture ran out we just filled the bottles with food coloring and water for continued fun. We use these several times during the snowy season.

A Girls Book of Adventure My daughter got this book one Easter and it is one of the few books that I see her go back to time and time again either just to read or to do one of the projects in it. This is a good book for Elementary or early Middle School girls.

Yeti Bottles I don’t know about you, but we went through a time that I felt like we were going through water bottles like crazy. They were always breaking and could never keep my daughters water cold for long. Last year I decided to break down and buy her one. It was one of the best purchases I have made. Yes, she has covered her bottle in stickers, but I do not mind has she has had bottle for almost three years and still uses it at least five days a week. Worth the money and there are some fun colors.

Tubbs Snow Shoes Does you child like to hike, but aren’t sure what to do in the winter months. Snow shoes are the way to go. My daughter likes to walk around our yard in hers. They are easy to get on and off and allows your child to still get outside on a hike during the snowy months.

Single burner Backpack Stove Ok so maybe this is not directly for kids. I cannot tell you how many times in the winter this has been a life saver. When we go out for a hike, snowshoe, cross country ski or ice fishing we throw this in our backpack with some hot chocolate packets and cups. It is a great way to break up a extended time outside during those colder winter months and who does not love hot chocolate on the trail.

Hiking Boots- A good pair of hiking books are a must if you are going to spend a lot of time on the trail. It helps with comfort and preventing feet from getting wet. We love our Keen Kids Hiking books.

Head Light These are great for many reasons, playing outside at night, camping or just reading under the sheets.

Sleds for sliding, there are so many options for sleds we have found the hard plastic ones are great because you can use them not matter how much snow you have. I also like the small portable sleds that you can throw in your backpack and you can sit your butt on for trail sledding.

Passes to your local state park. These are great for day trips for hiking, canoeing, swimming or picnicking. Perfect for family outings

Gift Certificate for a weekend of camping. Check out some of my favorite campsites in Vermont. What better way to enjoy the great outdoors than a weekend camping.

I hope this list helps you find the perfect gift for the outdoor child in your life.

This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you.

Preparing Your Child for Winter

Lately I have been receiving many messages from friends asking about winter gear for their children. I am honored that they trust my opinion. I thought I would share the items that are must haves for my daughter in the winter.

Base layer: A good base layer is important for the colder days. Wearing a good base layer under your children clothes helps them stay warm. My daughter loves the ones that are fleece lined. Make sure they do not have cotton in them as cotton retains sweat.

Winter Jacket: I know this is an obvious one, but with the amount of time we spend outside I do not skimp on a winter jacket. Every year around Veterans Day we hit up the local Columbia Outlets for their sale and to get our winter jackets. Columbia Jackets have never disappointment us. Many of them are water resistant. They provide a lot of warmth, are not too bulky and the zipper works well and has not broken on us yet.

Snow Pants: Just like the jacket we also get our snow pants at Columbia Outlet and have had success over the years with them. We have tried other brands, but the zipper always break or holes are worn in the knees. My daughter prefers the bib kind so snow does not get in them.

Socks: Darn Tough Socks have been the only ones that keep my daughters feet warm and dry during the cold winter days. They are also tough and last as long as your child does not grow out of them will last I know they are pricy, but if you get a hole in them, Darn Tough will replace them for free.

Boots: We have tried a variety of winter boots, but have found that Boggs are the only ones that are easy to get on, keep her feet dry and warm and keep up with her busy outdoor schedule. She has never worn through the boots, only worn the pattern of of them.

Hats and Mittens: We do not really have a favorite hat and mittens. My daughter likes a variety of hats. We have found that water resistant mittens are the best and her hands do not always stay warm in gloves. I recommend your child try out a variety of them to find what works best for them. Consignment shops or online facebook pages can be a great place to get them without spending a lot of money.

Some form of microspikes/crampons/stabilicers: The last couple winters have been very icy making it difficult for little legs to hike or just be outside. We have found that some form of extra traction on the bottom of the boots. This year we will be looking for better ones. Once I find a good pair for her I will share them. If you have any ones you love, please let me know. I will say that I have had members in my hiking group use Yak Tacs and they have not been good for the ice around Southern NH New Hampshire.

Snow Markers: These are more for fun. My daughter has spent hours using these in the snow. Once you run out of the dye you can just use water and food coloring and keep the containers.

If you are looking for some additional ideas you can check our my Blog Post on the my Top Outdoor Gifts for Kids.
If you are looking for some Winter Activity suggestions check out my Winter Fun page on my website.

This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you.

Fire Tower Challenge

For the last couple of years my husband, daughter and I have been trying to finish the Fire Tower Challenge. You visit five out of the sixteen fire towers in New Hampshire. For the last couple years we would visit two towers and then lose motivation or get side tracked and not finish. Well this fall I was determined to finish the challenge. I am happy to report we did finish it. We started in September and ended it in November 2019. Below are the fire towers we visited.

Pitcher Mountain was our first fire tower. It’s an easy hike with a rewarding view.

Mt. Kearsarge was the second tower we visited. Thanks to the auto road were able to do this tower the same day we did Pitcher Mountain. For the little effort we did the views were amazing. I would say similar to views from Mt. Monadnock.

Federal Hill Fire Tower was the third tower we visited. This tower is not too far from our house. With less than a half mile to the top, it is a quick walk to the tower. Making this an easy one for us to check off the list.

Pawtuckaway Fire Tower was the fourth fire tower we visited. This trail was steep and short, but provided some great views.

Warner Hill Fire Tower was out fifth and final fire tower of the challenge. We visited it because it was only 30 minutes away from Pawtuckaway. This was a nice fire tower, but there is no hike to it and not much of a view. If you like climbing up fire towers and you are in the Derry area, it is worth checking our.

I really enjoyed doing this challenge with my family. It got us to different parts of the state that we do not usually visit. The majority of the views from the top of the towers were pretty great. I liked that there was a variety of towers we could visit.

If you are interested in doing the challenge yourself click here to print off the form.

Fall Day trip in Vermont

Do you keep a list of places you want to visit? I do, it makes planning our vacations or day trips a lot easier. This past weekend I was able to cross two things off that list as we spent the day exploring the eastern part of Vermont.

We started the morning out by taking a foliage train ride out of Chester through the Green Mountain Railroad. You need to buy tickets online ahead of time to ensure your seats. The train cars are from the 1930’s so they are older, not super comfortable and not a lot of room. If the train is full they do expect you to sit two to a seat. It was kind of fun to feel like you were back in early 1900’s. There were some decent views of a river, two covered bridges, a gorge and some hill sides.

I was hoping for more views of the landscape than we had. There were bathrooms and a snack and drink bar, but we did not visit either. One of the staff members did give some information as we were going along which was nice so we knew what we were looking at. I’m glad we did the train ride, but if I were to do it again I would pick a different location.

Our next stop was for lunch at Harpoon Brewery in Windsor. They were having an Octoberfest with various venders, beers and activities. The good thing was that the restaurant was not too busy so we did not have to wait. My husband enjoyed the beer selection. The food was fresh and flavorful. We enjoyed walking around the grounds and enjoying the festivities.

After lunch we headed to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee. This summer when we were heading up to Lake Willoboughby I saw a sign for the institute. When I did some research I saw that they were opening a Forest Canopy in the fall so I put it on my to do list. Fortunately the Forest Canopy opened up this weekend and we were able to go explore it. It opened Columbus Day weekend 2019. There is a fee to get in, but it was worth the admission cost. The institute has a lot to offer and you can spend a few hours exploring the grounds. There are walking paths throughout the forest.

Several raptor enclosures and programs, with some pretty cool birds.

There are various outdoor playgrounds, and the best part is their new Forest Canopy .

There are various with outlooks along the canopy.

Our ten year old thought the best part was the human spider web which is several feet off the ground and could hold several thousand pounds. All ages could climb around on it.

They had staff members throughout the canopy answering questions. I overhead them say that there is not another tree canopy like this in New England. If you are in the area I highly recommend you checking it out.

Vermont has become one of our favorite states to visit. This day trip just added to the reasons we love Vermont. So much outdoor fun to be explored.

Waterpark Fun around New England

I know it is September and we are winding down on waterpark season, but we are lucky in New England to have an array of waterparks to visit. With about half the year being colder months we can still visit indoor water parks. I have not visited all of the parks in New England, but I have visited many of them. Below I will highlight the ones we have visited in no particular order.

Great Wolf Lodge- Fitchburg MA

We have been to this indoor waterpark several times with friends, taking my daughter’s friends and just as a family. We like this park for many reasons. It is only about 30 minutes from our house and is easy to get to. There are tons of activities to keep a family busy for a weekend without having to leave the hotel. There is a waterpark that covers two large rooms, an adventure park, restaurants, game area, spa and daily activities. Great Wolf has something for everyone in the waterpark from the wave pool, small slides, many larger slides and a hot tub. They have recently added an option that you can pay for day passes so you do not have to rent a room for the night.

The only downside is it can get very busy and crowded in the winter months and holidays. It is also very expensive. We usually order food from nearby places or bring our own as the restaurants are expensive. Make sure you watch for deals on Groupon and sign up for their emails. I have gotten the best deals through their emails.

Water Country- Portsmouth NH

We have only been to Water Country once. We went for the first time this year and we were disappointed. It is expensive and the park is very out of dated. It was clean and there are several different options for slides and water rides. The lines were very long and did not move along which appeared to be due to being understaffed. My daughter and I waited in line over an hour for one ride. We were there for about six to seven hours and only got in about 10 rides which I think is low for being there all day. The park is easy to get to. You can bring in your own food. Most of the staff seemed to enjoy their jobs trying to make it fun for those waiting in line. With the other waterparks we have access to I do not think we will be back.

Whales Tale- Lincoln NH

We really enjoy Whales Tale. We have been a couple times. This is our daughters favorite waterpark. The times we have gone it has not been too busy. There are a variety of rides for all ages as well as a wave pool. It is very clean and has been well staffed, which helps with moving lines along. That staff has always been friendly. You can also bring in your own food. Our favorite ride was a two person raft that takes you down a steep hill and up a steep hill. I felt like a few times we were going to go over the other side. My husband also tried the surfing, which was fun to watch. We will absolutely continuing visiting this waterpark.

Kahuna Laguna at Red Jacket Resorts- North Conway NH

We have visited this water resort once and enjoyed it. It it connected with the Red Jacket Inn. Be aware when booking the room as waterpark passes are not always included. This was a common complaint on various websites when we were looking at going there. I booked our room through Groupon and did not have any issue with finding a deal that included waterpark passes. We visited over a February vacation and was surprised that it was not too busy. Everything was in one room, which was good that we could allow our daughter to run around. It is not a big place, but there are enough waterslides to keep kids of all ages entertained for a few hours. The staff were friendly and the facility was very clean. If you are in North Conway this is a great place to stay and have some fun.

Jay Peak Pump House- Jay VT

We stayed at Jay Peak a couple years ago for a wedding, but unfortunately the waterpark was closed for its yearly cleaning and maintenance. This summer we spent a couple days in Jay and got a chance to go back. This is my husband and I’s favorite waterpark. You do not have to stay at the resort to use the waterpark. There is no pool but they have the best lazy river I have ever been on. The water is quick moving and it feels like you are riding down rapids. Our daughter enjoyed all but one of the slides, only because she was not heavy enough to ride it The slide shoots you up almost like a roller coaster and you have to be over 80lbs to ride it. My guess is in the winter when it is ski season that the park is very busy as the resort is located at the base of a ski mountain. Also make sure you check the website to ensure the park is open.

Steele Hill Resort Sanborton, NH

This is not technically a waterpark, but it is a nice place to stay with a fun pool area. There is a large hot tub, a small kids area and a good size pool with a fun slide. We have stayed here a few times with friends and always have fun.

Funtown Splashdown Saco, Maine

We did a day trip to Funtown Splashdown in Saco, Maine. Surprisingly we had never been here before. We loved this park. It has a great selection of amusement rides and waterpark rides. We spent more time in the waterpark area than the amusement area. There is a variety of waterslides depending on your trill level. This has now become one of our favorite waterparks in New England.

Canobie Lake Salem, NH

Canoe Lake Amusement Park has a small waterpark called Castaway Island. The admission for the waterpark is included with cost of the amusement park. There is an area for younger children, a wave pool, a couple waterslides and a lazy river. When my daughter and her friends went they loved the lazy river.

There are also waterparks at Six Flags in Western Massachusetts and Kahuna Laguna at Cape Cod. There is also a newer one at Storyland in Glenn, NH that we have not visited. If I am missing any other ones please let me know.

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I do not carry my camera around me when I am at waterparks.

Hiking Monadnock with my Daughter

Distance: Depending on the trail at least 2 plus

Difficulty: Hard

Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey, New Hampshire is supposedly the second most climbed mountain in the world. We are fortunate to have it just a few miles from our home. My husband and I have hiked the mountain a few times, but we had not hiked it with our daughter. I have been a little hesitant because sometimes hiking with kids is not always fun. The last few months or so she has been asking about hiking a 4,ooo footer or Mt. Katahdin, but we have told her that she has to hike Mt. Monadnock before hiking the others.

During a recent staycation I said, “why don’t we hike Monadnock tomorrow?” My daughter was excited and eager to hike. Of course I was thinking that I have not done a lot of hiking lately and this could be difficult, but worst case is we do not finish.

There are several trails that go up Monadnock. My husband and I’s favorite is the Marlborough Trail because not a lot of people climb it. Those of you who have climbed Monadnock know that it is not unusual to get to the top and see several dozen people up there. I am not a big fan of hiking with a lot of people which is why we do not hike Monadnock much.

The Marlborough Trail starts on Shaker Farm Road off of Rt Rt 124. on the Marlborough Jaffrey line. The first half of the trail goes through the woods and has some steady incline sections.

The second half of the trail is almost straight up with many vertical climbs.

As well some some pretty fantastic views.

This is not an easy hike, but my husband and were so impressed with our daughter. She had a smile on her face the whole time. She loved climbing the rocks and rarely asked to stop for a break, unlike myself. The kids Camelbak was great for hiking so she could get water whenever she needed.

When we got to the summit the smile on her face was worth the hike. She was beaming with pride for making it to the top and completing the hike she has been asking to do for a while.

After enjoying some time at the top we headed back down the same trail. Again my husband and I were a little nervous how she would do heading down as it is just as hard going as up. She continued to do just as well and excited going down.

I am not sure of the true milage of the trail. Looking online at a few different sites it said it was a little over two miles oneway. I clocked a little over four miles going up.

Mt. Monadnock is not an easy climb, but well worth it you are up for the challenge.. I would recommend doing it during the week, when there is not as many people. Make sure you have good hiking boots, plenty of water and a snack. There is a headquarters in Jaffrey if you are looking for more information.

Weekend at Willoughby Lake

Have you ever seen pictures of a place and tell yourself that you need to visit. I have been following pictures on social media of Lake Willoughby in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont for a little over a year now and keep saying we need to visit. This past weekend we finally got there. It was everything I hoped and more.

We left on a Friday afternoon and made the three and a half hour trip north. Of course we had to stop for dinner at King Arthur Flour in Norwich VT, one of my favorite places to visit and eat.

We arrived at our campground, Will-O-Wood early evening. I was anxious to get a glimpse of the lake so we set up quickly and drove less than a mile to a public beach on the lake. My pictures do not do the scenery justice.

The water was so clean, cool and refreshing. I could have sat on the beach all night. As the sun was setting we drove along the lake to the south end. Along the road are small waterfalls coming off Pisgah Mountain.

At the south end is another small beach, which I read is a nude beach, but I did not visit to confirm. There is another campground, we did not check out this campground. This area is also where the trailheads for Mt Pisgah and Willoughby State Forest is so it can be pretty busy, but the views continued to be amazing.

We returned to the campground to enjoy a fire and get ready for the next day.

Saturday morning we dressed in our hiking gear and headed towards Willoughby State Forest. When we saw the amount of cars at Mt. Pigsah we opted to take a less traveled trail. We went across the street from the Mt. Pigsah Trailhead and drove about a mile up a dirt road to the trailhead for Mt. Hor on the Herbert Hawkes Trail.

The hike starts out with an easy walk through the woods and some beautiful greenery.

Then there is a steady uphill hike for about a half mile. You then come to the trail junction.

You can take a left and go up to a Summit Lookout from Mt. Hor which is about a third of a mile, or you can go right to East and North Look Out. There is a slight incline up to Mt. Hor, but mostly easy walking on both trails. We started out by going down to NorthLook Out, which was decent.

The East Look Out was the best.

The views form Mt. Hor /Summit Lookout were decent.

We did not see a lot of hikers on the trail, which is good as I hate hiking with large amounts of people when it is just my family and I.

After the hike we stopped at The Willoughby Lake Store to grab sandwich’s, which were pretty good. After lunch we wanted to swim in Lake Willoboughby, but the parking lot was full, so we drove about five miles to Crystal Lake State Park. We did have to pay a fee to get in, but there was plenty of parking, beautiful sandy beach for swimming and plenty of grass space to lay out. There are also picnic tables, grills, indoor facilities and various boats to rent, kayaks, canoes and stand up paddle boards. The water clean, clear and cool. The view’s were pretty good too.

We spent the evening walking around the campground. It appears to be mostly seasonal. One of the seasonal’s were having a birthday party and had a DJ at the hall so it was a little loud, but we were far enough away that we did not mind the music. There were plenty of campsites that we could not hear the music from. The owners told us that this is not a regular event and apologized if it bothered us, which it did not. The campground had a nice playground and a small pool.

There is a small camp store and hall that held at least an activity a weekend, the weekend we were there it was tie-dying. The bath facilities were small, but clean. We had the best view of some ridges from our campsite and we had enough privacy from out neighbors.

The owners were very friendly and always open to answer questions about the area or have a conversation. This is one of the friendliest staff we have encountered while camping. I also appreciate when a campground has quiet hours and people abide by them. It makes for a more pleasant experience.

Sunday we headed home, but decided to go back through Littleton, NH and surprise our daughter with a stop at the World’s Longest Candy Counter, Chutters.

Of all the places i have visited in New England, I would say that Lake Willoughby is in my top five favorite places. There is very little amenities in the area, but I think that is one of the reasons it makes it so special. It allows you to really enjoy nature and some peace and quiet.

Weekend at Moose Hillock Campground

It is the end of the school year and we are continuing our tradition of going on a family camping trip. My daughter has been asking to go to Moose Hillock Campground in Warner, NH and we finally make it. The campground is locate literally in the middle of now where. It’s about 30 minutes from Lincoln and 45 minutes from Plymouth, NH. This has been one of our most favorite camping spots. Below is highlighted why.

Amazing pool: If your kids likes to go down waterslides this pool is so much fun. With two different water slides and plenty of room for swimming kids can spend hours here. It is also heated for the days that are not quite summer like, like we had when we visited.

Walking Paths: There are three different walking paths. They called them hiking, but I consider them more walking.

My favorite was the path along the stream with small cascades and a natural pool at the end. Of course I jumped into the pool.

Spacious sites: We loved that the sites we relarge, flat and gave you plenty of privacy. If we are not camping with friends we like our privacy and these are the most private sites we have had. I just realized that I did not take a full picture of our site, but here is a picture of our camper and dog.

Events: my daughter had fun at the make your own sundae bar followed by a great comedian. There were events going on all Saturday, which is a nice way to break up the day.

In addition to what is mentioned above there is also a fishing pond, playground, various courts, an arcade, and store. The store had mostly sourniers.

We arrived on Friday and spend most of the day in the pool and walking around the campground. The campground is pretty hilly providing a good work out, not the best if you have young ones learning to ride a bike or not comfortable with their skills. On Friday night they kept the pool open later so those arriving in the evening could still swim.

Saturday we spent more time exploring around the campground and at the pool. We decided to head to Lincoln for lunch at the Mountain Burger. A great stop for good beer and a burger. Then we did a round of mini golf at Pirates Cover.

We headed back to our campground and stopped and enjoyed the views overlooking the presidential range.

That evening my daughter enjoyed the sundae bar and we enjoyed a comedy show, where my husband got to go up on stage to participate.

Sunday we headed home early due to incoming rain, but we enjoyed our short weekend away and would recommend others to visit. I know we will be back.

Adventures Close to Home

Sometimes I want to go on an adventure, but I do not want to drive far. With it being such a beautiful day I did not want to waste it inside. Plus this had been the first weekend that we had nothing planned.

There has been a bakery that I have been wanting to try. Brown House Bakery in Harrisville specialized in homemade pastries, breakfast items, subs and recently started making pizza. I have been drooling over their photo’s on social media and finally had the opportunity to get there. The food did not disappointment. The owner is very friendly and I am not just saying that because I am friends with her daughter. My daughter and I each got cinnamon rolls and my husband got two cake donuts and fresh squeezed lemonade for everyone. Everything was fresh and very well made. I cannot wait to go back and try their sandwiches. The food was so good that I forgot to take photo’s until we were almost done.

We were headed home, but it was so nice I wanted to get in a little hike. We only had our sneakers and I did not have my pack with water, which is a must when hiking with kids, so I wanted something quick, but with a view. We decided to hike up the White Ledges in Temple. This hike never disappoints with beautiful views looking towards Milford and Manchester.

You enjoy the views while standing on beautiful white ledges, hence the name.

Behind you, is a small view of Pack Monadnock. We were greeted by a porcupine who didn’t stay long. We were also covered in ticks.

This usually is a great trail to see lady slippers on. I only saw one today.

After the hike I realized that Barrett Mansion in New Ipswich was open for tours. I’ve been wanting to visit since we moved to the area. We did not realize that the tours started on the hour, we had about 40 minutes to kill, even though we could have just gone home, we decided to explore the grounds and get some much needed relaxing time in the gazebo, or what the originally owners call their summer home.

When it is time the tour, our tour guides, Dan and Michelle, did an amazing job providing history to the town, the home and the people who lived there. We learned a lot about our home town, that we did not know. I highly recommend anyone who lives in the area or is visiting to check it out.

We spent the afternoon lounging by our pool, but when evening came my husband suggested a trip to the Drive In in Milford. Another thing that I have never done before, gone to a drive in. We saw the new Aladdin Movie, which was very good. We enjoyed the drive-in, but I do not think it is something we would do a lot.

It was a great day exploring the area we live in and doing some things we had never done before. Remember you do not have to travel far to have a good adventure and see new things.

Disney Trip

This is not my typical blog post about our adventures in the outdoors, but I wanted to share our recent trip with my followers. In the beginning of May my family and I took our first big family vacation. A trip to Disney World in Florida. I have been to Disney World several times in my childhood and young adult years. With that being said the last time I visited was about 11 years ago, as you can imagine a lot has changed since then. This past year we have been planning our trip and I could not do it without the help of an amazing Travel Agent, Rachel with Middle of The Magic Travel . She booked everything for us except our flight, gave us great suggestions and was able to change reservations and assist even during our vacation. Below are some highlights from our trip.

Hotel: When deciding on a hotel we went back and forth between a few different options. Since it was our daughter’s first time to Disney and we knew we would not be spending a lot of time at the hotel we opted for for one of the lower cost hotels.

We chose Pop-Century and we were happy with our choice. The decor was fun and reminded my husband and I of our childhoods. Our room was directly across from one of the three pools. We found that the pool in the middle of the resort was the most busy and we were at one of the ends, which was quieter. Our room was small with a queen bed and a queen murphy bed, but enough of room for the three of us. There was no microwave in the room, but there was a refrigerator. The buses to the park ran roughly every 15-20 minutes. There was a decent food service area, gift shop and the staff were very helpful and pleasant. If you chose not to have your room cleaned every day you could get $10 a day in Disney gift cards. You can still ask for extra towels if needed.

Below I am going to provide highlights of each park we visited. We did a lot more than noted, but these are the rides, shows, food, etc that stood out the most.

Epcot

• Rides: Space Ship Earth, Soarin, Test Track

• Food: My husband and I could eat and drink around Epcot, but we realized with a child this is not as much fun. We had a character meal at Garden Grill, which was pretty good. My husband got a beer and pretzel in Germany.

• There is a nice boat ride from Epcot to Hollywood Studio’s and other hotels, which is worth taking to see another part of Disney.

• We actually did not spend a lot of time in Epcot, as it was not our daughters favorite and she was not as entertained there.

Magic Kingdom

• This was the longest bus time wait we had from our hotel and back. I think the longest we waited was 25-30 minutes so not too bad.

• The best part for me was watching my daughter’s face when we turned the corner and saw Cinderella’s Castle. The smile on her face and her eyes lit up made the whole trip worth it.

• Rides: Splash Mountain (will get really wet), Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. My daughter (age 9) was very excited about the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but after the ride she felt it was not fast enough and was more for younger kids, like six or under.

• Food: Cinnamon Rolls at Gaston’s Tavern and we got a Dole whip near splash mountain. We also had breakfast one morning at Be Our Guest. I highly recommend ordering first. The food was fair, but the decor was cool and you felt like you were in the Beast’s Castle.

• Shows: Laugh Floor, Mickey’s Philharmonic and there is a parade on Main Street that is worth seeing. There was actually more opportunities for photo’s before the parade as the photographers had signs for things like first visit and celebrating.

Animal Kingdom

• Rides: Expedition Everest, Kali River Journey, Navi River, Kilamajaro Safari, Avatar Flight of Passage (We got to ride this twice, once with a fast past and another we waiting in line for 50 minutes, which isn’t too bad for this ride).

• Food: Quick Service at Satuli Canteen and Sit Down at Yak and Yeti.

• Shows: It’s Tough to be a Bug, River of Lights at night.

• It is worth it to walk around Pandora at night. It all lit up is beautiful.

• This park feels cooler because there is a lot of shade and you are not in the direct sunlight during the day.

Hollywood Studios

• Rides: Slinky Dog Dash, Star Tours (I got really motion sick, but my husband and daughter rode it several times). My daughter unfortunately was not ready for Tower of Terror or Rockin Rollar Coaster.

• Shows: Indiana Jones, Muppet Vison 3D, March of the First Order, Galaxy Far Far Away, Galactic Spectacular, Fantasmic

Other Highlights/Recommendations

• Character Dinner at Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge was great, probably our favorite meal.

• The Photo Pass was well worth the money, we were able to get a lot of great family and ride photo’s

• Our fast pass time was usually little quicker than it said in the beginning.

• After your 3rd fast pass of the day you can get a 4th one.

• We did the 2 snacks, 1 quick service and 1 sit down meal plan for our family. Towards the end of the week we had a lot of snacks left over and ended up buying stuff to take home. I feel we got more than our money’s worth as most of our sit down meals were $100-$200 a night.

• We carried a backpack with our Yeti Water Bottles and filled them with ice and water at the hotel and filled them up along the way as needed. This was a big money saver as we drank a lot of water. The only places we found to fill out our water bottles in the parks were water fountains. We never had any issue with drinking out of them.

• A battery pack charger for your phone is a necessity. The My Disney Experience app can eat up a lot of your battery.

• I recommend bringing a cooling cloth. With it being in the high 80’s and low 90’s with humidity it would have been nice to have.

• We liked having the Park Hopper Pass as we did jump between the parks a few days.

• Schedule afternoon downtime to head back to your hotel to enjoy the pool and relax. We walked an average of 15,000-25,000 steps a day totaling about 43 miles for 5 days. A couple afternoons we went back to the hotel to relax for a couple hours before dinner and our evening shows which helped all of us recharge.

• Even though the parks were very busy for the most part people were not rude and the staff was very friendly and we never felt frustrated waiting in lines or the large crowds. A couple times we had off duty Cast Members who were in front of us. When we were waiting in line for Flight of Passage an off duty cast member kept our daughter busy and gave us a lot of back ground about Disney, she was pretty great.

• Food: I was not super impressed by the food. We tend to eat a lot of farm to table, New England fresh organic food. For the amount of people that Disney serves the food was decent, but nothing really wowed us except for Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge. We never felt sick from any of the food we ate, which is always a good thing when it is hot and there is a lot of people around.

• My husband and I were very thankful and glad we waited until our daughter was 9. We feel she was able to truly experience the joy and magic of Disney. There were no meltdowns. She was able to handle all the walking, waiting in lines (which is a lot) and experience the variety of foods. She was able to get up around 7-8 in the morning and go to bed around 11-12pm and still be able to function the next day with out issue. When planning a trip to Disney keep in mind your child’s ability to handle heat, a lot of walking, waiting in long lines and being in crowds of people. Disney World is not a cheap trip and you want it to be memorable.

• My last bit of advice is if it is your first or second time or you have not been in a while I highly recommend a travel agent. There are so many in and outs of Disney and it can be very overwhelming. I was very thankful for Rachel at Middle of Magic Travel.

This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you.

Tree of life at night in Animal Kingdom.

Leading a Girls Hiking Group

My daughters school does a six week after school program twice a year. Once in the Fall and once in the Spring. My daughter has done some fun clubs such as arts and crafts, photography, dreamcatchers and legos. When the flyer went home for the spring session they were asking for volunteers. My daughter says, “Mom they will let you do a hiking club, you should do it.” The first thing I thought was, that sounds like fun, a way to get outside more and encourage the younger generation to love hiking as much as I do. Then I thought, ugh another thing added to my plate, because let’s not lie, we all think that from time to time. After my internal struggle and my daughter begging me to do it, I reminded myself that this is why I work less, so I can do more activities with my daughter. I reached out to a fellow teacher friend who agreed to do it with me.

The planning began, what students were we going to open it up to, what would we do if it rained, where would we hike, could we do a bigger hike to end, what if no one signed up, what if they did not like it, what if they whined the whole time, what will I need in the my pack and so many other thoughts and questions went through my mind. Yes, I lead a successful women’s hiking group, but leading elementary age kids is a whole other story. After my friend and I went back and forth we finally decided that we wanted this to to open to the 3rd and 4th grade girls. We did not want too big of a group as we were not sure how it would go. Since my goal is to get women and kids more comfortable outside I thought this would be a good opportunity to do a girls hiking club. We came up with the description below.

I was unable to make the first group hike, well it was actually a snowshoe, but there were five girls that showed up and they snowshoed around the school. My friend told me it went well, my daughter had a great time and I was excited to be able to get out on the trail with them.

We were fortunate to have several miles of trails behind our elementary school. This was also a great way for my family to get outside in the evening because the hiking group only had an hour and I didn't want to be woods longer than we were suppose to. We spent a few evenings exploring the trails.

I was able to make the second hike and the rest of them moving forward. Most of the snow had melted and we were able to explore the trails without snow shoes. I learned the following things about leading an all girls hiking group.

There is always plenty of noise: Girls like to talk and talk a lot, there was always some form of conversation or questions going on. I loved listening to them talk.

They explore just as much as boys: They did not mind when we were bushwhacking or just exploring the woods. At times they were just content playing on a fallen tree or exploring that area around them.

They were interested in learning: They were pretty knowledgable about identifying various things outside like trees, tracks and trails, but they were always open to learning more and constantly asking questions.

They are good navigators: Many of them had a great eye on the trail. Many of the trails were not marked but they were able to look for signs to be able to navigate the trail

They hike fast: I’m a little embarrassed to admit that at times I had difficulty keeping up with them. They always got me a good workout. I guess I need to up my hiking game.

Always Be Prepared: Fortunately we did not need it, but I kept a first aid kit, extra water and snack and a fully charged cell phone on me at all times.

The best part of running this group at the end the girls always said how much they loved it and I truly feel that they did. The last day of the club we were able to hike Kidder Mountain. Even though it was cloudy and misting, they did not complain. They all did great and were proud of their accomplishments.

At the end I thanked them for joining and they all said they loved it, which made it so worth it. If you are in the position too, I highly recommend doing a hiking club at your local school, it is a very rewarding experience.

Ways to Keep Kids Interested in Being Outside

Recently, I have been seeing many blog posts, studies and reading material about how kids are not getting enough time outside. I have seen the recommended time at a minimum of three hours up to six hours a day. This had me thinking, “we are an outdoorsy family, I’m sure we meet this requirement.” I thought about my nine year old daughters’ typical school day during this month of March. In the morning she goes to a before school program that focuses on kids being outside. She is usually outside 30 minutes prior to the bus picking her up. Then she goes to school. After lunch she has recess, which is about 30 minutes. I pick her up from school, she comes home and does her homework. If she does not have basketball then we go for a 30 minute walk. That is it for outside time. An average day she is outside for only about 90 minutes, which is way below the recommended time. I guess we aren’t as outdoorsy as I thought. Our weekends are different as we have more time and there is usually at least one outdoor activity a day planned that is a couple hours, but that is only two days out of the week.

This got me thinking how we can get kids outside more and what has been helpful to get my daughter outside starting from a young age. Below are my recommendations that have helped get her outside more.

Kelty Backpack: When my daughter was old enough to hold her head up well we used the Kelty pack a lot. We used it for hiking, walks around our neighborhood, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. My daughter loved it and it was an easy way to get her outside more. This was a must have for babies.

Sand Toys: So this may seem simple, but I can remember in the spring my daughter having just a shovel and bucket and digging for hours in out driveway making rivers out of the snow melt. In the summer spending time in the sandbox. They do not have to be toys, they can be old spoons and bowls from your kitchen.

Fitbit Ace: I have had a fitbit since my daughter was born and it has always helped me stay active. My daughter started asking for one. I was hesitant to get her one as I did not want it to be another thing to sit in her room. I got her the Garmin Vivo Fit Jr as Fitbit had not come out with a kids version yet. She wore it every day for 2-3 years and was also excited when she hit her goal or was beating me When it broke I splurged and got her the Fitbit Ace last summer when it came out. She wears it every day, unless the battery has died, then she is upset if it is not fully charged before school. She continues to be excited when she is beating me or when she has gotten her goal. If she has not gotten her goal she is running around the house or asking to go for a hike. This has been well worth the money.

A Good Outdoor Book like Magic Tree House Survival Guide or Girls Book of Adventure These have created a lot of adventures and ideas with my daughter.

Hiking Backpack: This has helped her carry her own water, snacks, journal and anything else she may want to carry. As well as teach her responsibly in carrying items on the trail.

Snow Markers: These create hours of fun in the snow. The best part is after you run out of the powered dye that comes with it you can just refill the markers with food coloring and water.

Outdoor Challenges: My daughter loves these. We have participated in a few different one, which you can read about in my Outdoor Challenges for 2019 blog post. These have been a huge motivator to get outside more.

Journal: My daughter sees me writing about my own hikes in my journal that she has wanted to do her own as well as draw and write about things she see’s in nature. I have seen her sitting her in tree house writing in her journal or laying in bed after a day’s adventure writing about what we did or saw.

Backyard or local park: You do not have to go far to get gets engaged outside it can be your own backyard or a local park. Any place where there is a tree, dirt and grass. Kids can create their own adventures using their imagination.

Friends: This has probably been the easiest way to get my daughter to hike and be outside. Be with a friend. It is amazing what happens on the trail when you see kids hike together. They explore, discover, sing and talk all while having a blast. I have brought my daughters friends on a few of my hikes and it always amazes me when they ask if they can come again. I am always afraid that they will be bored, but they never seem to be.

Another thing that I constantly have to tell myself is not rushing their time outside. We live in a rushed society and I even struggle with this. When we are hiking I want to just get to the top or finish the hike so I can get home to do the next thing on my to do list. Kids need time to explore and expand their interest in the outdoors. Letting them stop and look at the flower or bug or allowing them to climb that tree. I am continuously making an effort to improve on this. The more I allow my daughter to do in nature the more she will come to love and appreciate it.

I hope some of my suggestions have been helpful to you. I would love to hear what keeps you and your family motivated to be outside.

This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you.

A Day of Tubing at Granite Gorge and a Winter Hike

I recently wrote a blog post about How the Outdoors has Helped Me Live a Simple Life. Not an easy post talking about our struggles, but an important lesson for us. I thought I should give my wonderful readers an example of a day trip or activities that we do to keep ourselves entertained without breaking the bank.

When having a child involved in extracurricular activities, your weekend time is taken up by their commitments. The last couple months our daughter has had basketball every Saturday. I love watching her and her friends on the court, but I was starting to itch for a day trip. We are in the process of saving money for a big trip in May, so I am being overly cautious of our spending. With finally having a Saturday free and it being the start of vacation week I wanted to do something fun.

A couple months ago I had purchased a Tubing Deal on Groupon for Granite Gorge Ski and Tubing Area. With money back from Ebates and using a coupon code on Groupon I got a tubing pass for two for $22.65. If you buy them at the lodge they are $25 a person. My daughter wanted to bring a friend so we took them both and the two hours gave my husband and I a chance to get some alone time. We brought our own waters so we did not have to spend extra money at the lodge.

It was lunch time and the girls were hungry. We wanted a cheeper options so we chose pizza. We were able to get two pizza’s and drinks for $36 for four of us at Athens Pizza in Keene. We sometimes pack a lunch, but since we have not had a day trip in a while and my daughter brought a friend we thought it would be nice to eat out.

After we dropped my daughters friend off, my daughter wanted to take my husband to the trail that we trail sledded on it. I wanted to check out a different trail in that area so it was perfect. We did the Slip Mile Mitchell Brook Trail, in Milford.

We stopped on the trail for about 30 minutes and did some trail sliding.

On the way home we were close to Tucker Brook Falls which is a short hike. My daughter continued having fun on the trail and I got to hike to one of my favorite things. A waterfall.

We had a fun day, my daughter and her friend had a blast tubing, my husband and I got some time to talk, which does not happen a lot. We were able to get some miles in for the 365 Mile Challenge and spend a lot of time in the outdoors. The day cost us $58.65. Not my cheapest day trip, but not too bad for loads of fun and yummy pizza.

How the Outdoors has Helped Me Live a Simple Life

What if I live a simple life?  Have you seen the various blogs posts or memes talking about wanting to live a minimalist lifestyle? Then you see ads about the next new car, the bigger house, what we should be wearing or doing. Basically how to keep up with Jones.  The struggle is literally real between wanting a simple life and keeping up with the Jones.  

Growing up I lived a comfortable life.  We had a nice house and nice cars. Due to my parents work I was lucky enough to have a summer home and our main home.  We traveled around the country frequently, had many adventures around New England and I was able to go to Spain in High School with my Spanish Club.  My friends and I grew up boating, snowmobiling, spending time at various friends camps as well as participating in various activities. 

Backpacking in Baxter State Park

I attended a private college in Southern New Hampshire and then on to Boston University to get my Masters Degree.  My second year of undergraduate my now husband and I met and started dating .We continued an adventurous lifestyle. 

My husband and I canoeing on Allagash Lake in Maine.

Between my undergraduate and graduate schooling, my husband and I got married.  There was no fancy wedding, but a simple one with friends and family in my home town.  We did take a nice cruise to Mexico.  Less than at year later we bought our first home at the young ages of 21 and 22.  It was a small home, what we thought would be our starter home. We bought new cars and did not think much about buying the next new thing.  After I graduated with my Masters Degree, the student loans kicked in along with finding out I was pregnant everything hit us at once.  We had gotten in over our heads.  I was not prepared for the debt to income ratio between our current bills, student loans and what a social worker makes per year.  It’s sad.  We were drowning in debt from trying to live a lavish life and being new parents.  One day my husband and I looked at each other and said what are we doing.  We can’t keep living like this.  What are we trying to prove? 

That is when we decided to turn our life around.  We found a financial guru who we could get behind thanks to our good friends and really assessed our priorities. We needed family activities that would not cost us a lot of money.  We started making outdoor time more of a priority.  When you have a toddler who has lots of energy and live in a small house you find ways to get that energy out. Even more importantly ways that were free or low cost. 

My daughter hiking Kidding Mountain around her second birthday.

We cut back our spending, looked at our bills, made a plan and worked hard moving forward.  One thing we really did not want to give up was our weekend adventures.  With stressful jobs, we find joy in these trips and believed our daughter should be exposed to various adventures.  We worked it into our budget, not a lot, but some extra money to still have our weekend adventures.  

Abol Slide in Baxter Park in Maine

Time to get creative.  I picked up some outdoor books from my library, I searched apps like Groupon and Entertainment, checked out the library for passes, signed up for local event lists and basic google searches to get ideas.  Our adventures were not more than a couple hours from home as we did not want to have to stay over night.  We would pack a picnic lunch and would get something different or special so we were not feeling deprived from eating out. 

Almost all of our day trips included some form of hike.  The majority of the time you can hike for free. Since we already had the gear we were good to go.  When my daughter was able to hike on her own we visited a local consignment shop and got her a pair of hiking boots for $20.  With yard sales facebook groups and consignment shops it’s fairly easy to find cheap gear. 

Working on our fire skills after a hike into the woods.

In addition to hiking we would visit parks with playgrounds and water features, waterfalls, public beaches, museums and various events. In the winter we would continue to hike, go sledding, ice skating and cross country ski on local multi purpose trails. If it was too cold we would visit our local mall and have our daughter play in the play area or attend a free open gym.  When we wanted to get away for a couple nights we were fortunate enough to have a small pop-up camper given to us by my husbands parents and we were able to find cheap campsites for a great couple of night get a way.  

Rattlesnack Pool

Each year our finances got easier to manage and we were not swimming in debt.  At times I felt guilty for shopping at consignment shops, couponing, not going on big trips, not having a bigger house and not always buying the next big thing.  A few times I wanted to give up due to frustration of penny pinching. Luckily I was able to relax in the woods. I also had the support of my best friend when I was struggling and feeling guilty.  If you are going on a financial journey you need a supportive friend in addition to your spouse for that extra support.  

Fast forward nine years and we have minimal debt, my car is 7 years old, we still live in the small house, we don’t have the best of everything, but I would not change it for the world.  Why? Because now we do day trips whenever we want.  We are starting to plan bigger trips, paid for with cash and have better quality family time.  We continue to spend a lot of time doing outdoor or doing free or cheap activities, but we can afford to splurge on restaurants and activities if we wish. 

Everyday I am thankful for where we live to have such great access to the outdoors.  This helped while working on our minimal lifestyle.  Destressing on the trail is amazing. It has turned into a game of finding new outdoor and free activities. I rarely feel jealous of other peoples lifestyles and am happy for what my husband and I have created for our family.  Instead of having to clean a big home or cut back we are free to explore as we wish and I would not change our minimalist lifestyle for anything. I hope when my daughter grows up she values the lifestyle we chose for her.  

Finding Joy in the Winter Months

I love winter. Before you start the hate mail, I know winter is not for everyone, but when you live in New England we are blessed with this season for at least four to five months out of the year so why not find ways to enjoy it. I love hiking in the winter. The cold provides a refreshing crispness to the air along with magnificent views you do not get during other seasons. I love waterfalls, even though I can’t swim in them, frozen waterfalls are amazing. Not as many people hike in the winter providing solitude. I enjoy skating around a frozen pond, sledding down a hill, cross country skiing through the forest and down hills. As well as snowshoeing into the woods and finding a place to heat up a lunch.

I took to to my Facebook Page asking my followers their biggest struggle with getting outside. They had some great responses along with some that I also struggle with as well. Below are my recommendations on how to get outside and enjoy the winter months more.

Dressing for the weather: This is a struggle for many people, they hate being cold and we can get some below zero temperatures. I love hiking and being outside in the winter, but it can sometimes be a struggle to figure out what to wear. It has been a lot of trial and error when figuring out the right gear. Below is a list of what I normally where when I am hiking.

• Base Layer-long underwear such as Under Armor

• Second Layer is a thicker long sleeve shirt and my hiking pants

• Footwear- Darn Tough Socks and Salomon Hiking Boots. I wear my hiking boots year round.

• Final Layer- is a vest, or jacket shell a hat or head band and gloves.

• No cotton as it retains sweat.

• Extras: Microspikes and hiking poles for the icy trails. The last couple years the trails have been very icy. This is when microspikes and poles come in very handy.

I am rarely cold when hiking and can always adjust layers as needed. I do not like hiking in a bulky jacket as I feel it is confining. Layering can also work for kids as well. It will keep them warm, without having them feel too confined. This is something you will have to play around with for adults and children to find your best combinations.

Keeping it Fun and Motivating
Now that you know how to dress, how to do motivate yourself to get outside as well as keeping the kids motivated. There are some mornings or days that I am not in the mood to put on all that gear and go outside in the cold or even dark. Below are some ways that help me stay motivated.

• Join a Group Hike: Having the accountability to go outside helps. I have lead many groups hikes and having a group hike keeps me accountable to go outside. Yes there are somedays I wish I did not have a group hike, but once I get out there I overall feel better and glad I went.

• Grab a Friend: If groups are not your thing grab a friend or a family member to join you on an outdoor activity. This is great especially for kids because they do so much better with other kids around. I have a couple friends I can count on to join me for an outdoor activity which holds me accountable to get some outside time.

• Join a Challenge: There are many outdoor challenges that help motivate me. Read my blog post Outdoor Challenges for 2020 for some ideas.

• Keep it fun: Grab a sled and hit a local hill, head to a local cross country ski center and rent cross country skis or snow shoes. Grab some snow markers and make designs in the snow. These keep my daughter busy for a while. Explore your backyard or local pack. Find a trail, bring a snack, a hot drink and look for animal tracks, build a fort or our favorite is to find a spot off the trail and set up our single burner camping stove and cook some hot dogs and heat up some hot chocolate. At night grab a headlight and walk to a space where there is open sky and look out. The stars seem brighter on the colder winter nights.

Testing our fire building skills in an abandoned fireplace.

Time, Where Does it Go?

Time, this is a big challenge for many people, even me. Our society has become a schedule disaster. Before we know it is the end of the day or the end of the weekend and we were not able to get outside like we hoped. How can this change?

I am fortunate to only work 32 hours a week providing me time during the week days to get some outside time in. It is important to write out your goals and have a schedule.

First, sit and write down why being outside is important for you. Mine are the following:

• Exercise

• A great way to unwind

• Increases energy

• Decreases screen time

• A great way to spend time as a family.

• Helps me find new ideas for my website, not a great reason, but we are being honest, right.

Next grab your calendar and write down your typical schedule for the week. Below is a sample of my weekly schedule.

Obviously our schedule changes with different sport season, but this is an average week for us. We have allowed our daughter to do just one activity at a time. With some extra time in my day, I agreed to add on art lessons. Yoga is my me time. Most every hour is filled and our weekends are fairly open. I leave Sunday’s empty for family time and prep for the week. In the evening we have time to be outside. During the winter months it may mean the use of headlights, but we still get out almost daily. Look at your schedule is there anything you can give up or a way to squeeze in just 20 minutes of outside times.

I did not write errands/grocery shopping down. We live in a rural area and I am lucky enough to work in a bigger town and have an hour lunch break. I do all my errands then and order my groceries from Hannaford To Go, such a life saver. We use to spend most Saturday’s running around and I hated it. I’m glad I have been able to give that up.

Now that you have looked at your schedule was there anything you were able to rid of or consolidate? Were you able to find more time? I have felt more free by not having such a packed schedule and my daughter has enjoyed more down time. If you need to schedule in outside time, go ahead. I strongly believe once you start increasing your time outside you will reap all the benefits and notice a difference in yourself and your children.

Get dressed, plan and activity and head outside. Hey you may even start enjoying winter .

Disclaimer: These are my opinions please use to best fit your situation. If you have health issues always consult your provider before engaging in exercise. This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive a small amount of compensation at no cost to you.

Raising an Outdoor Child

Parenthood is not easy, there are so many parenting books, websites, blogs, social media posts all telling us how we should and should not parent.  Are they right or are they wrong?  This is a question that will be asked forever as new scientific studies come out and opinions change over time.  The one thing that is consistent is that we want to raise well rounded, happy children.  How do you do that?  If someone finds out please let me know. 

Growing up I got to spend a lot of time in the outdoors and loved it. When I became a parent, I knew this was one thing I wanted to instill in my child.   As a parent I have worried since the day I found out I was pregnant about my parenting skills or lack thereof. My husband and I have had multiple conversations about what we are doing right or wrong.  Soon my daughter is turning eight and as I watch her, I am pleased with the happy, carefree, funny, smart girl she is growing up to be.  I think to myself, how did I get so lucky to be the mother to this wonderful little girl? 

My answer is the love of nature and being outside. At a young age we had our daughter engaging in outdoor activities.  At just two weeks old we put in her in a front carrier and took her to explore local waterfalls and hiking trails.  Evenings were spent walking a quiet dirt road near our house.   On the weekends we did various hikes or pulled her in a sled while we skied or snowshoed,  When she got a little older we started camping and canoeing with her and she got her own skis and snowshoes.

Child care, this is something we stressed a lot about.  Finding good child care is very difficult no matter where you live.  We were lucky to find two great in home daycares that would incorporate outdoor time when she was an infant and toddler.  When she was ready to start preschool my husband and I again stressed over finding a good school that fit with our working hours and what we wanted for our daughter. We were very fortunate to come across a preschool that incorporated education as well as the importance of being outside.  The teachers would take the children outside every day.  They would go on hikes, play in the woods or work in the large greenhouse on the schools property.  The kids planted seeds and took care of the garden. This gave my daughter a good foundation to love fruits and vegetables straight from the ground.  When I picked her up she was also excited to tell me what they found on their many adventures in the woods or in the greenhouse.  On the weekends she was always eager to show us what she had learned while at preschool, making it more enjoyable for all of us to be outside.  

We are in love with out Kids Mule Camelbak Backpack

At the start of elementary school, we needed before and after school and vacation childcare.  Another challenge, are you noticing a theme with my stress of childcare.  We are fortunate to have a childcare facility in town that focuses on the importance of being outside. Sometimes I worry that it is too much for her especially on day’s that it’s raining or cold and snowy, but she never complains or says she does not want to go. It's usually, "Mommy I'm so lucky I get to be outside all day long."  After school she is able to be outside and get out any extra energy from being in class all day.  She loves to come home and tell me about the adventures they went on and what they saw.  I have noticed over the last year, that when she is having a difficult time or a bad day, she will go outside and play until she is feeling better.  She prefers to be outside, more than in.  Recently, when I wanted to go for a small hike in the rain, she was eager to join me, even though she had been outside all day.  On the weekends she asks what hike or adventure we are going on and is eager to help plan.  Being outside helps her stay focused, energized and get a good night sleep.  It builds her creativity and lets her imagination wander.  

Friends on the trail have also helped keep my daughter interested in being outside. I love watching kids explore on the trail, they are always finding something interesting to explore on deep in conversation without any electronic devices in sight.

I understand that everyone may not have the access to the resources I have living in a rural area, but getting outside can be as simple as visiting your local park or walking trail. I am a strong believer that kids need at least an hour of outside time everyday, even though recent studies say more.  Does my daughter always get this, no, as we can have our lazy day's too, but I do try my best to get outside. That is all I ask of you, is that you do your best.

Are my views right or wrong? No, but it is what is important to my husband and I for raising our child and are happy with the results of being an outdoors family.  

This Blog Posts contains affiliate links which could provide compensation to the owner of the website at no cost to you.

Challenging myself with the 365 Mile Challenge

At the beginning of the 2018 I was looking for a new way to challenge myself. With the help of Hike Like a Woman I learned of the 365 Mile Challenge. When reading the requirements of this challenge I figured it would be easy to get in 365 miles within the year. I walk and hike a lot, and when we have snow, I cross country ski. The requirements of the challenge is do to 365 self propelled miles either walking, hiking, running, bike riding, paddling, snowshoeing or cross country skiing. My daughter, eight at the time, wanted to join the challenge with me. We printed off two of the tracking sheets and off we went.

I also convinced some of my friends to join the challenge for extra support and motivation. My husband would joined us when he could, but he did not participate in the challenge. We started out strong hiking, walking and skiing whenever we could. Excited when we could fill in another bubble. The challenge pushed us to find more trails to explore so we would not get bored easy.

In the winter months we cross country skied . A couple times we had to jump on the treadmill as the below zero temps were too much to be outside. If you have to do indoor miles you can, but the true goal of the challenge is to get people moving outside.

During the spring our hiking was put on hold a little due to spring sports and tasks around the house, but were still able to get in some miles.

As summer rolled around we went on a lot of adventures with some beautiful views. They did not add up to a lot of miles like I thought they would, but we continued to fill in the circles.

Towards the end of the summer I started a new job that allowed me to be home earlier during day. Many days after school would go for walks. This has became on of my favorite times of the day. This is when my daughter and I would talk about various things. As my daughter gets older I worry that she will not want to continue to talk to me. Thanks to this challenge it has pushed us to get outside after school and work to give us some much needed mother daughter time.

We were able to have some friends join us on the trail, which is always fun.

The last week of December 2018 we finished the challenge.

Almost all of our miles have been from hiking and walking and in the winter cross country skiing when we had snow. A few of them have been from bike riding, which you get your miles faster.

In January 2019 we decided to do the challenge again, as I became an Ambassador for the challenge. I’m happy to report that we finished our challenge on Christmas Eve a week earlier than 2018 All of our miles were outside exploring places around New England and Disney. We continued to explore new trails and doing a lot of after school/walks for some great mother daughter time.

In 2020 we are looking at other challenges., but The 365 Mile Challenge is going strong into the new year. If you are looking for great challenge for you, your family and/or your loved ones to move and get outside more, this is it. If you are not sure you can do the full 365 Mile Challenge there are several mini challenges throughout the year that you can try. Even though I love being outside and exploring new trails, the best part of the challenge was the time that my daughter and I have spent together.