Dan Nicholas Loop Trail - 6/19/2010

Friday night, the boys and I went back to Dan Nicholas Park to hike the two mile loop trail in the woods. Elijah had been sick off and on all day, so I wasn't sure how he would do. When we left, he was in a good mood and wasn't fevered at all.

Earlier in the day, I had bought myself and Elijah new backpacks. Conner had his Diego backpack. We carried water, apples, and Cheez-Its. The boys were very cute in their backpacks.

Before we even got to the trail, Elijah was asking me to carry him. I kept saying, "No" hoping that he would tough it out and walk the trail. But he kept asking and since he had been sick during the day, I carried him on my shoulders for most of the way. Every once in a while, he would ask to be let down to walk, but it was never long before he wanted back up. I thought it was good practice for hiking with a full pack.

Conner was bored on the trail. They both kept asking how far it was back to the playground. When we were near the end of the loop, both boys started asking if we could just turn around and go back. I don't think they understood the loop trail idea. I explained that we were closer going forward than if we turned around and went back.

Finally, we made it out of the woods and back to the car which was parked at the playground. It was amazing. The boys were suddenly, without explanation, full of energy. They ran and played on the playground until it was time to leave.

I asked Conner tonight if he liked the hike. He said it was boring. He said he would like to do a trail that went up to the top of a mountain. To be fair, the trail was mostly flat and the scenery was pretty boring. In all, we walked about three miles. It was a good start. I'll have to find something more difficult but not too long for our next outing.