Hiking with a Two Year Old

I'm listening to Christmas music on Pandora and eating mass quantities of trail mix.  The house feels very empty because my brother and Lady have returned home to Miami.  I feel a bit lonely and more than a bit frustrated with JAC's refusal to nap.

While my brother was here I decided we should go to the Shenandoah, drive Skyline Drive and hike.  Its a 1.5 hour drive out there but I knew it would be worth it.  The Shenandaoh Mountains are beautiful and hiking is always fun.

When we finally made it to the trail head JAC was ready to get out of the car.  We bundled him up in eight layers of clothes and prepared for the frigid hike.  JAC hiked for approximately two minutes and then sat down and cried.  We convinced him to hike another 30 minutes but he cried the whole time.  Finally Jess volunteered to take JAC back to the truck.  We hiked a few miles farther and finally called it quits.

We drove three hours round trip to hike for only an hour.  Jess and JAC played with post-it notes in the truck while they waited for us to return.  It was great to be outside but I think when hiking with a two year old you should stay close to home.   The sad part is, Jess gently tried to suggest we hike locally but I wouldn't listen.  Here are a couple pictures from our winter hiking fiasco.