Another One
Another 100 mile Ultra is now under our belt. As of this publishing, 124 hikers have finished this task, out of the 318 that signed up. Doing this during spring was a different kind of challenge, as we had to contend with a lot of weather, a ton of allergies, several colds, and schoolwork throughout. We saw plants on trails that we didn’t know existed there, and encountered less snakes than we usually do. It was a fun challenge and we are already looking forward to the next one!
We asked each of our girls 5 questions. They were separated and not allowed to discuss their answers, just for the sake of a pure poll. These were their thoughts on competing their second ultra marathon:
Question 1: How do you feel after the Ultra Marathon?
Kyra- I feel happy.
Manny- Kind of good and happy after it.
Runa- Like a big girl!
Thorrin- Good, yeah.
Question 2: What was your favorite hike? Why?
Kyra- My favorite hike is Airport because of the nice trail.
Manny-Airport because it has two hikes and they are good together.
Runa- I like trails that have some sand. Sand is so fun to play in. [Soldier’s Beach is the trail she is thinking of]
Thorrin- Um, big hike.
Question 3: What do you think you’d like to buy or get, that would make these hikes better?
Kyra- A new hat for the airport hike. It is sunny there.
Manny- I think a new hiking stick with a cool hat for me.
Runa- I just want to camp on the hikes. I need a tent for me.
Thorrin- Um, no.
Question 4: What was your favorite snack?
Kyra- My favorite snacks are the strawberry and berry bars.
Manny- The strawberry bars are so good.
Runa- I think I like donuts.
Thorrin- Muffins.
Question 5: What did you learn?
Kyra- I learned it’s better to hike in a group.
Manny- I learned about poisonous plants and some more tree leaves.
Runa- I am big and can do this.
Thorrin- Go hike. Go play.
So that wraps it up! We are so proud of our girls. The oldest three did it 100% on their own. Runa is only 4, and she did every single mile on her own. At one point, Derek noticed how tired she was and told her that it was okay if she needed to be carried for a little bit. Runa said, “No Dada, I need to do this on my own”. The way my heart exploded and I could cry.
We are taking 2 or 3 weeks off of our hiking to regroup, clean nasty backpacks, pressure wash our teen and tween’s shoes, and preparing for backpacking season. We’ll also be updating our shoe reviews after they put in 100 miles, and possibly our reviews on everyone’s daily packs. Until then, I’ll be….sleeping. Happy hiking!
Post hike celebration!
