Follow the Leader\A Hiker is Born

Sunday, 2 weekends ago, when my friend Rachel was visiting from Austin, we wanted to enjoy the great fall outdoors. So, I looked up a reservation that's fairly close to the house and Rachel, Dylan and I headed out for a hike while Mike was doing his usual Sunday morning soccer.

As I'd never been to this location, I wasn't really sure what we would find. Given my temperamental sciatic, occasional numb toes, and large pregnant belly that all combine to keep me from doing as much as I would like...plus the fact that I would likely be carrying Dylan for some or all of the trip, who knew how long this trip would last. Being the adventurous gals we are, Rachel and I set off with the long list of uncertainties to see what we could find.

I asked Dylan if he wanted to walk or ride and he chose walk. And walk he did! In fact, he did a great job of leading the way for most of the trip. He apparently has his father's trail navigation sense and stayed on the main trail very well (I tend to easily veer off onto side trails somehow) and was cautious when he needed to be cautious. For example, he was coming up to a part of the trail that went over a waterway and had a pretty big pothole. He realized it was a place to wait and stopped, grabbed my hand when I came up by him and crossed with me. Smart boy!

Our Leader

Dylan called this a broken tree.

The only good map was at the start of the trail by the parking area and I had only studied it as far as the railroad tracks as it didn't appear to have a crossing over on the trail we were taking. But, once we got to the tracks, we saw another trail a short way down and decided to take it. When reading about this reservation, I knew there was a good look out somewhere and instinct was telling me this was the way to go.

After we crossed the tracks, the trail headed up. Dylan was ready for a ride after a few minutes of that steep(ish) grade, so I popped him in the back pack. Pretty soon thereafter, there was a trail split off to the right that looked like flatter land, so we went that way for a break. Low and behold, after a very short distance, we were treated to this beautiful lookout:

See that strip of green land on the left? Well, we also got a bit of an air show as that's part of the field where folks go to fly their huge model airplanes on the weekends. Pretty cool!

Rachel and Dylan Watching the Planes

Me and Dylan in the Same Spot

With that great reward, we knew we couldn't top the view and I didn't want to get further from the car, so we headed back. Dylan had walked quite a ways and was happy to be carried for a while at this point.

Carrying Two Kids!

Self Portrait

Going For the Camera

Having Fun with My Cute Boy

A little ways down the path, the gals needed a pit stop (I can't go long without one anymore). So, Dylan got out of the pack, gave us our privacy and then we were ready to finish the trip. But, he was ready to walk again. I wish I had clocked our trip with my gps or even paid closer attention to the trip time because Dylan walked some serious mileage that day but I can only make a really rough guess as to how much. I think he probably walked at least a mile to a mile and a half....and with legs the size of his, that was a whole lotta ground! By next spring, he might be ready to tackle the mountains with us. I'm so proud of my little hiker.