A Little Exploring Close To Home

Tiarnan is fortunate to have a great play ground that starts right out his back door. There is plenty of forest, a cross country ski & biathlon training area, lots of bluffs, hills, a hydro power station, dams, lakes, tarns and mountains, all of which are little visited. Most of our family’s outings take place out back which means no time in the car- yippee!

Dad is always keen to find new links through the terrain to open up more options for walks and runs and just for the sake of a little bit of exploration. With the help of Mom & Tiarnan he set out to see if a forested break in the rock band behind the hydro station would give us a new access route to the higher ground above.

Starting down the ski trail with Tiarnan in his buggy we stopped at the Biathlon shooting range. Tiarnan found the piles of shiny brass spent cartridges particularly interesting. Perhaps in a few years time he will be here training for biathlon, however, I think mum would prefer to have her own little downhill ski star instead ;-)

Continuing on, we made our way up to the gully we wanted to explore. Swapping the pram for the backpack Tiarnan was loving climbing up through the forest. Everything has to be touched and felt. Tree trunks, leaves, moss, bark, lichens, rocks were all thoroughly checked out whilst singing songs and shouting in dads ear. As we progressed up things got steeper, more bouldery and choked with vegetation. With the more open ground above just visible we were finally stopped by a small rock slab that was not worth tackling with the wee man on the back. Oh well we gave it a go and the only way for us now was back down. From the bottom we sighted another good option we can try another time.

While not quite the quest for the Northwest Passage, a race to the pole or a bold new route on Cerro Torre it was a little exploring none the less. No matter what the challenge, there is always excitement to be had eyeing something up and then going exploring it. We all want do the best for our children and I would like to think we could help Tiarnan open his imagination to exploration and adventure. As individuals we really develop by launching off into the unknown now and again.

Well after all the hard work and day dreaming we headed back home to satisfy Tiarnan's love for regular snacks and snoozes.

We are looking forward to the having a go at the alternative route soon.