Kaiya and Rob's Hike on the Billy Goat Trail - 7/1/2011
This is the GPS output from my phone...it is hosted on Google Maps. The Link
So it has been several years since I last hiked the Billy Goat Trail. My buddy Chris Seeger and I used to run/race the thing on a regular basis, and I think for 3 years in a row we actually raced it the day after Thanksgiving. I've been waiting a long time for the opportunity to take one or all of my kids on this hike. There are some sketchy technical areas that I wouldn't feel comfortable with the younger ones doing, but I thought that Kaiya could handle it. With Gretchen taking the younger ones down to Williamsburg this weekend, I figured this would be the best shot.
Kaiya had swim practice this morning, and after that we came home and packed up some snacks, water bottles, and energy blocks for our adventure. I told Kaiya we were headed over there, and for the last couple of days she has been looking at pictures online and was very excited. I got a little lost off of the exit, since I haven't been there in so long, but we eventually found it and started our hike. Kaiya loved picking up shells, looking at the lizards, and crossing the water. She was a little timid going over the rocks at first, but within about 30 minutes she looked for opportunities to scramble over the rocks...she was really enjoying herself.
The hike ended up taking us close to 4 hours. We were getting a little low on water, but I wasn't too concerned. Kaiya was excited and didn't want the hike to end, up until about the last mile, then she started asking about how far away from the car we were. We got back to the car, bid the Billy Goat adieu, and started our trek home. After sitting in traffic, we stopped at Logan's Roadhouse and had some late lunch/early dinner, and then headed home.
Overall it was a great time with Kaiya, and as she said, "I never knew nature could be so fun..." :)
