Hiking With Kids: John Rock Trail

Last week there was a funk permeating our home.

The reasons were multiple and included but were not limited to strep throat for one, an infection for another, a handful of extra editing deadlines for me and a schedule with a bit too much Go and not enough Stay.

Midweek we had a little Family Meeting (complete with The Rolling Pin That Allows The Holder To Speak) and we refocused our efforts, made a list of what we could Say No to, added in a Family Night of movies and pillows and pasta fagiole and we all left the table feeling a bit more hopeful with the promise of a restful weekend and a shorter to-do list in the following weeks.

And then we did something as equally freeing as clearing our schedule and saying no.

We took a hike.

Oh my goodness, guys.

We hit the trail with some dear friends and the day just could not have been more ideal.

How can I so easily forget what I know to be true?

There’s this incredible balm that being Out of Doors creates.

It’s a magic all of its own and I’m not exaggerating its abilities to revive and refresh, restore and breathe hope into a hopeless heart.

The sun was shining – but not too strong.

See that rock face behind the kids – above their heads?  (It looks so much more daunting in the real life.)

We hiked up across that and back around.  The trail was pretty fantastic – so much variety and natural change on one five-mile loop.  (I love a loop, by the way.  I don’t like traveling the same trail twice on one hike.)

There were streams to cross and rocks to hop along and gigantic pine trees to stand under and feel the awe of being small in a big world.

Lunch was served with a view and there was no reason not to start a little fire while we ate, so we did.  (Berg was stoked to have his tiny box of tinder stashed in his backpack.)

I think he had been waiting for another key moment on the trail too.

We both looked down and saw this really neatly shaped tree root that resembled a bird.  He said, “I wish I could cut that out of there.”

I agreed.  “Yeah – your hatchet would be perfect for that, wouldn’t it?”

He grinned.

It was the cue he had been waiting for apparently.

In a blink he unzipped his backpack and reached in, pulled out his hatchet that had been resting patiently upon his back this entire hike, and chopped the little root right off with the best kind of satisfaction a ten year old boy with a hatchet at his disposal could have.

I loved being alive right then, right there, in the Pisgah Forest, with that kid.

We’ve made it a goal this year to hike more regularly and so far we are on track.  I love all The Good and all The Hard things hiking does for our family.

Fabulous stories.  (Remember that time it rained so hard but we hiked anyway?  At the end of the hike, remember the animal track we found?  Man, that hike was sooo long we thought we might not ever find civilization.  That one hike where we burned Riley’s shoes but she had to wear them the entire trail anyway?)

Bonding.  (I’ll carry you for a little bit.  Here – let me share your backpack for a while.  Want some blueberries?  I brought extra.  This is a tough trail – I think you’re doing a great job.  Hey, look what we did together.)

Time.  (There’s nowhere to go, but straight on.  There’s nothing to do, but to talk.  Old stories are shared.  New ideas are announced.  Memories are discussed.  Silence is sweet.)

Restoration.  (You can breathe clear air with deep gulps.  Sunshine stacks up that Vitamin D.  Your brain fog lifts right up and floats off of you like the mist and the spray coming from the splashing river.  Cell phones don’t work and you are officially off the grid.)

A Challenge.  (There is something to overcome.  There’s a start and a finish and you need to make it from one to the other.  You get to know that you can do what seems hard – hike farther than you thought, cross over a sheer rock face, traverse a tricky path.)

Exercise.  (It is just plain good for you, body and mind and spirit.)

We hiked a trail in the Pisgah Forest called the John Rock Trail.  It was kind of a redemption hike for me, actually.  For at least six or seven years, however long we’ve been taking classes at the Pisgah Wildlife Education Center, I’ve been intending to take that hike.  Once we tried it as a family before a camp out but the trail was just too far for our heavy loads, tired legs and late in the day start.  Last year I wanted to take the trail after we attended a Pisgah class but the day was a little late and the path seemed a little long again.

So I might have been a little zealous in my desire to see that rock face and make that trek.

If you are hiking the John Rock Trail with kids, you want to be certain that they stay near you.  I’d read up on it before the hike so I knew (in theory) what to expect.  It’s not a rock face with a railing and a barrier and all that good stuff.  It’s a rock face.  On the side of a mountain.  A very steep rock face on the side of a very steep mountain.  Ice covered a large portion of the face when we reached it last week.  It was scary, for sure.  But we had knowledge beforehand of where the rock face would be and were prepared to keep kids close prior to reaching the edge.

There are lots of places along the path that you could stop for a picnic or an overnight camp out without making the five mile loop if that’s what you desired.

Even my reluctant hiker, who is reluctant because she would always always always choose to stay at home, admitted later that night that it was, in fact, a fantastic hike.  (And she, who was the loudest voice against the hike when she heard the five mile length announced by her less discerning siblings, actually prayed that evening, “Thank you God for such a wonderful day on the trail with our friends.”)