In Pursuit of a Hike

This particular trail is our family's favorite. We hike it multiple times a year, trying to hike it at least once each season. It was the first trail of the Three Creeks trail system that Jeremy and I ever hiked, and it was also the first trail that we hiked with the boys. Because of the steep drop to the creek, and the subsequent steep climb back up, we were so proud when our little boys completed the hike on their own two feet. The trail itself isn't much at all, probably less than a quarter mile. But the real fun is down at the creek where there are endless places to explore, endless rocks to climb, and endless places to wade and splash.  Another milestone that happened on this trail was our puppy Kylo's first hike, back when he was just a few months old. That first hiking trip with Kylo confirmed what we feared because of prior car trips. Kylo is unfortunately very prone to car sickness. Even short trips in town made him visibly uncomfortable. We were so bummed fo...

It's almost like spring hiking season hasn't even begun until we've hiked Three Creeks South. We generally hike it at least a handful of times during the year. It was one of the last hikes we did last year, and now the second AND third one of this year, because we've been there for the last two weekends now. Last Saturday, we had early morning soccer games. They were the first Saturday games of the season because the rain has continually delayed and cancelled one game and practice after another. But once we rolled ourselves out of bed so early for that first game, we figured we may as well be productive with the rest of our day and be outdoors. And boy did we ever make the most of it. We took one of the boys' friends with us, which was a lot of fun for the boys!  Eli couldn't wait to get his feet in the water. Finally warm enough! He was the only one who braved the water, but I was thisclose to being right in there with him.  Notice that Lex has...

Finally,  finally,   I can write about hiking again. Which means the cold snap has passed, at least for now. We are creeping out of our state of hibernation. I lie. We are running out of hibernation and heading straight for the woods. Missouri weather has spoiled us the past few years because we have been able to hike straight through the winter. But not this year. When the windchill is below 10, or even 25, we prefer movie watching, game playing, puzzle solving, and staying indoors in general. But watch out when the thermometer peaks above 30, because we are out of here, and on the trail. My New Years Resolution was all about being outdoors more, so I was sad to watch day after day pass by without logging a single mile on the trail. We've hiked at least partial trails at pretty much every trail system in our county. But there are still loops and connectors within those trail systems that we have yet to venture, so last weekend, we headed back to  Gans Creek  (S...