Mr. Weatherman told me this past weekend was going to be gorgeous. When I heard 70 and sunny for Sunday, I decided to plan our entire weekend around it. Saturday I meal planned, grocery shopped, cleaned up and we all played in the yard so that Sunday we could go all out. And all out we went.
We ate breakfast at home, then loaded up the car to make the hour and half drive north to Stone Mountain State Park. We visited here a long time ago, about 7 years I’d guess, when Koda was a tiny puppy. It was her first camping trip and we loved the trails. However, the past few years babies have kept us busy and now that we are nearing the end of that phase, we decided it was time to return.
The weatherman didn’t lie. The day was phenomenal. David wore Hailey in the Kelty (that we had to dust off; it has been a while). I strapped Kaitlyn into the Ergo, first in front of me, but then switched her to the back pack position, where she was much happier.
We took the 4.5 mile loop trail (marked strenuous) backwards, meaning we tackled the steep and quick incline first. Man, our legs could feel it!
Koda had a ball, running ahead and running back, just plain giddy. Finally, we began to see signs of reaching the summit.
And man, did it feel like an accomplishment to finally make it to our picnic spot!
Subway and a short rest treated us right.
It might have taken us about 40 minutes to reach this point. We debated whether we should go for the entire loop or turn around. The perfect temperature dared me to say we should brave it, so we did. The trails on the other side were much more forgiving and leisurely.
I had no clue how the girls would handle the longer hike, but they were rock stars, content checking out all the great outdoors had to offer.
Taking the trail in reverse ended up being a brilliant idea, because about 2 hours in, just as the trip might have been starting to wear on us, we found the waterfall!
It was wonderful to walk beside the roaring sound of rushing water and let Koda splash in the pools at the bottom.
After that, we had almost completed the trail. We stopped to gawk at the rock climber (smack dab in the middle of the picture below) before finishing out the trail in about 3 hours total.
On the way home I asked Hailey her favorite part, expecting to hear about the views at the top or the waterfall, but she surprised me when she stated boldly that sticking her hands in the creek was by far the coolest part.
My favorite was obvious. My little family, all together, outside.
While I sometimes get emotional about how quickly the girls are growing, outings like this give me a sneak peek at the fun adventures that lie ahead and it excites me.
Thanks to daylight savings, we made it home with sunshine to spare and ate dinner out on the porch.
Hello spring. SO nice to see you!
Where is your favorite place to hike?
What is your favorite warmer weather activity?
Who is excited for longer days?!?!? Wheeee!!
John J. says
What a glorious pictorial presentation of a fun family time! We did our nature walk as well on the beach of Sawgrass at Ponte Verde. Nature and sunshine enrich the soul and tighten the torso!
Taca @ A Side Of Dessert says
I’m so glad to hear (..or read) that everyone is having such beautiful weather so far! We had warm temperatures yesterday too and enjoyed walks outside! Although to be honest, your hike looked much more glorious!
Lindsey @ Simply Lindsey says
Looks like such a pretty hike! My favorite hike is Crabtree Falls in Virginia!
Brittany Dixon says
Ohh I’ll have to google that! We hope to get more adventurous in our hiking choices as time goes by and I’d love to check out Virginia! Thanks 🙂
Lee says
We actually just bought a season pass to the Stone Mountain in Georgia! Yours looks nicer though.
Marnie @ SuperSmartMama says
We love hiking, too, and with all the mountains in Colorado, we’ve got our pick! Of course, we have to wait for our three-month-old to get a little bigger before we feel comfortable hiking with her for more than an hour in any of our baby carriers.
I can’t wait for spring to arrive in our part of the world!
Brittany Dixon says
Colorado is my happy place- lucky lady! It’s probably the state I’d love to live in the most! But at least I can hope to visit there sooner than later 🙂
Heather says
What a fun weekend! I’m so looking forward to warmer weather and outdoor activities! We have big plans for this summer and hope that we can take the kiddos camping this year and getting both kids over their water phobia so they can take swimming lessons. We don’t do much hiking here, but plenty of places to walk. We’re going to try and take a road trip home to Colorado, so maybe we’ll get to take the kids to the mountains then!
Brittany Dixon says
We’re hoping to attempt camping too this year! Honestly, I can’t picture how it will work, but I guess we’ll never know if we don’t just go for it, right?
Liv @ Healthy Liv says
Sunday was SUCH a beautiful day here in North Carolina! A family hike sounds like the perfect way to spend it. I’ve been to Stone Mountain Park in Georgia, but never actually the one here in North Carolina– it looks so beautiful though, so I may have to change that!
Kathy says
Oh what fun!!! Those great photos helped take us right along with you. 🙂
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers says
How fun! I didn’t even know there was a Stone Mtn Park in NC. We were really loving the warm weather this weekend though, that’s for sure!!
Maria says
What a gorgeous day and beautiful hike (and packing Subway sounds like a great idea – going to have to borrow that one!). We vow to ourselves that we’ll be the parents who take our kids hiking and on other adventures and keep living our lives. As you can imagine, our friends with babies like to mock and laugh at us. I’m so happy to see a family that DOES make it happen though 🙂 High fives!
Brittany Dixon says
We vowed to be those parents too! And yes, it’s harder to be spontaneous and it takes effort but we are really trying to make it happen. Half our conversation during the hike revolved that topic actually- how we are going to put more effort into going on adventures. We want to travel and want the girls to have so many experiences, so it’s up to us to make it happen. You’ll be able to do it with your adventurous spirit, I have NO doubt!!
Kara says
This looks so awesome! I’ve lived in NC for over 5 years, but am just now starting to take advantage of the awesome parks. I’ll definitely have to add this to the list.
Kate says
I spent my Sunday afternoon at Crowder’s Mountain State Park- have you been there yet? I saw a few babies up on the top of the mountain and lots of dogs! It was the perfect day. Thanks for introducing me to another beautiful spot nearby.
Brittany Dixon says
Yes, we used to love Crowder’s when we lived right in Charlotte! It’s a great hike, though it tends to get a little crowded on the nice days. Have you been to the White Water Center? It’s so much fun too!
Amy @ Elephant Eats says
Wow, what a fun day! We just got a hiking backpack given to us by someone who doesn’t need it anymore and we can’t wait to take our babe along! Can any Ergo get turned into a back position or do you need a special model? I’m suuuuuper jealous of that gorgeous screened in porch you’ve got. How awesome 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Oh wow, what a great gift!! Oh, and any ergo can be a back pack! I wore Hailey in a backback for the longest time… I even did it again a few months ago! I love the ergo 🙂
Dorothy says
This weekend & this post made me SO happy! I just bought a backpack carrier for my husband for his birthday and gave it to him yesterday. We can’t wait to take our 8 month old for hikes and walks and out rock climbing with us! We almost reached the 50s here in the Midwest and I look forward to those 70* days ahead!
Jen says
That looks like so much fun!
Although we walk often, I have only been hiking once or twice since Amelia’s birth! Since she’ll be a year old in May, I hope this summer we head out more often. Before she was here we liked to hike Looking Glass Rock, which is amazing, but might be too much of a climb with a baby. Since we’re in the mountains, everything is uphill!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
What a perfect way to spend a weekend with great weather! It looks like everyone had fun 🙂 I’m curious what Koda thought of the deer. We have a lot near my parents’ house and they always stare at my dogs with the weirdest looks. It’s as if they know they are similar, but different all at the same time 😉
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I love seeing Koda bouncing around, looking all like her old spunky self. 🙂 The girls look like they had fun too. C’mon Spring!!
Rachel says
I meant to comment on this yesterday and then completely forgot.. we LOVE Stone Mountain!! My fiance’s parents have a neighbor who has a cabin on the mountain across from Stone Mountain, and we’ve gone twice in the past year. We hike Stone Mountain when we go and I can’t believe you did it with children on your back. I can barely make it up myself lol. It looks really nice, now I’m itching to go back.
Julia @ LordStillLovesMe says
You did a 4.5 mile hike with kiddos strapped to your backs? I am IMPRESSED! I went to Yosemite with my parents two summers ago, and I was astounded at the amount of parents that were hiking with kids! I was tired enough doing it without any added weight. What a perfect way to combine healthy exercise and family bonding.