Mini Trail Guide #37: Tiny hikes are meant for frequent pauses

Making time for "Look!" moments on a sleepy coastal trail

I’ve walked all the tiny hikes that I share with you through this subscription. Most of them have been part of our family memories and repeated throughout the years from when my kids were small to now.

With Father’s Day approaching I just want to give a grateful and loving nod to “Mr. OC Tiny Hikes” who truly makes all this possible. Beyond supporting me and this community in all ways, he scouts them out with me so they are up-to-date for you. I adore that we get to share this time together reliving memories and finding new things in nature to learn about. He is so patient with ME stopping every 5 minutes on tiny hikes he’s taken before!

Sometimes, I feel like I am more a toddler on these tiny hikes than an actual toddler.

And when I’m moving too fast, he reminds me to slow down by pointing out something I hadn’t noticed. We’ve been taking these tiny hikes together for 30 plus years and the way we move is almost like a dance. We ebb and flow in tune with what we are seeing and we pause A LOT to keep in step with the pace of nature around us.

While we were scouting out this trail this week, I noticed the same dynamic happening between parents and children. One father was SLOWLY walking with his toddler holding his hand. He had to bend down a little for her hand to fit in his. They moved slow. One mom got really silly dancing and spinning and running — much to the delight of her toddler who kept telling his dad “Mommy is being silly!” and giggling while trying to keep up with her!

I hope you are finding these moments and feeling a little bit of the dance on your tiny hikes.

Trail Guide #37 delivered a dolphin sighting and the echo of waves! It’s waiting right beyond the paywall below!