Real Chicks Hike: Colorado Winter Edition

The fact is that we get way too much snow in Grand County, CO for consistent "hiking." We have lots of outdoor activity at our disposal but unless you want to post-hole your way up a mountain, other mechanisms for movement are necessary. They might be skis, snowshoes, snowmobiles or snowboards but when our precipitation falls...9 months of the year, it will be snow.

I have had several women I work with and in the area ask if I would start a hiking group here. In over a year now, I haven't figured out just what that would look like or how best to pull it off knowledgeably and safely. Now that enough snow has covered the ground to officially pull us out of mud season and into our full-fledged winter, let the skiing begin!

My place of employment grooms over 100k of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails. Looking for ways to start RCH Colorado, we have started a women's cross-country ski lunch break. The goal is that 2-3 times per week, we walk away from our desks for an hour and break a sweat on the ski trails. Some are on classic skis, others on skate, but together we motivate each other and ourselves to carve out some time for health and Vitamin D during the work day.

I have heard many comments expressing jealousy over where I live but the realities here are no different that your responsibilities and realities elsewhere. I go to work and by the time I'm home, it's dark out. I have a dog to take care of and business trips to take. I travel an incredible amount for pleasure (this is great but mixes up any routine I have) as well. One thing that I KNOW will happen Monday-Friday, 8-4:30, is that I will go to work. So, if I want to build some consistency in my health routine I should set it by the "death and taxes" parts of my life. This is what our little group of outdoor-loving women are hoping to do.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Kangakid to the Rescue

  I am not a parent but there has been a single piece of gear that I am so completely amazed by that I could be talked into parenthood just to receive and use this item. The kid carrier! When working at the shop, I helped a lot of families choose their kid packs and I knew the ones we carried inside and out. No matter how much I knew them though, it's still very different than being the owner, strapping MY child into a piece of outdoor equipment.
  And since I am not really irresponsible enough to have a child in order to accumulate any thing...I have taken it upon myself to subject my best friend's newborn to gear testing. B is less than 6 months old and a true nature girl. Since she lives several hundred miles away, I don't often get to see her awestruck by nature. Her mom tells me that she could sit under a tree for hours, watching the leaves blow in the wind. Seriously, just the thought of this makes me emotional.
  Recently, little B made her first of what I hope to be many treks to Aunt Jessie's place in Colorado. To assist in our outdoor endeavors and as an early Christmas gift, I gave B a Deuter Kangakid. There are lots of great child carriers but I chose this one for a few reasons:

* B lives in Omaha and while I know firsthand that there are plenty of hiking trails in that area, her parents are more likely to be "urban active." B gets outside plenty but as many who have kids probably know, it takes a unique individual to load up a baby for an extended backcountry trek. B is far more likely to be playing in the backyard and strolling through the neighborhood parks with mom and dad so a lot of those big pack bells and whistles just weren't necessary.
* Grandma loves to walk! B stays with her athletic minded Nana several days a week and I wanted something that would be easy to transport to/from Nana's house. Something less cumbersome than the big packs when it came time for Nana to walk with B. I don't know if B's grandma (or grandpa) will ever really use it but I wanted to keep that in mind...just in case.
* Mom and dad travel. A big pack, loaded with metal stands and sunshades are awesome on trail but would you really lug one through an airport? I didn't think so. The KangaKid looks just like a backpack, but with better stability and more comfort. A great alternative to even a stroller while pacing the airport halls. It is small enough to fit under the seat in front of you or in the overhead storage on a plane, eliminating one of those in-transit annoyances...no stroller to check at the gate.
* Storage. There's plenty of space to stash bottles, snacks, diapers, toys etc.
* It's sleek. While appearance should be way lower on the priority list than say...safety, it does matter. I purchased a nice looking blue/gray version that I felt either mom or dad would be comfortable carrying on trail, in the airport or cruising downtown. It's nice when technical gear can have some level of fashion sense.
* SAFETY! Deuter is a reputable brand and this pack has a 5-point harness system similar to most carseats. I would never put B in an unsafe pack and while all kid packs are held to strict safety standards, I felt the KangaKid met these standards while being a great combination of everything else I have listed here.

But what did out biggest critic think of her inaugural trip in it??
After a little squaking while being loaded, as soon as we started moving, she slept for 2 hours. And since you all don't know B, I will tell you that she does not often nap for that long. If that doesn't say something about the combination of warmth, comfort and a cool breeze in her face, I don't know what could.

 The KangaKid's load will max at 33 pounds so this should last them for a while.

As for mom, she felt the KangaKid was comfortable although it was a bit tricky to carry a pack with sleeping weight favoring one side. Once we tightened up a few of the straps it eased the shoulder stress (shame on me for not remembering those load lifters!). It will take mom and dad a few times to practice getting B in and out of the pack safely as there is no frame to set her down on. And while mom might have chosen a more stable activity than cross-country skiing for our first go-around with the pack, we were all able to enjoy a full day of outdoor activity...with a 6 month old. And really, that's what owning a kid carrier is all about!