Tristyn and I hiked in El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve in the Mid Peninsula today, Saturday June 20th, 2015. It's about a 30 minute ride from our house in Redwood Shores.
It was his first hike using the Wolfskin Child Carrier Maria (Tristyn) got me (him) for Fathers Day.
We arrived around 11AM. It was already hot, about 75 degrees.
He walked with me for the first 5 minutes (since his test run in the carrier didn't go so well, alot of crying)
As expected, he put up a fight going into it - crying and resisting with his legs rigid. I stuffed him in anyway, and calmed him with a banana.
After a few minutes of walking, he was fine, enjoying the scenery and chirping. I could feel the weight for sure. He weights about 30 pounds, the pack is 7 pounds and then we had some water, snacks, etc - meaning it was close to 40 pounds. I usually wear my backpack with about 20 pounds in it on longer hikes for training - I could certainly feel the extra weight.
El Corte has a mix of Redwoods and evergreens, but isnt an old growth forest. I chose it because it was well shaded. The trees are only about 100 feet tall! :)
After about a mile he seemed to be getting restless, so I turned around. On the way back we almost walked into a decent sized Mule Deer. She wasn't nervous of us at all - I was able to stop and take some pictures and we watched her eat.
We got back to the start and he was doing fine, so I decided to take a side trail that descended 300 feet while following the creek. As you get closer to the creek, things get greener.
We stopped for a picture at the base of a large Redwood, which showed forest fire damage (most large ones do)
After about 10 minutes, Tristyn was asleep. He slept for about 50 minutes, snoring in my ear.
We turned around at the halfway point, a Maple Leaf :)
Tristyn saying "Da-Dad" (Daddie)
We got back to the park entrance after 4.1 miles, which took about 1 3/4 hours. Our average pace was 23 minutes/mile. By myself, when pushing, I can average 15 minute miles. On long (15+ mile hikes over difficult terrain), it's typically 20 minute miles. So 23 minutes seemed acceptable, given the various stops to let him see leafs, moss, etc, plus the weight of 40 pounds on my back :)
We parked at a Vista Site, overlooking Silicon Valley. I got him off my back (sore not just because of the extra weight, but the pack didn't distribute the weight well - he rode on my shoulders as opposed to hips).
And had our snacks at a picnic table. He really liked the apple juice, peanut butter crackers and fish :)
We packed up and headed back down Skyline (Highway 35), through Woodside and went south on Highway 84 into Redwood City, and stopped at my favorite Mexican restaurant - Karlita's Tacos.
Lunch:
- Chips with Salsa Verde (green) and Mild Sauce
- 3 Tacos: Carnitas (Fried Pork), Chili Verde (Chicken/Pollo), and Al Pastor (Mexican pork of a spit, meaning In The Style Of The Shepherd)
- Hard Taco with Carnitas and Guacamole
- Pupusa (corn tortilla stuffed with seasoned pork and cheese, then fried)
- Horchata (Mexican rice drink)
Tristyn loved the Horchata, but found the (mild) salsa much to spicy :)
We headed home and took a quick swim in the pool and hot tub, and has supper (which I had cooking all day: Pinto beans, pork, Poblano peppers and Tomatillo's)
Stats:
- Distance: 4.10 Miles ( 6.6 Kilometers)
- Time: 1 hour 46 minutes
- Elevation: 400 feet
- Calories Burned: 967 (likely not accurate, since my GPS/Hiking app dosent take into account the weight of Tristyn on the back :) )
The End!
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