Only 20 Pounds!

Cari and I went for a hike recently. It's been a while since we've had the opportunity to get out and do some hiking so we were both excited to get back to it. A neighbor loaned me a baby carrier that you wear like a backpack. In the past, I had a soft carrier that you wear on the front. Now that Brenna is bigger - and heavier - I was glad to have this framed unit that I could wear on my back.

We headed out on a trail to the Raven Cliff viewing platform that we knew wasn't very difficult. The round trip hike was going to be just over four miles but doesn't have a lot of steep elevation change until the end of the trail. This was one of the first trails we had hiked since moving here and we haven't been back in the past few years. The original observation platform has since been destroyed by falling trees in the last ice storm and a new observation was built. For the new platform, they chose a different location. The new location is up much higher on the mountain and is supposed to be a bit less strenuous to get to. Apparently, they haven't tried this trail with a twenty pound baby on their back.

By the time we got to the observation deck, I was ready to get her off my back. My shoulders were killing me. We had packed a lunch (also in the pack), that I was happy to eat just to lessen the weight on my back.

I really don't like the view from the new deck. The previous deck was much lower and had a much cleaner view of the falls. The falls are among the tallest in South Carolina but it seemed like you could only see the top half from this new location. I was disappointed. I took a few photos but my disappointment on the location wiped out my enthusiasm for photos.

Below is a shot I took from the old platform in 2005. You can see that MUCH more of the falls is visible from that location. At the new location, you can only see the middle section of the falls.

After I took a few shots and we ate our lunch, we loaded the baby back into the pack and I prepared for our trip out. I don't want anyone to believe that I was the only one suffering out there because Cari had the burden of hauling all my camera gear and tripod on her back. I've never weighed it, but I'm guessing it's at least ten pounds.

As we approached the end of the trail I had to stop and take a break. Cari took the opportunity to catch me with her camera.

As much as I love hiking, I'm really going to have to rethink the trails we take with Brenna on my back. I suppose it's only twenty pounds and I can train until my body adjusts to it. When I go hiking with Rake and Roadrunner in a few weeks, maybe I'll take a pack full of bricks as part of my training. Cari suggested that instead of bricks, I should take the baby for training. I decided that I don't need to train that badly after all.