We kicked New Year’s Day off by a short walk and hangout by the river.
It was cold, 7 degrees to be exact, but after spending a week with West’s grandparents, I needed to be out in the mountains. West played by the river with his diggers and made ‘snow tea’. I stared into the water and took in the peacefulness.
It was a really lovely outing. When we got cold, we ambled the short distance back to the car.
In another world, one without the toddler, we would have gone out for a hard or adventurous hike or snowshoe on New Year’s Day… regardless of the weather. But I have learned that while I miss the big adventures, there is great value in these micro-adventures that we take often to see our way through the winter.
In fact, I think we have become fairly creative in shifting our winter outdoor pursuits to meet our needs and West’s needs.
Below are some ideas for your own winter micro-adventure.
Take the long way to the park for hot chocolate
As an excuse to get a long winter walk in, I bribe West with one of his favorite destinations and then we take the long way there. A little extra saunter in the name of hot chocolate is well worth it to him.
Get lost in the woods, but keep the car close by
Adventures like the one we took on New Year’s have become standard in our house. When it’s really cold, we drive somewhere really beautiful and explore from there with no destination or end point in mind. No long hikes, just fun in the woods, on rocks, or by the river so that when we get cold, we can bail.
Take short hikes
Keep in mind that it’s really cold and snowy where we live so longer hikes may still be available to you, but even when we visited my parents recently in a much warmer town, we still kept our hikes under four miles. More than anything I want success in these hikes and cold weather can make anyone grumpy. Keeping the destination fun and the distance manageable is key for us.
Plan for post-nap outdoor time
At 3.5 years old, West still takes a decent nap. The hours I find the hardest in the winter are between 4-7, where we are mostly stuck inside. So regardless of the cold, at 4:30 we go outside. Even if it’s just to the yard to build a snowman and shovel. Or sometimes it’s a stroll to town.
Dress for success
We have said before and we will say it again, good clothing makes most cold temperatures viable. You can find more about our toddler layering system here.
