Spring hiking

Spring is coming to the Maine mountains, in its usual slow but steady course. The trees are still tightly budded or just starting to show pretty little leaves. This past weekend was the first I'd seen any blooming wildflowers this season, violets to be specific.

This is a wonderful time for hiking. Not too hot, not too cold and still no bugs, which is a gift for Maine hiking.

It was a beautiful day but mentally and physically exhausting for me. I was tired before we even left the house. It was all I could do to hike my you-know-what up to 3000 some feet and back down again, for a total of 6.5 miles which took us 6 hours with play breaks and lunch.

But I did it. We did it. This weekend coming up we're taking a break from hiking, much to everyone else's dismay (I thought the children might appreciate a break from climbing mountains, I was wrong). The break won't last long though because the next weekend we're off to backpack - our earliest in the season trip ever.

The demands of spring hit hard both on the trail and at home. The warming mountains beckon us and are a delight to hike before black fly season starts. At the same time we are facing end-of-winter home repairs, yard clean up and garden prep. It's a crunch season to be sure and I'm doing my best to handle it with grace and perspective.

PS. Spring is starting in earnest in our backyard and I am excited to share some of those pretty photos soon. Also reminding you we have a new photo blog of our family adventures if you are interested in outdoorsy/nature photography.