Practically located in our back yard, The Green Gorge Trail on Signal Mountain is becoming our go to for a quick family hike.
It is 2 miles long, but by crossing bridges you can easily do one of two 1-mile loops. One mile seems to be the max Jack can handle on his own right now.
One of the biggest difference between a first baby and second baby is how quickly you get on with life as usual. When Jack was born we had a steep learning curve and it seemed to take forever to do anything.
The first hike we took Jack on was when he was 5 months old and it took a ton of gear. Granted it was a longer hike and we did it on a Sunday after church, but with Isaac, we just get in the car and go. We didn't even take a diaper bag!
With Isaac strapped to me in the Ergo carrier and Jack walking, we made our way through the woods. Jack insisted we walk in the creek for a ways (he would have stayed in the creek the entire time if we let him).
Initially just Daniel and Jack walked in the creek, but Jack wouldn't leave me and Isaac behind: "Come on Mommy, you need to stay close!"
In the woods, it wasn't too hot. When we reached the swing bridge, Jack wanted to go longer. Since it was our half-way point, we told him that we needed to head back to the car.
Jack was not excited about the prospect of going back to the car so soon and didn't understand that we still had to walk a ways.
Overall it was a great little family hike. Jack got to stomp around in the creek, cross the swing bridge, get muddy and walk on logs. Isaac slept through the entire walk.
Daniel tracked our route with Map My Run and we did a 70-minute mile! Ha! Hiking with kids is definitely a slower endeavor than walking without (Daniel and I normally average 20-minute miles on the trail).
But hiking with kids offers a slower pace where you focus more on the scenery and enjoy being together. We talked about what plants not to touch and answered all kinds of questions.
We are looking forward to doing more activities with our boys as they get older and stronger.
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