Summer Hiking and Camping in West Virginia

Hello, friends. :)  

I mentioned last post that I've been scouting out hiking trails for my family on AllTrails and other resources lately.  Darryl is not enthused, but the kids and I love it.  My mom came with us last time, and the time before that, she, my stepdad, my brothers, and my brother's girlfriend joined us part of the time.

I'm 205 pounds now.  I'm 5'2.  I'm nearly 35 years old.  I gained a ton of weight after I had my kids, especially after I had my second.  I know most of it is just because I have a pretty sedentary lifestyle - I work a desk job, my main past times involve reading and crocheting and cuddling with my kids, so I'm not really getting much exercise in aside from walking from spot to spot in my house or office.  So basically nothing of note.  I don't eat terribly bad, though I can definitely use more vegetables in my diet and am working on that.

I have a slight heart condition called inappropriate sinus tachycardia, and after being diagnosed with that, I realized one of the traits of it is "exercise intolerance".  My heart rate tends to jump way too high sometimes all on it's own, and heavy exercise can exacerbate that - more so if I'm not completely hydrated because dehydration can trigger it as well.  I get dizzy and nauseous and black out.  So, exercising hasn't been something I've put a lot of time into the past 8 years or so, and the results of that are obvious and frustrating.  

I've started doing some easy home workouts to ease myself into it and slowly build up to more intense exercise, and I've been working harder to try to get more steps in when I can.  The other night I walked half a mile just by pacing around my house for 20 minutes.  Before the weather got so hot, I was trying to go walking with my friend and her dogs on a regular basis, but hot temps and busy schedules have disrupted that.  I have a walking pad at home that I plan to start getting out more and setting up in front of our window AC unit when I can't do anything else, but what I've found I really love is hiking in the woods.

I spent much of my childhood playing in the woods at the house we lived in when I was young and at my grandparents' house.  So, I guess it makes sense.  And now that I know my kiddos like it too, I want to focus on that a bit more.  We live in the mountains, so it's not just miles we rack up; it's changing elevation too.  Not to mention the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. 

Hiking a trail is just so much more dynamic than walking through town.  Our neighborhood has some pretty scenery in some areas, and there's another neighborhood I think I'm going to like walking in on my lunch break at work.  It has tons of pretty flowers and beautiful old houses; I walked there last Monday.  But getting to go somewhere away from other people is just so peaceful and serene.  Even if I have two goofball kiddos and some other family with me.  

In going to Blackwater this past month, it reminded me about the Waterfall Trail challenge we have in WV.  If you click that link, it will take you to the Waterfall Trail page of the WV tourism site where you can sign up (for free!) and learn more, but basically, you go to as many of the waterfalls as you can and check in with the QR code there (see photo below!) or on the website.  As you explore them, you earn prizes.

Not all trails I've looked into exploring at some point are waterfall trails, but they definitely make a more exciting "splash" for the kids to see while we're there!  And I can't deny that I love seeing them as well.  It's just one of the many cool nature things here, and I've definitely rediscovered my love for what our state has to offer.

What are some cool kid-friendly trails you've explored?

Another thing I've started doing is including my kids in my workouts if they're interested.  So far, Leah has done two with me (to varying degrees).  She may not do everything the way I'm doing it, but she's having fun and doing something with me, so she loves it.  It gives me a little more motivation to stay with it when she comes over to me and asks if we can exercise, too!

Another thing I would like to combine with our hiking trips this summer is camping.  We went once last year.  It was fun, but our tent experience was miserable.  My mom gave us a queen sized air mattress, which we put in my old 4-6 person tent.  It fit, but it meant we had zero room for anything else in our tent, and we slept with the kids in between Darryl and I, so I was up against the back wall of the tent all night.  Darryl apparently slept with one foot on the ground.  The condensation on the inner walls of the tent was crazy; I was wet from it.  We went in late August, so it got pretty cold at night since we were up in the mountains.  That part of it just wasn't fun even though most everything else was.

I bought us a 9-person cabin-style tent a few months ago.  Haven't had it up yet though because every time I think about it, it's pouring the rain outside.  Every weekend I've wanted to maybe camp, we've had other obligations, or the weather has been crappy.  I'm still hoping for at least one or two camping trips before it starts getting cold at night.  

What are your tips for tent camping with small kids?  

The last time we went, we took some dinosaurs and trucks and a set of building toys with rods and connectors that they built forts with.  We were camped next to a river, so we obviously took bathing suits and water shoes for the kids.  I don't think I took mine, and I regretted it, so that will change if we're in those circumstances again.  I've got the bigger tent, and I'm honestly thinking of buying a full-size air mattress to add to our set up, in hopes that the kids can take one and Darryl and I can take the other, or we can each take one with one kiddo.  I've not done it yet because I was also kicking around the idea of getting the kids cots that they can put their sleeping bags and blankets on, which would save floor space, but I think if we do that, they'll end up in our bed anyway, so the second air mattress might be the way to go.

The air mattress idea may sound bougie to some, but listen.  Darryl has old sports injuries, and I've just got a lot of stress on my body at this point.  Sleeping on the ground is not comfortable at all, so the air mattresses are a much better option than a sleeping pad.  I got a car adapter to plug a couple of extension cords into, which we can plug the air mattress cords into, so as long as the car is somewhat close to the tent, we can air them up with no problem.

 I've already got some camp meals planned out.  Frozen burger patties, hot dogs, chili or taco soup that I'll make ahead, mac & cheese, ramen...and many more.  I bought a two-burner camp stove a few months ago as well so that we can have more variety and more options than just cooking over the fire.  Don't get me wrong; that's fun too.  But last year I found myself wishing that I had a different option for some things, and we were only there for one night.

The max we can probably go is for two nights since we're working around a weekend in most cases - I don't plan to take off work for this unless it's just to leave a little bit early on a Friday.  Maybe when the kids are older, we can plan a slightly longer stay on our summer vacation week that we always take, but for now, two nights seems good to me.  I just want to be able to get out in nature and away from civilization for a couple days, and maybe we can mix some hiking into some of those trips as well.