This weekend my husband and I took our 11 month babe hiking with us in Drakensberg, South Africa. We stayed at a lovely mountain retreat a four-hour drive from where we are staying, and a trillion miles from civilization.
The views of the dramatic Drakensberg mountains, contrasted at sunrise in different hues of blue, and peering down at the crystal blue lakes and dams from the edge of a cliff were, of course were breath-taking. What really took my breath away, though, was watching my baby explore all this had to offer at such a micro-level. She was much more fascinated by the dirt, horse manure, and rocks than the vistas.
We started our hike on Saturday afternoon with Veda tied to papa in the Moby wrap, but after 20 minutes she clearly felt like she was missing out on the action and insisted on getting down. She had just half an hour earlier discovered she is able to walk all by herself, and she was not going to go another moment without practicing her newly found skill on rocky terrain, of course.
I learned a few things this weekend: 1) dirt can be just as thrilling as a mountain vista and sunset, depending on your outlook in life; 2) expect to set your pace at that of a baby’s just learning to walk that is blazing the trail ahead; and 3) if you can’t stop an exploring 11 month old from eating dirt and licking rocks, it’s best to try to just direct licking attention toward larger rocks that cannot be swallowed (and preferably those not right next to horse manure).
Either way, whether hiking in Drakensberg in South Africa or Devil’s Lake in Wisconsin, it’s a magnificent way to connect with a small child that will inevitably remind us to stop and smell the flowers, and/or to stop and lick the rocks. Life’s just too short not to some rock licking now and again.
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I’d like to share a comment from a reader that was sent via email:
“As for hiking with a newly walking toddler, prepare to slow your pace. The vistas are for you; the distances will be short (unless you have a child who prefers being carried to walking), and you will see the world in a new way. Then one day, after you have the slow pace down, Veda will be 10 and running down hills/mountains way faster than you can.
I like the comment about “big rocks”. I hated playgrounds with peagravel or sand, because Ben never tired of putting it in his mouth. Eventually, I figured that if he had a single, big rock in his mouth, it was better than several small ones. The rest of the kids all used a pacifier or sucked their thumb- one huge plus to those “bad” habits.”