OutGrown

Hike it Baby 30 Challenge Inspiring Stories

  2. Share
OutGrown Community Member OutGrown Community Member
0 0
Hike it Baby 30 Challenge Inspiring Stories for Hike it BabyHike it Baby is many things to many people. It helps us get out the door on drizzly days; gives us friends and companionship; and offers us a support group as we try to navigate work, family life, post-baby bodies (moms and dads!), sleepless nights and life. In addition, it also helps us all stay active and engaged in our communities. A few times a year we offer a challenge, and the Hike it Baby 30 Challenge months inspire us all in different ways. Some of us like a reason to keep track of our miles, some like to set a mileage goal for the month, and others use it as motivation to reinvigorate our love of hiking and nature. HiB 30 Challenge months offer us extra inspiration, support and motivation. If you’re considering joining the Hike it Baby 30 Challenge – whether it’s your first time or 10th– we hope you’ll join us and get outside and enjoy these autumn days before the colder temps set in. For inspiration, here are just a few stories from the last HiB30 Challenge that really capture what Hike it Baby is all about.

Hike it Baby 30 stories to inspire

Katy S. I'm so grateful for Hike it Baby for introducing me to some amazing, like-minded mommas & babies! I’ve just recently moved to Florida. While we may not log lots of miles, I’ve made lots of fun memories with awesome people. Kristin K. Looking through the month, I realized my daughter has spent more minutes outside than me. My husband stepped it up this month with taking her outside to practice riding her bike and to the playground alot more. I got in a few kid-free hikes as well. My goal was to figure out how can I fit in some adult-paced walks mixed in with what my child can do. Walking to a playground or going for a walk after gymnastics works out rather well. To find the balance of toddler/preschool wanders and adult-pace started off strong, but didn't end as strong and that's OK. We explored some awesome places and enjoyed the adventures as we welcomed in fall. Tiff Any R We finished up our month with another round of apple picking since [my son] loved it so much (and I had requests for more apple butter)! Our goal was no zero days, and we did end up with about four true zero days, but we had so many great toddler-led adventures. He's really so confident getting around outside and is always so excited when we "go hike." I love having this community to give us great ideas and gently push us to make the time, even on rough days. Thanks, everyone! Gretchen B. To be honest, I didn’t think we were going to make the 30 miles. Between moving, a case of roseola and dreaded morning/all day sickness, it just didn’t seem like we got outside that much. But I guess our little evening strolls, afternoons at the park & a couple good hikes really added up. We squeaked in at 30.5 miles. Deanna C. It was a busy month finishing up work, getting ready for baby (any day now!!) and my 5-year-old started kindergarten. I just added up our mileage and wanted to share our highlights from the month! First was ... Family Forest Fest where we started the challenge off. We got a lot of miles and time outside walking around the festival. Then before the first day of school, we hiked around sunrise and hiked to Fremont Lookout Tower with friends. I'm so proud of my daughter and her friends for hiking the whole way!! We did almost eight miles and a little over 1,000 feet gain. We spent the whole day at the mountain. It was perfect! I was 35 weeks when we did this hike so I'm glad I didn't have to put Charlie in the carrier! The last family hike we did was at Naches Peak Loop with all the pretty fall colors. I was 37 weeks and my husband didn't want me going far from civilization after that hike. He's afraid I'll go into labor on the trail! For being such a crazy month, I'm so proud of our total mileage! Hike it Baby 30 Challenge Inspiring Stories for Hike it Baby Vanessa W. We did it! One hundred miles in 30 days. This was our 9th challenge. I've always been in awe of the families who accomplish 100 miles and I regret not doing it when my 3-year-old was a baby and I only had one kid to keep alive. I figured if I was ever going to get 100 miles, it would be during my 4-month-old's first challenge where she is still mostly a potato. What I forgot to realize was her first challenge fell in September, which is arguably the hottest month out of the year in a city that already boasts year-round summer. But by then, I was determined and I can be painfully stubborn. Now, I will fully admit this challenge goal was 100% selfish. The baby didn't know she completed a 5-peak challenge; she would have been perfectly happy if I wore her around the house. I wanted 100 miles to prove to myself that I could do it and get the bragging rights. I also have some baby weight to lose, and I was secretly hoping it would melt off this month hiking at least 3 miles every day. San Diego is an incredibly hilly city; there is no such thing as easy miles around here. But I finished up the challenge feeling a little sorry for myself when the scale read the same it had at the beginning of the month. The second to last day, I hosted a hike that climbed up a fairly steep hill. I decided to tandem carry the girls, half questioning my sanity. See, I had just climbed that same hill a few months earlier only carrying the baby (at half her current weight) and I just about died. Once it came time to climb the dreaded hill carrying about 45 extra wiggly pounds, not only was I not breathing hard, but I was passing other hikers! It was at that moment I realized that even though the scale hadn't budged (I know weight is "just a number"), I had gotten massively stronger over those past 30 days. That is pretty awesome. Some other fun accomplishments this month:
  1. Daddy hiked more than he ever has any other challenge. In fact, he completed the 30-mile goal!
  2. The girls and I averaged about 2.5 hours outside every day!
  3. We ended up getting more dirt miles than urban miles, which I was surprised to see!
  4. We hosted 15 HiB hikes and attended 5 more. That's 20 HiB hikes in 30 days, including a HiB camping trip!
Megan F. We finished off our September HiB30 Challenge at Mallard Lake FP. The husband joined us for our closeout hike. It was misty outside but gorgeous. The lake was like a mirror and when the rain picked up, each of the 1 billion little drops could be seen rippling outward. This challenge was a lot different than our first challenge. The biggest difference was that I switched from a SAHM with a bit of PPD to a full-time grad student and TA with stress like none other. Unlike April's challenge where we focused on exploring new locations, this challenge became about being mindful of what time my daughter and I had to spend together each day. This challenge came at an incredibly challenging time for my daughter and I both, but we did it. I am so proud to say we had #NOZERODAYS! We totalled 35.48 miles and 1075 minutes hiking together. I carried my 23-lb. daughter for all but six hikes and loved every second. My body is sore and I need a massage but I'm looking forward to November's challenge! I know it will be even more different than our first two. I love that HiB30 has given my daughter a basis in being at peace in nature, given me peace at volatile times in my life, and given my dog much-deserved daily walks.

Read more:

Photos by Deanna Curry.

Community tags

This content has 0 tags that match your profile.

Community

Community Hikes
Community Engagement

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

0
Kids to Parks Day: Ideas for Enjoying the Park
Originally posted May 2019. May 15 is national Kids to Parks™ Day. Kids to Parks Day encourages children and families to get out and explore their local parks, including county, state and national parks. Two years ago, I hosted a Kids to Park hike. Having never hosted a “hike” in a park, I didn’t really know what to expect. How would I entertain the little hikers? How would we stay together given the range of activities the park had to offer? I had my energetic 3-year-old son and my stroller-bound 6-month-old, so parks could be a challenge to begin with. This hike, however, brought cold weather, a bit of rain and no other hikers. At first I was admittedly disappointed that I planned this hike and arranged my day around it when nobody else showed up. The benefit, however, was that I realized that a park hike could be a fun, social experience despite my original anxieties. During this hike, my son ran along the trail collecting sticks while I pushed his sleeping sister in her stroller. I can still picture him with his socks pulled up over his pants and a blue and white hooded sweatshirt. After exploring the small trail, he played on the swings, climbed a large spider web, looked for dinosaur bone replicas and ran around in plenty of green space. We were able to see dogs, a creek, birds, cloudy skies, worms, squirrels and other kids enjoying the park. I went on to host other hikes at parks. Exploring parks, whether at the local, state or national level, can introduce kids to wildlife, dramatic play and nature in positive ways. FUN PARK ACTIVITIES Looking for activities to do at the park? Check out these suggestions below or print our list of 30 things to find at the park and add some variety to your hike! Sinking vs floating Nature scavenger hunt Animal watch Animal compare and contrast Shell or rock collecting – can expand into bigger vs smaller or more or less and counting Leaf shading Measure and meander – take a ruler or paint stick and measure things as you walk Texture walk Build a fairy house Stone painting Climb a tree Follow the leader Scavenger hunts For free park resources that can be incorporated into a Kids to Park hike or even in your back yard, visit the National Park Trust and check out the featured resources at the bottom! INSPIRED? GREAT! NOW GET OUT AND ENJOY KIDS TO PARKS DAY! The best part about park hikes is that they don’t need to be formal. Kids can be imaginative and have fun on their own, with their families or with friends. Make a point to get outside and check out a park on May 15; or better yet, make it a habit your family can enjoy year-round! Want to join a hike to celebrate Kids to Parks Day? You can check out the Family Trail Guide to find a new trail with the family. If you can’t hit the parks on May 15, it's okay - Kids to Parks Day hikes can happen all month long! Don’t forget to join in on the fun on social media with the hashtags: #KidstoParks #togetherwehike ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org    EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.
0
Hike it Baby Post-Quarantine In-Person Hike Update June 2020
Challenges of Opening In-Person Hikes We recognize that public spaces have begun to open and stay-home orders and other restrictions have begun to loosen in certain communities. We are currently evaluating what in-person hikes will look like and what systems we need to have in place to support safe in-person hiking events in the post-Quarantine environment. These are some of the challenges we face in making decisions around allowing group activities as an organization with over 300 branches in North America: Most guidelines are still limiting group size and requiring social distance. Maintaining 6 feet of separation is hard to expect with small children and on narrow trails. Mask wearing guidelines are varied and also not recommended for children under 2 years, which is a large portion of our participants, making it hard to establish safe and effective protocols that allow us to support in person hiking. Our calendar team is entirely volunteer-based and it is too much to ask of them to monitor and stay up-to-date with the various local guidance to approve or deny hike events case by case, so we need to keep our approach as simple and as global as possible. Many communities are seeing a rise in cases as they re-open, which leaves us wondering if allowing/encouraging in-person events is the best way to ensure individual families can stay safe and healthy. We are letting time help inform our larger decision making before re-opening in-person events. The Importance of Getting Outside However, we also recognize that time in nature is important to everyone's personal wellness and we do not want to get in the way of that. Some of our branches are in rural areas with very low risk and in states where larger group gatherings are allowed and we understand it may be frustrating to not have the HiB calendar as a resource. Our goal is not to stop you from hiking or being social. We do have a duty to keep our members and volunteers safe, so we ask that you extend patience and understanding while we navigate this new terrain. Please extend this grace to your hike hosts and ambassadors as well and know that ultimately, we all want everyone to stay safe and healthy. Keep it Local, Keep it Safe If it is safe and in accordance with local guidelines for you to meet in your area, please organize any meet-ups outside of the Hike it Baby platform as private, non-HiB sanctioned activities. This means not posting them on HiB Facebook group pages or on the HiB Calendar on our website.   Once we have guidelines we can apply universally we will look to opening up our calendar for events and hikes once again and we will continue to communicate openly and actively as we make these decisions. We appreciate your continued patience.   About Hike it Baby Hike it Baby is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to getting families outdoors and on trails across the U.S. and internationally, supporting, educating and inspiring families through their more than 300 communities across North America. Since its grassroots inception in 2013 in Portland, Oregon, Hike it Baby is now a growing community of 270,000 families and 500 volunteer branch ambassadors hosting more than 1,600 hikes per month. More information, as well as daily hike schedules, can be found at HikeitBaby.com, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.   Photo courtesy of Michelle Craig.
OutGrown
Powered by Cause Machine. All rights reserved.