We needed signs reading "slow moving hikers...please pass to the right." We'd hear comments like, "you're brave!" as couples would hike past us. There are definitely two kinds of hiking for us: family hiking and couple hiking. We love to hit a long rugged trail and keep it moving pretty steady to our destination. But we read early on (and validated through experience) that when hiking with kids you CANNOT be destination-minded. David (male as he is) has done a realy awesome job of keeping the two kinds of hiking separated. He doesn't push the kids. We stop when we need to. We observe and and sing and smell and sit and eat in caves and slide on rocks and take the time we need. Caiden checks out the trail map> Isn't that trail gorgeous? David and the kids took a long dip in the river on the way back down the trail.
We left exhausted.... but it was the happy kind of exhausted.