Skip to main content

Hikes with Kids: Mount Thom in Chilliwack

view from the top of Mount Thom

A few weekends ago we knew the clouds would part (at least for a little while) on a Saturday morning and I practically ran the family out of the house to get a hike in. We haven't been hiking in the last few months due to rain, family obligations, or just general laziness, but this was a hike that promised to be both quick and yet challenging, and it lived up to that

Mount Thom is in Chilliwack which was a 35 minute drive for us each way because there was very little traffic. The site notes say that it only climbs 375 m in elevation, which I was surprised by, because that hike was, with the exception of maybe 2-3 small slopes, a very vertical climb. Maybe I was just huffing and puffing because we hadn't been out for awhile. It was a busy trail even though we left very early in the morning, but when we were descending the mountain around 11AM, there were probably 70+ people going up, so going early was better!

trying to find Cultus Lake from the top

This hike took our family roughly 2 hours- 1.5 hours climbing up and then we literally ran the entire way down in 30 minutes. I sometimes find the descent on a vertical climb to be a bit harder just because I'm more hesitant. I feel like I'm going to fall easier. I'm just old! However, on this run down the mountain, my knee that hurt back when I was a teenager and playing a lot of sports, starting hurting again. I hadn't felt that pain in over 10 years, so I quickly slowed my pace and iced my knee for a solid 2 hours back home. I haven't felt it since that day, but it did make me realize how foolish that probably was without any sort of training, and a long climb right before!

Ani loved this hike and she ran almost the entire way up the trail as well. We often had to call her name because we couldn't see her! Lukka, as usual, doesn't ever want to go on hikes, but when he's there, he enjoys himself immensely. There's a great view at the top of Mount Thom and you can see Cultus Lake--and it looks very small from up there. Parking in the neighborhood is a bit odd, and some of the jobsites are quite dirty right next to the trail, and a lot of dog-poop bags were left around on the trail, even though there were trash cans at the entrance, making it probably one of the more dirty trails we've been on. I don't know if I'd go back to this hike quickly, it was challenging and a great excuse to exercise while having fun, but it wasn't my favorite trail. Crowded and a bit dirty, I'd rather explore other areas before coming back to it


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Home School Activities: Board Games We Love

My children have recently become enthralled in the world of board games. I was never a board game player. Sure, I remember long summer hours (days? it seemed like it..) spent around a Monopoly board, but I was never one to suggest to get out the cards, or a game. As my children have grown and they are now able to do activities with me, I started noticing that they really took to puzzles (when done all together) and the one or two board games I happened to have kept in the storage room. They were always asking to play Candy Land and so I figured I should branch off a bit. Over the course of the last year, I have found GREAT games, even ones that I love to play alongside them. The amount of 'teaching' they have gotten through games is jaw-dropping. Counting, team-playing, math related patterning, are just some of the skills I've watched develop. I asked before Christmas on facebook what my friends and their own kids loved and I was thrilled with the response. We have found ov

July Reads

Birch Bay Sunset, rainbow hues July has been hot out here. When you live in the top story of an apartment building, and there's no air conditioning, it can feel just over the needle of uncomfortably warm when the day is above 76 degrees. We've kept blinds shut, windows open, and a fan continually blowing as it's perched in our living room window well. Just about the only thing I feel like doing after a long day is laying on the couch straight in the fan's air circulation path, and read a good book. I had some unique picks this month. * #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso  This book was just plain fun to read. Amoruso developed the iconic ebay store NastyGal way back when vintage selling on ebay was a thing. Now she's a millionaire with a kicking website that she started from scratch and didn't owe a dime to anyone else for. It's a great 200 pager with stories on dumpster diving for daily food, entrepreneurship tips, and being the backwards kid that no one t

Top 10 Books of 2017

early sunset in Ft Langley  I love reading all these "Top 10" lists of favorite books read throughout the year, so I'm adding my two cents.  I'm involved in a Book Club that I love with women from our church, a small group that meets every week and goes through a book every few months, my own list, books I'm reading aloud to the kids and  books I'm reading for educational purposes (think professional development). I took a look at all of those combined and this is what I got, in no particular order:  *  The Problem of God  by Mark Clark - I loved going through this academic apologetic book with my friends from church. It led us to great discussion, and good food for thought. I listen to Clark's sermons every week and so knew I'd probably love his writing style, too. If you have objections to Christianity, or are feeling confused about what to believe, this is a great primer.  * You're Smarter Than You Think  by Dr. Thomas Armstron