Hiking (a Bit of) the Napali Coast

A few months back, I wrote about how I was dreaming of Kaui. I was taking my son there for his first visit, and I wanted to hike the Kalalau trail of the Napali Coast with him. I knew there were going to be some challenges in taking a child out for that hike. It’s strenuous, slippery, and along some steep cliffs.

But I’m a determined sort of woman-on most days-so I took him anyway.

We hiked it in the safest way possible. That is, we only hiked for about an hour. The first part of the trail was rocky and slippery. My son had an easier time of it than I did. The fact that I was hiking in my flip-flops probably didn’t help, but I will go to the ends of the earth with my flip-flops on. It was also very, very windy that day. So my son’s hat flew off the side of the trail. Neither my sister, nor I, felt like we were trail-savvy enough to hike down the side of the cliff to get the hat. So we gave it up as lost.

We stopped for a bit to watch the pod of dolphins leaping out of the water below. I don’t know if I will ever forget the sight of those dolphins, in the waters of the Napali coast, sparkling under the morning sun. Actually, I know I won’t forget sharing that experience with my son.

After the long climb up, we made it to a level part of the trail. Here is where you get your first sweeping glimpse of the Napali Coast. We took our pictures, took in the views, and got my son’s hat delivered to us via two young hikers. I’m so glad that there were two more sprightly individuals hiking the trail behind us, or my son wouldn’t have gotten his favorite hat back. We saw one other family hiking the trail with younger children, but most of the other hikers were the young, extreme adventure sort of people. They actually had on real hiking shoes, and passed us by like we were the old station wagon holding them up on the highway. We got back on the trail, attempted to swing on some vines like Tarzan, and made it back to Ke’e beach in time for a midmorning nap.

Here are my tips for hiking the Kalalau trail:

1. I cannot stress how important it is to go before 9 in the morning, mostly because the parking area for the Kalalau trail is very small. You don’t want to have to do any extra hiking from the overflow parking.

2. Don’t wear flip flops (a.k.a. as slippers in Hawaii) unless you have undergone years of special training.

3. Don’t give your child anything to hold, that you will miss if it slips out of his hand and down the side of the cliff. This rule also applies to loose-fitting hats.

4. This trail is not for toddlers or most preschoolers. You will drive yourself nuts telling them to be careful to not slip off the side of the trail.

5. Be prepared for your child to act as if he’s the adventurer in a scene from a movie. He will be truly impressed and unlikely to ever forget hiking that trail with you. Hopefully, he’ll remember it when you argue with him over curfew in his teenage years.

I’m linking up to the original Monday dreamer, Mother of All Trips. Go check out all the other dreamy posts.

Family Travel Tips
Hanalei

Extreme Wildlife Encounter at Donner Lake

We go to Donner Lake on an almost monthly basis, but we’re still always trying and seeing new things. On our Labor Day trip, we decided to take a pedal boat tour of the lake.

We weren’t the only ones saying goodbye to summer that day, the local beavers were also out working on their winter lodges. They swam back and forth, oblivious to the many tourists pedaling and rowing by in their rented plastic boats. We pedaled on, through their swim path, and found ourselves a foot away from one of the busy beavers. He swam under our boat and splashed water at us with his tail. I’m not an animal behavior expert, but my take was that this particular beaver was a tad bit annoyed with us. My friend Simone, an amateur animal behavior expert, did say that beaver do big splashes to warn of big danger. We were big danger that day.

I didn’t bring any of my electronic photographic devices that day, but my mom was with my sister in the pedal boat behind us and accidentally got a bit of video of our splashy beaver friend. Don’t blink, or you will miss the beaver in his five-second video appearance.

Cool Kids’ Calendar Planner

All the cool kids know how important it is to keep our beaches clean. They also know about what happens to all those little bits of plastic if they float out to sea: they become the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. One of the best ways to stop this floating garbage patch from growing is to keep our coast and waterways clean.

This Saturday, September 19 is the California Coastal Cleanup Day. Find a drop-in location near you and make it a beach day this Saturday. We got some cleaning up to do.

My Kid’s Picks: Best of Yosemite

I may be a guidebook enthusiast, but my recent trip to Yosemite National Park tested the limits of those little books. The reality is that some of the kid-friendly places I had in our itinerary were probably the ones my son found the least interesting or memorable. Kids don’t write the guidebooks, but they can help their moms write blog entries. For this post, I’m letting my seven-year old expert give a list of his favorite things to do in Yosemite and I’ll write my thoughts on those places. Besides, I had to think of something for him to do while he hovered over me and my laptop.

1. The Waterfalls: Since it was Spring, there were waterfalls tumbling down every bit of granite in the valley. The trail to lower Yosemite Falls was quiet when we did it early in the morning. My son loved the mist and wind at the bottom of the falls. Next time, we just may try hiking a bit further along to the upper falls.

2. Hiking to Vernal Falls: This is the trail that begins just outside the Happy Isles Nature Center. The center has some interesting exhibits, but it’s small. We got through it in about five minutes. If we had gotten there for one of the ranger walks, or we had actually done some of the Junior Ranger activities, we could have spent more time at Happy Isles. We didn’t, so we had plenty of time to hike to Vernal Falls. It was a crowded, paved trail with great views and some steep inclines. As I huffed and puffed up the trail, I thought it was amusing that this was supposedly not the steepest part of the trail. I read in my guidebook, that the hardest part of the trail is past Vernal Falls. Next time, we’ll keep hiking up that part the trail called Mist Trail. I’m going to need some cardio-training.

3. El Capitan: I’m not sure why this made the list, but I suppose it has to do with the fact that my son loves rocks. This is one big rock.

4. The Fuzzy Caterpillar: Ah, you never know when you’ll run into wildlife. We hope this little guy made it to the other side of the bike trail.

5. The Village Store: This is the place to go for all of your kitschy Yosemite souvenirs and ice cream bars. Enough said.

Things To Do
Yosemite National Park

Today’s Tip: Be a Camping Pro, or Just Look Like One

Even if you’ve never been camping before, or your last camping trip is a distant memory, you can still plan a great family camping trip. I’ve made a handy list to help any of you camping newbies who are hesitant to embark on a camping adventure with kids. I’m not going to pretend camping is easy, but with a bit of planning and practice, you can take your kids out for a night under the starry skies. Read on, campers.

1. Camp close to home. I have found that when you camp with young kids it’s less stressful to keep the travel distances short. On our last trip, we drove for one short, blissful hour to our favorite campground by the beach. At this campground, I struck up a conversation with another mom in the bathroom who admitted that her family had only traveled forty minutes from their home. As she wisely put it: “It’s nice to know that if something happens, you can just go home.” We all hope that nothing will happen when we’re traveling with kids, but experience teaches us that the possibilities are endless: fever, poison-oak, or just plain ol’ anxiety. It’s good to know you have a quick escape route.

2. Pick your campground wisely. If you are a newcomer to the world of tent camping, then you will want to consider the campground’s amenities. Basically, you will want running water, showers, and a spot you can pull your car into. It may also be easier to camp somewhere without any bears, in other words, stay away from the mountains. There are beautiful campgrounds in those places, but you do have to work a bit harder to bear-proof everything. If you’re a beginner camper, you may not be ready for the additional hassle. Check out my list of great campgrounds along the coast of California.

3. Get to know your gear. I say this with love, because I’ve made this mistake: practice putting up your new tent at home. When you’re with young kids, you don’t have the luxury of swearing and ranting as you throw tent poles around. If you do practice putting up your tent at home, don’t forget to put everything back in the bag. Again, I speak from experience.

4. Lists are your friend. You will need to make a list and check it twice. Even then, you will probably forget something. That’s why you chose a campground near some sort of market, because it’s good to know you can run to town to get batteries, marshmallows, or ice.

5. Keep the menu simple. This is not the time to plan five-course dinners, but you don’t have to eat canned soup for three days. If you do want at least one fancy meal, you could prep some of the ingredients at home. Maybe you want to make stew, so just precut the veggies ahead of time. You can also bake muffins or other baked goodies, and feel like Martha Stewart when you unveil them at the campsite. But since you’re not going to Camp Martha, remember that kids love sandwiches, hot dogs, and spaghetti.

6. Timing is everything. It’s easier to plan for a camping trip that’s three nights or less. You will have to take less food, less firewood, and less pairs of socks. Our magic number is usually 3 days and 2 nights. It’s just enough to get a taste of the camping good life, but not so long that your kids will need any serious bathing. If you’ve ever tried to bathe a toddler in a coin-operated shower, you know that the less times you actually have to experience this, the better.

I’m still finding new tricks for doing things better every time I go on a camping trip, so I’ll keep updating list. If you have any great tips, please do share in the comments below.

When Your Child is Afraid of the Big, Bad Mountain Lion

Like all proud parents, I was just thrilled to pieces when my son learned to read. Then I quickly discovered that my little, independent reader was going to read EVERYTHING, and suddenly I couldn’t hide some inconvenient truths.

This became evident while on a hike of Fern Canyon in Van Damme State Park. I was treated to my kindergartner’s anxiety attack when he read a trail sign that said, Warning: Mountain Lions. These warning signs are posted on almost every trail in California, and although a bit ominous, they are intended to keep hikers alert. Some will give you useful tips on what to do if you encounter a mountain lion, such as:

1. Keep children close to you. Mountain Lions are especially drawn to small children.
2. Do all you can do to appear larger. Shout or make a lot of noise.
3. Do not crouch or bend over.

While I was aware of how to handle a possible mountain lion encounter, I had not shared that knowledge with my five-year-old. So when he read all the useful information on the sign, he flipped out. That’s putting it mildly. I tried to reassure him. I told him we were taking the precautions: we were hiking in a group, he was staying close to me, and we were making some noise. 

That’s when he started to sing and shout his little lungs out. Our peaceful hike through the magical Fern Canyon, had turned into an episode of American Idol. If you look at this picture, you will see my adorable son demonstrating how to keep any mountain lions, squirrels, birds, or deer away. But if you look even closer, you will notice that behind my smile, is a look of quiet exasperation.

Our hike that day, was cut short. But we all learned a valuable lesson. I had some discussions with my son about mountain lions, and other safety precautions for the great outdoors. I still wrestle with teaching him wilderness safety, while not increasing his anxiety. I want him to enjoy being out in nature, and not see it as a scary place. 

I don’t want him to think the big, bad wolf is hiding behind every tree. Now I know how Little Red Riding Hood’s mom felt.

The Cool Kids’ Event Calendar: Get Outdoors

 

 

What are the cool kids doing this week? Hopefully they’re getting out with their wild selves, to learn about nature.

• At this site you will find a year-long calendar for family events at California State Park, and some in Oregon as well. Coming up is Duck Days in San Diego and the Mendocino Whale Festival. Remember Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is a great place to go for whale festival events.
• If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, check out the schedule of events for the Golden Gate Recreational Area. 
• If you live in southern California, check out the winter schedule of events for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Coming up on Saturday, March 7 is a Fun With Nature program for kids at Malibu Creek State Park.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for a special event to get outdoors. Just go.