Weir Hill Hike
It has been much too long since I updated this blog. Having a baby will do that to you though. Though I could write pages about what it’s been like since Addison came into our lives, I am going to save that for a later time. Instead, I am going to pick up with where we are right now.
We took Addison on her first hike today. A few factors came into play that helped drive us toward this historic event. First, it was unseasonably warm. The temperature topped 70 degrees, and the warm rays of the sun were hard to resist.
Second, we recently purchased a child-carrier backpack specifically for hiking. After a lot of research, we settled (or rather, I settled, and Kendra acquiesced) on the Deuter Kid Comfort III. It’s got a lot of things I like, including a comfortable place for Addison to sit, a removable chin rest (which is huge, since we can take it off to clean her teething drool), and an integrated sunshade. Plus, with my long torso, and Kendra’s relatively short one, the Vari-Quick System is an added bonus. The only thing that was holding us back was the hefty $289 price tag, but we managed to get the 2010 model on clearance from REI – it was marked down to $213.93, plus they were having a 20% off one item sale. In the end, we got the pack for $175 – a price we couldn’t beat.
Finally, while Kendra was pregnant, she found a good local spot for easy hikes – Weir Hill. The parking was easy – right along the road. We loaded Addison into her new pack, and headed up the gentle incline of the Stevens Trail to the scenic vista. The view was beautiful – though the greenery wasn’t out yet, the visibility was great, allowing us to see Mt. Wachusett in central Massachusetts, and Mt. Monadnock up in New Hampshire. We didn’t stop for very long, instead opting to follow the trail down the other side of the hill until we reached the entrance to the public beach. On the way, we found a small stream of water running down the hill – I couldn’t help myself from capturing a bit of it on my iPhone – the sound was beautiful.
After we reached the bottom, we retraced our hike back up and over the hill, and returned to the car in less than 40 minutes. Addison seemed to love every minute of it, holding on to the straps that held her sunshade in place while her little head turned back and forth. Kendra and I have made a pact to return at least once a week – we need to get in better shape for summer hiking, and there are plenty more trails to explore at Weir Hill, plus we still need to climb to the top!
