Little Feet

In between the challenges of kids, work, hobbies, colds, and cold weather, we are planning our great spring Utah hiking adventure. It's really quite like planning a moon mission, in many ways.

We'll be flying to our destination on a giant, noisy machine, very high up. We'll be taking everything we need for the whole week with us, because we will have no contact with our home base. When we get to our destination, we'll put everything we have on our backs and head out, on foot, for days of grueling work far from and without the comforts of, home. During that time we'll be isolated, without the chance of ready help should we get into trouble.

We'll gather rocks, take lots (lots!) of pictures with cameras that were not designed for our environment, and we'll spend our nights in cramped, cold shelters, quivering in the wild of the unknown. We'll even have Tang.

Ok, so it's possible to stretch the analogy too thin. Afterall, we're not doing this to beat the Soviets. We're doing it so we can tell our friends about it :) But you get the picture.

And oh, the gear! I sometimes wonder if my real hobby is the acquisition and cataloging of "gear", the hikes being just an excuse to pursue that hobby. But no, that's not true. I really do love the outdoors. For so many reasons. The "gear" is fun too, but as a means to the end.

Heather and I (and family) hiked the Grand Canyon in 2005, and it was fun helping her get into the sport. That's when I first realized they make hiking gear specially for women now. No longer does the better-smelling sex have to use oversized, malfitting packs and boots. Now those things come in shapes. And this year, with Z and M going, I am realizing how much cool kids hiking stuff there is out there. Anything you can get for an adult, you can find cuter and (slightly) cheaper for kids. So, we are knee-deep in buying Z's gear. Little boots for little feet. And don't forget a hat for Maddie! It's all fun.