Hiking Medway Valley Heritage Forest

In the first summer of the pandemic we redecorated our TV room. In the process of this venture, we bought some local photography to affix to the wall. We were both excited about these autumn photos taken by an Ontario photographer in a forest near London Ontario. (I'm currently looking for the link to his Instagram to post here).

This past long weekend we decided to take a short retreat away to Port Stanley. Since Port Stanley is a significantly closer road trip to the Forest from our wall art, we picked the warmest day we had (a balmy 8 degrees) to go and hike Medway Valley Heritage Forest.

There is free parking at the entrance to the forest and enough spaces for about 5 cars. Since the trailhead is located in a residential neighbourhood, if the lot was full you could probably find street parking.

This is a well carved out loop that is an easy to moderate 2-3KM hike (the moderate was only because of the slippery mud). The major challenge this time of year was that the mud made some of the hills slippery and mucky. 

While we weren't given bright fall colours on this early spring hike, the signs of warmer weather and bright colours were hard to miss.

Along the way we found a fort that someone had built in the forest. Jack named it "Castle Byers" as inspired by Stranger Things.

A section of the trail takes you alongside the river. It was a relatively quite day where we only stumbled upon two other groups of hikers and one person in waders fishing in the river.

A failed attempt to skip stones. We couldn't find many rocks that were the right shape.

As for wildlife spotting, our best find was this active woodpecker Molly managed to snap a photo of.

While we weren't wowed by fall colours on this hike or any other spectacular views it was a nice way to break our hiking shoes back in for spring. Early spring hikes are great because the bugs aren't out yet! As a free hike that is only 2-3KM I encourage anyone who is in the area to check it out. We hiked for about 40 minutes and this is a nice, easy, short hike for kids. That being said, it's not going to make my top 10 list, despite being the source of beautiful art in my house. Stay tuned for more hiking adventures later this spring!

10 Lessons From a Decade of Hiking with Kids

In the time before kids we'd spend many a weekend going for 10-14KM hikes with our friends. The spring and summer that I was pregnant with twins, that went on the back burner. Hikes with babies and toddlers were quite a bit shorter, timed for naps, and involved a baby strapped to each of our chests.

When the kids reached three to four we graduated to 2-3KM hikes without carriers, and by the time they were seven or eight we graduated to 3-5KM but never got anywhere near our pre-kid hiking adventures.

This past year we've turned a corner. We have been hiking more during COVID and our once upon a time 10 degree minimum temperature rule has been thrown out. We bought thermal socks and underwear and sucked it up. Hiking has been a good release and fun way to stay active. The kids rarely complain about a hike until we hit six or seven KM and I'm loving all of it.

While I'm happy to push all of us to the next level, longer, pre-kid level hikes, I understand that I need to balance this want to keep everyone happy.  Hiking with the family for years now has been a good reminder about making this activity an experience that all of us can enjoy, and I'm trying to stay good to my word, even though I'd love to start to tackle the long, long, hikes again. 

Hiking at Lynn Canyon in BC circa 2016

10 Important Lessons from a Decade of Hiking with Kids

1. Stop and let them climb that stump, tree, or rock
Hikes aren't about making the best time, they're about enjoying nature.

2. Teach your kids to keep their eyes to the ground, particularly on hikes with lots of rocks and tree roots
This will prevent tripping and allow them to find more wild life. We've seen plenty of frogs, turtles, snakes, slugs, and caterpillars thanks to little eyes on the path.

3. It's all about the snacks

Our kids love nuts, jerky, apple sauce tubes, crackers, and favourite fruit to nosh on when we stop at look outs. Stopping for snacks in 10 minutes can be a good motivator to get tired kids further along the trail.  Remember it's also about the water. There is nothing worse than running out of water, particularly when a hike lasts longer than you expect. Kids also backwash and no adult wants to have to drink that water, so bring your own bottles.

The early days of baby hiking

4. Play it looks like & get Counting

Rocks, trees, clouds, can all look like other things. Embrace the pareidolia and see who can find a face or an animal in something we come across on one of our adventure. We also like to count on our hikes. Sometimes it's types of birds or flowers we see, other times it's the total number of creatures we see. During some hikes we take bets and see who is closest. 

5. Practice Calculated Risk Taking

Let your kids climb like billy goats, jump over a crack (supervised) and teach them how to stay back from overlooks and obeying the signs around them. They get so proud when they climb down a giant rock or make it across a pond and I get proud of us grown ups for trying it too.

6. Nothing Beats a Post Hike Nap

I learned this before I had the kids. But I love the physical exhaustion naps that come after a long hike. I enjoy mine at home, while the kids usually have theirs in the car on the way home.

Molly being a bridge on a bridge at Rattray Marsh Last Year

7. Distraction is King

When it's buggy, you make a wrong turn, or it's rainy and miserable, you need to keep them distracted. Sometimes we tell stories, other times we play the alphabet game (Name Disney characters whose name starts with A,B,C, D until you make it all the way through the alphabet).

8. Let Them Share Their Enthusiasm

If you're on a hike and see something cool, tell other hikers as you pass them. They'll keep their eyes out and it helps build on the camraderie of the the hiking community.

9. Get Them Involved in the Planning Process
Find out which hikes your kids like best and why and plan more that meet that criteria, whether it's hikes with birds, waterfalls or caves. Let them know what excites you too.

10. Stop & Smell the Roses & They'll learn to do the Same

Last summer we went on a hike where there was an awesome waterfall. I wanted to swim in the bottom and no one else was interested, but I went ahead and did it anyway. The kids still talk about that time mom swam under a waterfall. This way when they want to stay at an outlook a few minutes longer or try something the rest of us don't, they won't let it stop them.

Happy Trails everyone! Remember, take only photos, leave only footsteps!

Hiking Murphy's Point Provincial Park

One of my favourite things about Instagram is the hiking ideas it gives me.  When I realized that Murphy's Point, a provincial park I discovered thanks to Narcity, near(ish) to Ottawa would make a great break on along driving day I was set.

When we go on road trips we try to find something fun and active to do every two to three hours (particularly on long driving days) and Murphy's Point was perfect.

Murphy's Point used to be an old mining community.  For $15.50 we bought a day pass for our family to the park (and because it was the weekend in the summer) our entry included actors in period clothes 'working' in the mine along our 2.5 km hike to explain about the area when it was a mine.  All of the ground along the hiking path is sparkled thanks to the Mica mined in the area.

 Taking the path to past entry points of the mine (Our handy hard hats were provided for us to borrow from Murphy's Point for our journey)

Heading into the depths of the mines.  This was the most challenging part of the hike.

Exploring the depths of the cave can be slippery and cool.  I'd recommend wearing running shoes even though we saw a number of people in sandals.

Learning how rocks were drilled, broken down, and removed from the mine for processing.  Kids started working in the mine as young as 14.  Before a 15 horsepower machine was used in this mine, a single horse would need to help miners haul giant tubs of rock out of the mine.

Back at the bunkhouse Molly rings the bell to let the miners know that it's time to go in for lunch. 

Murphy's Point Provincial Park participates in a program to help protect, tag, and track local wildlife, including snakes.  This gray rat snake was about a metre long and was found at the park.  He was brought in to be tagged so the next time they see him they can scan him and track his growth.  He should grow up to be about 2 metres long.

The park was a perfect break where we spent about an hour and a half of the day.  I'd recommend calling or emailing in advance to schedule your trip for when the actors are working and the mine is running because we learned so much.  People who want to stay longer and explore other trails can camp at the park in the summer.  There are grassy spots to picnic all over the park.  They also sell rocks which can make a perfect souvenir.  Jack bought a piece of Mica for $1 and Molly bought a quartz crystal for $3.  The park is just over an hour away from Ottawa city Centre and just over three hours east of Toronto depending on the traffic.  

If you have any hiking recommendations please share!  We'd love to try them out.

Walk of Life - Hiking the Elora Gorge

One of my 101 in 1001 'bucket list' goals for the next couple of years included hiking the Elora Gorge.  This past weekend we gave it a shot before the heat wave we're experiencing took full effect. In planning our summer vacation time, we wanted to see how well Chris's back would hold up before figuring out which trails to hike in the Catskill Mountains. While the hike didn't feel like much at the time, I must admit my hamstrings have been feeling it for days now, which means maybe it's time to work even more hiking into my workout schedule. 

The kids had a blast exploring, although Jack wasn't a fan of the bugs or 'getting sweaty' but that's nothing proper timing and some decent bug spray can't fix.  The paths are very well groomed and there are a lot of stairs so you don't need to worry too much about the steep inclines.  In the summer months they have a launch spot and rentals for a lazy river for anyone who wants to explore that.  I think we're going to wait until Molly and Jack have passed another swimming level or two before we give that one a go.  The cost was $20 for the four of us, which seemed like a bargain for the views.

Here are some of our best photos from our trip to help inspire some of your hiking, vitamin nature loving wanderlust.

Walking along the water edge

Looking for fossils in the rocks

Checking out the Caves

To look at photos from our 2017 Algonquin hiking click here

To check out my progress on my 101 in 1001 goals click here

Happy Wanderer - Hiking at Ball's Falls

Crisp air, cool mornings, and fall colours have us motivated to get outside and enjoy nature with Molly and Jack.   I'm still wistful with memories of pre-children days when weekends included lengthy, challenging hikes, followed by even lengthier afternoon naps.  The minions can now handle an hour to hour and a half hike alongside us, particularly if we bring snacks.

This weekend we set our sights on Balls Falls, located near Beamsville (between Hamilton and St. Catharines) to enjoy the fall colours, some exercise, and each other.  We probably should have researched our path a little more, and the weekend, as it ended up being the Thanksgiving Festival, which meant our hour and ten minute drive there was more like a two hour journey.  However, it also meant we could bribe the minions with promises of hot dogs and time shooting down the inflatable slide after they slugged it out on the hike along the Bruce Trail.  Cost of entry was $6 for adults and free for kids.

The skyline from our journey into the Conservation area

Our  pathway

The creepy tree Chris named the Stranger Things Portal to "the Upside Down"

Our hike was great, not too many people at the festival were interested in the paths along the Bruce Trail, so we had the space to ourselves.  Since the section of the trail we were on didn't have loops we ended walking out for around 35-40 minutes and then turning around to ensure the kids wouldn't get too tired.  

Following the leader, Molly always wants to be at the front of the crowd

There are spectacular views here, especially as the fall colours come out.  Be warned that people with kids need to be particularly careful since there are numerous big drops and cliffs along this trail.  We ended up playing a few games of red light/ green light on the hike to ensure Molly didn't get too far ahead.

Plenty of logs to use as balance beams

Balancing together

In a week or two these colours are going to be brighter and better, and it will be a much shorter journey from Toronto, since there won't be any festivals in town.  Hikers be warned, this was a really dry summer, if you're hoping to catch a flowing waterfall, this isn't the place to go.  The falls are non-existent right now, but the changing leaves are spectacular.  I'd come back here again, probably in the spring when there is hopefully some movement on the waterfall.  Stay tuned for more fall pictures and hikes!

The still waters at the top of Ball's Falls

To get access to the newest posts from Multiple Momstrosity and more on Facebook click here and follow today

Follow Multiple Momstrosity on Twitter @Sarabethbug

The Cave - 10 Tips for Exploring The Scenic Caves Collingwood

Our family is pretty big on making memories above acquiring stuff, especially when it comes to spending time with the minions. After Molly spent a lot of time talking about animal habitats, and the kids had proved themselves capable of tackling some lengthier and more challenging hikes we thought it might be a good idea to explore the Scenic Caves in Collingwood Ontario.

Our family had a great time exploring the caves and both kids felt like real adventurers!

Jack & Dad Explore a Cave 

Here are 10 tips to help you make the most of your trip to the caves.

1. Get some coupons from online to save you some money on admission. (We were able to save $4.00 per person with the coupons Grandpa Jim was able to find on line, this adds up quickly when there are four people in your family).

2. Wear your best treaded running shoes or hiking shoes.  They won't even let you in the park if you're not wearing appropriate footwear.

Molly enjoys a pre-lunch climb

3. Take advantage of in and out privileges by bringing a picnic to enjoy before or after your hike.  It will save you some cash, plus there are great picnic areas right next to the children's playground.

Molly makes her way out of a narrow cave exploration

4. Wait until your kids are old enough to handle the hike.  Molly and Jack were the youngest kids on the caves trail by about two to three years, but they totally rocked it (you can groan, that pun was intended).  This is not an easy hike, there are a lot of steep climbs up and down over slippery rocks.  This summer was the absolute earliest they could've handled this hike, which took us about an hour and a half total.

Taking a much needed rest on a rock

5. Bring plenty of water on the trail.  We didn't bring enough, it was a very hot day and there is nowhere (until you get back to the entrance to purchase additional drinks) and unfortunately the heat really took it's toll on Molly by the end of the day!

6. Wear a lot of sunscreen. Molly has started to say, "The sun sneaks up on you!" and this four and a half year old is right, just because it seems shady under the cover of trees and rocks doesn't mean that you won't get some sun.

Molly and dad on the suspension bridge

7. Check out the suspension bridge too!  After the caves we took a brief break and then hopped on the Scenic Caves "bus" over to the suspension bridge where we were able to check out a great view, and then frogs on the other side.

Lookout 

We met Tree Beard along our Journey

8. Go fairly early in the day and check the weather ahead, this would not be a fun hike on wet rocks.  The park won't let you in two hours before they close, make sure you get your money's worth by giving yourself four to six hours to explore.


9. Don't forget to feed the fish (they're giant) and pretty neat (fish food is available for sale).  Or if you're Jack you can feed the seagulls.

10. Bring your sense of adventure!  Molly and Jack were convinced there might be buried treasure or faeries in the caves, which made our visit all the more fun!


This activity was well worth the admission price (22.57 for adults and 18.58 for kids 3-17, plus tax) especially if you use some coupons and make a day of it.  Jack's favourite activity was chasing/feeding the seagulls whereas Molly liked exploring the narrow cave and the one that was cold like a fridge.  I'd definitely return again in a few years, probably on a slightly cooler day!

To get access to the newest posts from Multiple Momstrosity and more on Facebook click here and follow today

Follow Multiple Momstrosity on Twitter @Sarabethbug 

Floridays

One of our warm weather go-tos is hiking with the children.  Since we were on vacation in Florida last week we decided that it was a great chance to stretch their billy goat legs.  After all, if Major League Baseball players were called for spring training last week, why shouldn't we?

Here are some photos, thoughts and memories I wanted to share from our hike in Myakka River State Park, in Sarasota Florida. I hope you enjoy the pics and can use some of the ideas to inspire and explore in your own city or Myakka River State Park if you ever find yourself in Sarasota.

We chose a fairly short, easy, looped trail that featured a tree-top canopy walkway that overlooks the park.  The hike total is only 1.28KMS (or .80 of a mile for the non-metric folks).  The cost to get into the park was $6 US per carload and well worth it.

Miss Molly enjoys hiking the path.

When we finally made it to the top of the look-out, Jack got really angry because he wanted to do the Hot Dog Dance from Mickey Mouse Club House (an ongoing theme in his toddler hood) and lay down on the wooded platform.  Other hikers giggled as Chris commented that no one was stopping him from dancing and this may in fact be the most random tantrum that the boy has ever pitched.  Jackie was strapped into the hiking carrier moments later.

 The way down from the lookout.

Jack and Grandpa on the canopy bridge.

Molly by the pond where there were gators.  No gators were enticed while we were at the park (to my knowledge).

The park also has a picnic area, gift shop and food available for purchase.  My suggestion is to pack your own lunch as the food is at a premium price.  The park also has boat tours for those who are interested.  After Jack's "performance" on the bus at African Lion Safari last summer we thought we'd skip it.

To get access to the newest posts from Multiple Momstrosity and more on Facebook click here and follow today!