Rock geometry

We decided to take advantage of our local bush this weekend and take the girls on a longer hike (I mean for little feet). Even though it can sometimes be more of an exercise in patience, storytelling, and cajoling we still feel it is worth it in the end. It is good to get kids outdoors and active and I don't really feel like every second of an outing has to be fun. Humans are made to walk so it is a good skill to develop while young. Blabbering aside, we chose a 9 km trail that meandered its way up to a supposedly square rock and a nice view. Too bad we were all such eager beavers and didn't pay close enough attention to the trail signs. It took us a few kilometres to realize that the reason none of the trails were on our map and none of the trail names were our trail's name was because we had gone on the wrong trail. Back we went. 

After an hour and a half of walking the kids were happy to see the car park and ready to call it quits. We had already gone on a hike after all. Well even us adults questioned the merit of starting all over. But after a soliloquy about learning from mistakes and never giving up, and the necessary doling out of candy for children who kept walking, we headed for the actual Square Rock trail. The sugar ran out fairly quickly and the sugar high was disappointingly short, but plough on we did. Aurora and her friend quickly disappeared to chat-walk undisturbed, while the rest of us loped along from stone to stone uncovering tales of imaginary creatures and stopped frequently enough to view each tree from every angle. 

Two kilometres into the trail we stopped for lunch. I guess two kilometres in is an odd place for a meal as a couple conversed with us with sympathy and doubt and tried to clearly impart the message that we were nowhere near the end. But we kept going and going like a swimmer who forgets that he is going straight out to sea. The end point is usually the best part of an out and back hike. The kids were tired but also curious to find out if the rock was really square.

I would say it was square. We all thought it was worth the trek, worth the view, worth the whining. Aurora's friend asked if she could come back the next day. And then we had to do it all again but with really tired and slightly cranky children. It was slow but not too bad. The kids all did remarkably well especially considering they walked around 13 kilometres over seven hours (the most four out of the seven kids had ever walked). 

Tova's taste in hiking clothes makes us wonder what she'll wear to prom

The girls chose an ultra-safe pose to admire the clifftop scenery

Lunch break!