Goat Lake

On our hike to Goat Lake
we had to pull out all the tricks in the bag
to get a 7 and 6 year old through a 10 mile hike.
They are strong, tough boys
but there were times when they needed a little extra motivation.
We have been on lots of hikes with the boys
and have learned quite a few ways to keep our kids going
Such as,
*make up stories or retell fairy tales.
*choose a landmark, like a tree up ahead, and focus on getting there.
*challenge ourselves to walk the next mile in a certain time
and then celebrate with a something like a mint or a short rest if we reach our goal.
*It helped a lot when we bought them their own camelpack backpacks to carry,
however after the first mile or so it is usually me who takes the packs.
*short piggy back rides, on rare occasions.
*play monster or can't get me
*make believe we're in the jungle studying monkeys
and we have to fight off and escape from ferocious animals.
*point out interesting things along the trail.
*just talk, with Kyler about Star Wars
*be silent for a certain amount time to see how far we can get
(I love my gps--it is so great to have to do stuff like this)
*search for good hiking sticks along the trail
*eat snacks

We did almost all of those things on this hike,
but it was great fun
and we enjoyed the lake at the top.

yeah, that is Kyler's jacket. a little too small i would say.