I was absolutely determined this year to start hiking again. We live so close to the wilderness, to these great riches, and yet, aside from our annual camping trip to Mt. Rainer, I don't think I've been out of the city since the kids were born. I had no desire to be a backpacking mamma, and carry my baby on my back; my back can't handle it. That's part of the reason I haven't gotten my act together, that and inertia.

The bad start: I was chatting with a jazzercise friend, and she recommended a hike that she'd taken recently with her same age kids. You parked at Rattlesnake lake and then hiked to a waterfall, hiked two miles up 1,200 feet elevation gain. I was all set to leave Mom and David at the lake while Rose and I hiked, until Mom talked some sense into me. David was not going to want to stay with her while Rose and I went on an adventure. Rose, and probably I, were going to be mighty challenged by that hike.

The good start: So, Mom and I brainstormed, and I remembered a hike we had all done when I was sixteen. We had taken our wonderful French exchange student to Franklin Falls. It's an easy hike, just one mile to the waterfall and minor elevation gain. I remember scampering down the trail with Emmanuelle and my sister. I even kept a picture from that hike on my bulletin board at college.

The mistakes:

We left at 10:30 getting us to the trailhead at noon and then we didn't eat lunch right away.
I forgot to tell Rose to wear sneakers, so she hiked in purple plastic crocs.
I did not bring enough water or extra water back in the car.
I did not plan enough activities for the hour long car ride, so there was more whining than necessary.
I brought extra clothes and left them in the car, so when Rose and David played in the streams and slipped in the streams and got themselves soaked in the streams, I had to produce a convoluted solution.
I did not even think to bring a first aid kit. One mile, what's one mile?

The highlights:
None of the mistakes were deal breakers. Rose managed to hike just fine in her crocs. The trail is extremely well maintained. We made it on the water we had. After the dip in the water, Rose wore Mom's pants, Mom wore my pants, and I hiked in shorts. Mom thought to bring a first aid kit.
Mom brought hiking sticks that the kids adored. Every few feet David had to poke the tip into a rotting log or some loose rocks. Amazingly, he did not whack anyone with it.
The kids loved exploring the wilderness. We literally couldn't walk two feet without them exclaiming over logs that had fallen in an X shape, orange and yellow mushrooms, and the myriad bridges over mud patches.
We all were physically capable of doing this hike.