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Ruby Goes Mountain Climbing

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We’ve been taking Ruby day hiking with us since she was old enough to hold her own head up. However, she spends the majority of her time riding in the pack. She’s seen me leave for a number of extended hikes. When I return a few days later, she has tons of questions and wants to see pictures. This weekend, I decided it was time for her to gain a little trail experience first hand, so I told her to grab her pack and fill it with stuff she might want on our little adventure. Here is what she packed:

• Blanket (not a bad choice. It was close to nap time, and if the mood strikes, best be prepared. It did add quite a bit of weight and bulk to her pack, but she carried it well.)
• Fortune cookie. (I told her I was taking along something a little more substantial, but she insisted the fortune cookie was plenty for her.)
• Sippy cup full of water.
• Bug collection box. (Recent acquisition from Nana. Even I was excited to bring this.)
• Mee-la. (Small stuffed animal in the shape of a puppy)
• A kaleidoscope. (I was completely surprised by this one. I did not object.)

I hefted her up into the back pack so that I could walk her the quarter mile across a couple busy streets to Olmsted Park, our departure point. Olmsted Park is part of the Emerald Necklace, and thanks to Frederick Olmsted’s genius, allows one to feel pretty well immersed in nature despite being so close to the city. There is also a pretty tall hill in the center overlooking Wards Pond that would be Ruby’s first summit.

Once we entered the confines of the park, I let Ruby out of the pack and we strolled along the paths. Ruby quickly collected an inch worm, two beetles, and some fallen buds and other greenery. Once we made it to the base of the hill, I told her all about the view we could expect from the top and she said she was ready to go. After summiting, we had our snack and walked around Wards pond where we spotted a beaver. Soon afterwards we came upon a man birdwatching with some binoculars. I saw a flash of excitement in Ruby’s eyes. She removed her pack and asked me if I could help her with the zipper. I asked her what she was after and she started stuttering with excitement (kaleidoscope is not an easy word to recall for a two year old…) When she finally got it out and held it to her eye, I realised she wanted to do some bird watching of her own… Here are a few pictures I snapped along the way (Full size are available here: Picasa Web):