[Go Jo]

Hiker Mama ~ I just want to thank you for your honest rendition of the day. I have so many friends with small ones that see other families in photos, all smiling, hear stories of other families fantastic outings, etc and wonder if they are doing something wrong. No one ever posts a story on their blog about how they went to Yosemite and the kids decided to ruin their life (pretend you don't know I just got back from Yosemite with my Godsons, wink wink) and I think it makes parents feel insecure. I just appreciate that you acknowledge that sometimes just getting the experience & making it back to the car borders on the most challenging thing you've ever done in life. If everyone knew the struggles that lay behind many of the smiling snapshots on peoples' desktops, they could relax and take the tough days when they present themselves. I hope karma kicks you a great hike on Tuesday ~Jo

[sarbar]

Hikermama got to hear some of my now funny but back then incidents that brought me to tears. It is worth it though

[Grizzy]

Hiker Mama, keep the faith!Everything you expose these tykes to will mean a bunch down the road....Sunrise was a great place to take them. You were frustrated, but I'll bet there were allot of folks looking on that could totally empathize with you and you two year olds shenanigans ... I was up there yesterday and Saturday, I saw lots of similar family's and their struggles, it will get SO much better....keep trying, it makes a HUGE difference in their lives.... I've got three....

[Joedaddy]

I had a similiar frustrating hike at Sunrise on Sunday by my son is 8. My wife and 12 year old son had other things to do and the other cub scouts didn't respond to my invitation so it was just Joey and Me on our way to Fremont Lookout. Joey was apparently not in the mood for hiking. It took us over an hour to get the mile up to Sourdough ridge. A couple of weeks ago, we did some tough hikes in Yosemite, one he did great on (Vernall Falls), and the other he was a complaining marathon of "breaks". On Saturday I bought him some trekking poles to motivate him for hiking. He was excited about them until he handed them to me 1/4 into the hike. I heard a lot of "this is too hard", "can we turn back now", and "I wanna go home". I responded with " I know you can do it" "we are almost there" and other motivational hooey. After many breaks, we argued at Frozen Lake about trying to make it up to Fremont Lookout. He was not into it. I compromised and we started up the shorter trail to Burroughs mtn. More whining and breaks every 20 feet. I finally left him sitting on a rock and did the last 1/4 of a mile quickly myself, took some quick pics and came back down. He was a changed boy. He had seen a marmot and was really excited. He was happy and was enjoying hiking. When we got to the junction, he asked if we could go up to Fremont Lookout???? I was tempted but I knew he would turn back into "complaining slug Joey" in about 200 feet. And it was getting late, so we headed back down. He smiled most of the way down and I had a hard time keeping up with him. We got back in the car and he said "thanks for taking me hiking Dad". I am not ready to give up on hiking with him yet. Next time, he will have a friend along so that Joey can be the "hiking expert" Maybe we will try lake or river hikes with less elevation. We have done a couple of backpack trips this year (Third Beach and Ancient Lakes) and he did OK except when we had to go up any hills. I wish I knew how to tell if kids are "in the mood" before I get them in the car.

joey poles

joeyfrozen lake

joey meadows

[Go Jo]

[sarbar]

For most kids alpine does NOTHING for them - it is open and wide. What excites us does not excite them. Most kids love water - a creek, river, lake - anything with frogs and rocks. Or sticks. Also, Sunrise is often a baking hot oven and is up high so it tires out kids. Kids are not born hikers - they have to be trained. Just like poochies, we have to train them. If it means you feed them a junk food diet and bribe them with a trip to the gift shop afterward, so be it. Eventually they do accept it. I won't lie...it is easier to leave the kids behind - but it is important to take them.

[Joedaddy]

You need to be careful with the bribes. On one backpack, we wanted so much to get back to the car quickly that my wife bribed Joey with a new Wii game. It worked great that day but he remembers that bribe now on every hike. Candy bars are a little easier to come by. I also always have a small cooler full of ice in the car with gatorade in the summer. It really helps kids to think of that on a hot dry hike on the way back.

[Hiker Mama]

Jo, I appreciate your feedback. I have found in the past several years that I have been more restrained in my reporting, thinking that most folks only wanted to hear the basics and not all of my kids' antics. This was especially true on WTA, where reports have a different quality. But I've been that way here, too, like the time when we went to Kelcema Lake when Annika was 5 months old, I had PPD but didn't realize it, Gabriel peed on me and so many other little things happened. I did not have fun on that trip, but my TR was mild compared to how I felt. I have gradually realized that I need to stop censoring myself, so here you got the full deal, with as many "moments" as I could remember. I generally don't like bribes as a parenting technique, but have found that having a few treats along makes a difference in how the kids do. Jelly beans, m&ms, lollypops, energy bars, chips, -- these are all fair game. Same with gear, like letting them use my trekking poles if they want to. I know these trips are worth it in the long run. I firmly believe that. Just this morning out of the blue, Annika started chuckling and talking about hiking and jumping, and I think she was remembering back to this trip last week. Her eyes were bright and she had the best smile. It makes it easier to take the personal frustration. My kids keep amazing me! Tomorrow, if everything still is a go, we are planning a much mellower trip: an hour drive, a mile RT hike, a waterfall, shade, rocks to throw in the water, and a college age gal whom my kids adore accompanying us. But first I have to get some work done around the house that I have been neglecting, so I better get off the computer now!