Summer Adventure Miles
Last year we visited some friends and saw that they had made a goal and a poster to bike 100 miles over the summer. So we stole their idea, modified it with our family in mind, and set a goal this past summer to walk, hike, and bike 75 miles as a family. If we weren't all together, we couldn't count it.
From the first bike ride on the Rio Grande rail trail to the last one-mile walk to Asa's new elementary school the Sunday before school started, it was a blast, and it was a challenge, and the kids rocked it. And we did it! Michelle commented on how she could see the kids' legs getting stronger, and I could definitely see them get more confident in going long distances. That's not to say there was no whining, because there was, but we all got to where a four-mile hike up the mountain just wasn't a big deal. Emmie spent most of the 75 miles in a bike stroller or a baby backpack, and she was a trooper.
Here's the list of activities, as best as I can reconstruct. Then I'll write about a few highlights and low points:
1. Biking the rail trail in Clearfield (6 miles)
2. Hiking from Fernwood to a knoll we call Sandwiches for a picnic (3 miles)
3. Walking and scooting on the Hobbs Reservoir path (3 miles)
4. Sunday stroll around the neighborhood (1 mile)
5. Biking on the Kays Creek Trail (2 miles; aborted because we remembered the kids were late for piano lessons)
6. Hiking at Fernwood with Grandpa (2 miles)
7. Hiking below the rim at Bryce Canyon (2 miles; see our vacation post for these)
8. Hiking Angels Landing trail to Scout Lookout (5 miles)
9. Hiking to Observation Point (8 miles)
10. Walking to Weeping Rock and the Zion Nature Center (1 mile)
11. Walking around Zion Ponderosa Ranch (1 mile)
12. Walking in the hellscape of Coral Pink Sand Dunes (1 mile)
13. Disastrous bike trip on the Legacy Parkway trail (7 miles; see below)
14. Sunday stroll with Beck and Ben and kids and Bri and Mason (1 mile)
15. Fernwood hiking with Beck and Ben and kids (1 mile)
16. Hiking to the "car graveyard" in Farmington Canyon (2 miles; this one should have been awesome, but we were pooped or something, and the combination of elevation and no shade made everybody grumpy)
17. Hiking to the pond at Cedar Breaks (1 mile)
18. Bryn's Big Birthday Bike Ride at Legacy Parkway trail (10 miles; see below)
19. Walking and scooting on the Hobbs Reservoir path (2 miles)
20. Walking to church (1 mile)
21. Sunday stroll with some of Aaron's kids (1 mile)
22. Hiking Adams Canyon to the waterfall (4 miles; see below)
23. Biking Ogden River Parkway (8 miles)
24. Walking to church (1 mile)
25. Walking to Asa's new school (1 mile)
We had a neighbor who went with us on our last walk to document it, and he promised to take a nice family portrait this fall as a reward for accomplishing our goal.
Here are a couple memorable moments worth recording:
Attempt #1, July 4
We set out in lovely weather, but soon the clouds had gathered and the wind picked up. We went our predetermined 3.5 miles and turned around, and before long, the rain started. Then the rain turned to hail and we were all getting pelted, including poor little Emmie who was being towed in the stroller behind my bike. I sprinted to the nearest overpass, which was thankfully only a couple hundred yards away, dropped the bike, and ran back to help the other kids. Unfortunately I hadn't pulled quite far enough in, and when I got back I realized Emmie was still getting pounded by hailstones.
After things cleared up, we pedaled the rest of the way back to the van. (I should put out as well that we don't have any sort of bike carrier, so any time we go on a family bike ride, we stuff most of the bikes and the stroller in the back of the van and the rest in the trunk of the Honda and we drive both cars to the trailhead.) I was the first person back to the van and I was confused to see a pile of glass under the passenger-side rear window. Then I realized the window was broken out, and I wondered if somehow someone had accidentally broken the window. Finally it dawned on us that someone had seen Michelle's purse through the window, broken the window, and stolen the purse! What followed was quite an ordeal of calling the police, haggling with insurance, canceling 4 credit cards and a checkbook, and the thief managing to charge and write checks for something like $1,500. Not a bad deal for them. In the end, we weren't on the hook to pay for any of the damages or the charges, but it's been a royal pain, with the last step of swearing affidavits about the check fraud occurring just yesterday.
Attempt #2, July 27
This one isn't quite as good of a story, but it all started when we got to the parking lot and realized Asa had forgotten his shoes. This time around, Michelle and I were running and the kids were biking (so we could train for our half marathon), and because Asa was despondent at the thought of having to ride in the stroller with Emmie instead of ride his bike, I told him I'd drive the 15 minutes back home, grab his shoes, drive back, and catch up with the group. So Michelle started out with all the kids (Emmie and Asa in the stroller with the bike on top of the stroller) and I raced home. When I got back I was now a solid 35 minutes behind, but I was booking it down the trail and was reasonably confident I could catch up by the halfway point at 5 miles.
Problem was, the trail was marked as closed with a detour at about mile 3. I figured it wasn't really closed, so I forged ahead. Until mile 4.5, when the trail really was closed, with no possible chance of bypassing it. So I ran back the other way toward the detour. But now I wasn't sure if Michelle had gone the other way and turned around and was now heading back to the car, or if she was still on the detour route. So I flagged down every biker I came across and asked if they'd seen a woman with so many children she didn't know what to do. No one had, but finally one dude offered to bike back and find them. He did so and we were finally reunited.
Michelle was understandably out of her mind at this point, so I let her run ahead while I took over pushing Emmie. Asa was thrilled to get on his bike, but then he crashed, so he ended up back in the stroller too. It was crazy.
From the first bike ride on the Rio Grande rail trail to the last one-mile walk to Asa's new elementary school the Sunday before school started, it was a blast, and it was a challenge, and the kids rocked it. And we did it! Michelle commented on how she could see the kids' legs getting stronger, and I could definitely see them get more confident in going long distances. That's not to say there was no whining, because there was, but we all got to where a four-mile hike up the mountain just wasn't a big deal. Emmie spent most of the 75 miles in a bike stroller or a baby backpack, and she was a trooper.
The kids got to name all the activities. This one is named by Bryn "Thiefy hailey trip," which you read more about below.
Leah's artwork - each of our family members reacting to adventure.
Addison's comics
Here's the list of activities, as best as I can reconstruct. Then I'll write about a few highlights and low points:
1. Biking the rail trail in Clearfield (6 miles)
2. Hiking from Fernwood to a knoll we call Sandwiches for a picnic (3 miles)
3. Walking and scooting on the Hobbs Reservoir path (3 miles)
4. Sunday stroll around the neighborhood (1 mile)
5. Biking on the Kays Creek Trail (2 miles; aborted because we remembered the kids were late for piano lessons)
6. Hiking at Fernwood with Grandpa (2 miles)
7. Hiking below the rim at Bryce Canyon (2 miles; see our vacation post for these)
8. Hiking Angels Landing trail to Scout Lookout (5 miles)
9. Hiking to Observation Point (8 miles)
10. Walking to Weeping Rock and the Zion Nature Center (1 mile)
11. Walking around Zion Ponderosa Ranch (1 mile)
12. Walking in the hellscape of Coral Pink Sand Dunes (1 mile)
13. Disastrous bike trip on the Legacy Parkway trail (7 miles; see below)
14. Sunday stroll with Beck and Ben and kids and Bri and Mason (1 mile)
15. Fernwood hiking with Beck and Ben and kids (1 mile)
16. Hiking to the "car graveyard" in Farmington Canyon (2 miles; this one should have been awesome, but we were pooped or something, and the combination of elevation and no shade made everybody grumpy)
17. Hiking to the pond at Cedar Breaks (1 mile)
18. Bryn's Big Birthday Bike Ride at Legacy Parkway trail (10 miles; see below)
19. Walking and scooting on the Hobbs Reservoir path (2 miles)
20. Walking to church (1 mile)
21. Sunday stroll with some of Aaron's kids (1 mile)
22. Hiking Adams Canyon to the waterfall (4 miles; see below)
23. Biking Ogden River Parkway (8 miles)
24. Walking to church (1 mile)
25. Walking to Asa's new school (1 mile)
We had a neighbor who went with us on our last walk to document it, and he promised to take a nice family portrait this fall as a reward for accomplishing our goal.
Here are a couple memorable moments worth recording:
The Curse of the Legacy Parkway Trail
This bike trail starts at the Frontrunner station in Farmington and heads south next to the Legacy highway, past lovely farmland and creeks and over fun bridges. It should have been awesome both times we did it, but it was a disaster both times.Attempt #1, July 4
We set out in lovely weather, but soon the clouds had gathered and the wind picked up. We went our predetermined 3.5 miles and turned around, and before long, the rain started. Then the rain turned to hail and we were all getting pelted, including poor little Emmie who was being towed in the stroller behind my bike. I sprinted to the nearest overpass, which was thankfully only a couple hundred yards away, dropped the bike, and ran back to help the other kids. Unfortunately I hadn't pulled quite far enough in, and when I got back I realized Emmie was still getting pounded by hailstones.
After things cleared up, we pedaled the rest of the way back to the van. (I should put out as well that we don't have any sort of bike carrier, so any time we go on a family bike ride, we stuff most of the bikes and the stroller in the back of the van and the rest in the trunk of the Honda and we drive both cars to the trailhead.) I was the first person back to the van and I was confused to see a pile of glass under the passenger-side rear window. Then I realized the window was broken out, and I wondered if somehow someone had accidentally broken the window. Finally it dawned on us that someone had seen Michelle's purse through the window, broken the window, and stolen the purse! What followed was quite an ordeal of calling the police, haggling with insurance, canceling 4 credit cards and a checkbook, and the thief managing to charge and write checks for something like $1,500. Not a bad deal for them. In the end, we weren't on the hook to pay for any of the damages or the charges, but it's been a royal pain, with the last step of swearing affidavits about the check fraud occurring just yesterday.
Attempt #2, July 27
This one isn't quite as good of a story, but it all started when we got to the parking lot and realized Asa had forgotten his shoes. This time around, Michelle and I were running and the kids were biking (so we could train for our half marathon), and because Asa was despondent at the thought of having to ride in the stroller with Emmie instead of ride his bike, I told him I'd drive the 15 minutes back home, grab his shoes, drive back, and catch up with the group. So Michelle started out with all the kids (Emmie and Asa in the stroller with the bike on top of the stroller) and I raced home. When I got back I was now a solid 35 minutes behind, but I was booking it down the trail and was reasonably confident I could catch up by the halfway point at 5 miles.
Problem was, the trail was marked as closed with a detour at about mile 3. I figured it wasn't really closed, so I forged ahead. Until mile 4.5, when the trail really was closed, with no possible chance of bypassing it. So I ran back the other way toward the detour. But now I wasn't sure if Michelle had gone the other way and turned around and was now heading back to the car, or if she was still on the detour route. So I flagged down every biker I came across and asked if they'd seen a woman with so many children she didn't know what to do. No one had, but finally one dude offered to bike back and find them. He did so and we were finally reunited.
Michelle was understandably out of her mind at this point, so I let her run ahead while I took over pushing Emmie. Asa was thrilled to get on his bike, but then he crashed, so he ended up back in the stroller too. It was crazy.
The cause of all our problems
Adams Canyon to the Waterfall
Bryn put this down as a 2019 goal, but I wasn't sure we could hack it because it's a long trail, quite a lot of uphill, and some sketchy sections. But we started out, and the kids rocked it! They all helped each other, kept up good spirits, and we all felt a huge sense of accomplishment standing by the falls. This was a big moment for our family!
You guys rock. What an awesome summer!
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