Happy Take a Hike Day!
Take a break and enjoy getting outside today! 👣
Happy Trails!
Tag: hikes
National Trails Day
Happy National Trails Day today! Today kicks off the Great Outdoors Month of June!
Did you know that there are over 18,000 miles of trails in the national park system? And did you know that there are 158,000 miles of trails in national forests and grasslands? So, we have lots of trails to explore in the United States!
Enjoy this day and month and find a trail to enjoy! Happy National Trails Day!
New Backpack
A few weeks ago, I discovered a company that creates colorful backpacks. I love color! I am so drawn to anything colorful and it always makes me smile. I was that little girl always drawing rainbows. Don’t tell anyone, but I still draw them! 🌈
Cotopaxi makes these colors backpacks (and other colorful items). As I scrolled through their web site, their backpacks all made me smile. While I love the colors, I also love the uniqueness to each one. They’re all different. I had needed a new backpack and found a ton of choices.
I fell in love with Cotopaxi’s Del Dia Collection. This collection uses fabric leftover from other companies’ large production runs made in the Philippines. I love that this keeps perfectly good materials out of the landfill and reuses them for something fun.
After many clicks and moments of indecision, I decided on this one.
Once I received it, I tested it out on a hike with my dog and really enjoy it! It’s comfortable and has all the needed pockets. Most of all, I love all the colors!
It’s a rainbow day every day! 🌈😊
National Trails System Act
The National Trails System Act created the National Trails System back today in 1968. The Act created national trails to promote the enjoyment and appreciation of trails while encouraging greater public access.
The Act established four classes of trails: national scenic trails, national historic trails, national recreation trails, and side or connecting trails.
The first two national scenic trails established under the Act were the Appalachian and the Pacific Crest trails. These two trails cover almost 5,000 miles between the two trails and go through some of our nation’s most beautiful areas.
Today, the system consists of 30 National Scenic and Historic Trails and over 1,000 National Recreation Trail and two connecting-and-side trails, with a total length of more than 50,000 miles.
I love maps, so had to share one! Click here for a map of all the trails in the system.
To celebrate this 52nd anniversary, go and get out on a trail today!
Hiking Stick
Since March, we have spent lots of time at home. And spent plenty of time dreaming of hiking and traveling again. To help get excited for future hikes, I made this fun hiking stick. I have some real hiking poles, but thought it would be a fun activity to paint my own hiking stick.
My kids found this stick in our yard and discarded it for being too big for their project at the time. I checked out the stick and it was a perfect size for hiking.
This stick was pretty smooth and didn’t need sanding, but some others might need to be sanded. I painted the sections and later sprayed it with a sealer. I opted with a colorful, rainbow look, but you could do any colors and patterns. You could even add stickers, ribbons, or other decorations to make it your own style.
Just thought I’d share a fun (and easy) hiking activity to do at home!
Bring a Friend 🐰👣❤️
A few weeks ago, our daughter brought Bunny along on a hike. This weekend, Lilly, a purple stuffed bunny, joined us. And Lilly got to ride a Barbie scooter in the air! Pretty lucky stuffed animal! Woody and Buzz would be jealous!
Pre-children, I would have laughed seeing a purple bunny on a scooter out on a hike.
Now, it seems normal. And it makes a hike so much more fun for a 7 year old! She loved bringing her friend along for our 3 mile hike!
“Mommy, take lots of pictures of Lilly!” So, I did! It made me smile too!
Bring a friend and enjoy a hike! 🐰👣And enjoy a smile! 😍
P.S. It’s also a great way to celebrate a birthday!
National Trails Day 👣
Happy National Trails Day today! Today kicks off the Great Outdoors Month of June!
Did you know that there are over 18,000 miles of trails in the national park system? And did you know that there are 158,000 miles of trails in national forests and grasslands? So, we have lots of trails to explore in the United States!
Enjoy this day and month and find a trail to enjoy! Happy National Trails Day! 👣☀️
Search for the Fairies
A few weeks ago, we wanted to go on a hike with our two kids and my sister and her husband. After weeks of rain here, the sun had come out. So, we wanted to get outside and enjoy the sun and fresh air along the American River.
Our 7 year old little girl ran around the house getting supplies for this hike. No, she did not get a compass nor a map. She got her small brown shoulder purse, her little white stuffed bunny (named Bunny), lipstick (really just chapstick), and a plastic spoon. She brought her supplies in the car for our hike.
On the trail, she announced that we were searching for fairies. Little fairies would like the trail, so we had to look out for them. Bunny helped look for them too. Every so many feet, she would stop, lift her hand to her forehead and search around an area.
After about a mile or so of hiking, she started to get a little low due to the lack of fairy sightings. A little snack helped the spirits (which she did call it the cure). She kept on hiking and looking.
Then, we found the perfect tree. It had to be a fairy home. The tree had a small hole facing us with dark green moss around it. We even saw some pixie dust inside it. Our daughter took out the spoon and scooped up a very small bit of the pixie dust. Bunny even checked it out and agreed! She could not stop grinning.
Something fluttered nearby. It had to be a fairy or two even watching us hike. She knew that they were close.
We walked over a small bridge and something fluttered nearby. It had to be a water fairy or maybe the tree fairy following us.
Bunny cheered on the fairy trees, the fluttering sounds, and little bits of pixie dust. And our little girl smiled the rest of the hike and the day.
So, make sure to look for fairies and the magic of hiking the next time you are out on the trail!
Park Rx Day
We wrap up the National Park Week with Park Rx Day today. It’s doctor’s orders to get to national park today! Enjoy the mental and physical benefits of being outside! Listen to the doctor!
Happy National Park Week!
Muir Woods National Monument
Happy 111th anniversary to Muir Woods National Monument!
On January 9, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Muir Woods National Monument named after conservationist John Muir. Muir Woods became the 7th National Monument and was the first one created from land donated by a private individual.
In 1905, Congressman William Kent and his wife, Elizabeth, bought 611 acres for only $45,000. To protect the redwoods here, the Kents donated 295 acres of the land to the federal government. President Roosevelt originally suggested naming it after the Kents, but they wanted it named after Muir.
Muir Woods lies in the middle of the redwood’s latitudinal range that spans from the California/Oregon border to Big Sur, just south of Monterey. And it is quite easy to get to from San Francisco!
In 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was completed and visitors tripled in numbers to Muir Woods that year!
And in 1945, delegates met from all over the world to draft and sign the Charter of the United Nations. President Franklin D. Roosevelt died just 12 days before he was to have opened the United Nations Conference in San Francisco. President Harry Truman still proceeded this conference. In the middle of the two-month conference, over 500 delegates representing 46 nations took the time off from the conference to go to Muir Woods National Monument to honor and to pay tribute to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Muir Woods’ Cathedral Grove. Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., U.S. Secretary of State, who spoke of Muir Woods as a symbol of Roosevelt’s ideals, saying, “These great redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument are the most enduring of all trees. Many of them stood here centuries after every man now living is dead. They are as timeless and as strong as the ideals and faith of Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
Muir Woods is a great place to see some amazing redwood trees, check out the history here, and take in a few hikes! If you’re in the Bay Area, I highly recommend that you check out Muir Woods National Monument!
