Hiking at Wolf Run

Someone remind me next time: A toddler's boundless energy only applies to playgrounds and back yards.

It was a good idea, I thought, to take Noah—who was running circles around me a few weeks ago inside our house—and give him a chance to let off some steam. It was a beautiful day, and there was a state park nearby I'd been wanting to check out.

My bright idea was to take him on a little hike. A map of Wolf Run park showed that one trail was just a half-mile long and wound up at a pond. Perfect, right? Walk for a bit, then throw rocks in a pond (a Noah fav), and walk back.

We started out strong. The trail began in the woods, and it made a gorgeous setting.


But soon we were walking through meadows—very lawn-esque—and Noah quickly began to get bored with the whole idea. In less than 10 minutes, I had full-on toddler whine on my hands.


Bring on mommy strategies: "Noah, can you name all the colors of the leaves?" "Do you see those mushrooms?" "How many steps are there until the next tree?" "Look! A bench. Want to relax a bit?"


Each strategy bought me approximately one minute of non-whining. Soon, I was CARRYING a 40-pound squirmy Noah.

Let me just tell you, my 5'2" frame isn't equipped to carry 40 pounds of toddler for very long. Even up on my shoulders, he was a challenge. As he rode up off the ground, his chubby fingers gripped my forehead, curtaining my eyes with my hair and yanking my face upward. Hmm... we had to work on that one to get us both in a happy place.

I wonder now why I kept moving down the trail when I knew the hike was a bust. I think it was the picturesque scenery and the fresh air that drove me onward.


Eventually, I gave up on the pond, trading it in for an overlook instead. Stupid me... that overlook was a few hundred yards UP a steep hill, a hill I ended up carrying Noah up and up and up.

The 12-mile view was worth it, and so was the calorie burn.


I estimate that we walked about 2 or 3 miles that day with all our meandering (as I tried to keep Noah's attention), and the majority of that hike I weighed 3 dozen more pounds than usual. Ouch.