Traction

Snow is falling in the Anchorage Bowl tonight and I want to take a moment to remind parents to check their footwear when heading outside wearing or carrying their little ones. Cleats, yak tracks and studded sneakers are important this time of year when the freeze/thaw cycle is in full swing creating glare ice. Your center of gravity is already distorted when wearing or carrying your child and those munchkins completely rely on your balance to stay safe. Make sure your shoes have traction to prevent slipping and falling.

Dressing Your Child for the Cold Workshop

A great turnout for the Anchorage Outdoor Family Network's first parent workshop. We covered the basics of dressing your child, and yourself for that matter for the cold. Parents asked some great questions and we are always around to ask more. Feel free to email questions too and we'll try to get you the answers.

Beach Lake X-Country Trails - Chugiak, AK

Still can't believe there's no snow in the lower elevations! We're trying to squeeze in as many of the stroller friendly cross-country trails as we can before they are covered and groomed. Always great to meet new parents and munchkins! We had 3 new joiners. Seems to be cold season as many families didn't make it out today due to the sniffles.

Thanks Snosmart.com!

Snosmart.com gave me a super sweet deal to get SKHoops of each length to have for mama's to test drive on hikes. We now have a mini (sz XL) a medium length (sz M) and a Long (sz L). I also have a Long (sz M). I'll have them with me on all hikes starting tomorrow. They are a local business and also the national distributer for the line. They currently have some great 50% off deals on last years colors and styles.

Please take a moment to also look at our sponsor link for other businesses and people who have given their time or products to help out this group.

Dressing Your Child for the Cold Workshop

Anchorage Outdoor Family Network will be hosting a Dress Your Child for the Cold Workshop this Thursday, October 28th, evening at 5:30. Click on the link to sign up and RSVP. Spots are limited so sign up now! We will be selling Jen Aist's book Babes in the Woods and giving away some great used kids outdoor clothing.

Mountain Blue Eyes Nursing Fleece Giveaway

We will be giving away this small black nursing fleece from Mountain Blue Eyes, makers of active wear for breastfeeding mothers. Mountain Blue Eyes products can be found locally at The Nursing Boutique at Providence Hospital.

We ask that winner of this great piece of gear write a review for the site which I will also send to the manufacturer.

Here's how to enter:

1. You get one entry for becoming a member of  the Anchorage Outdoor Family Network, 
2. You get one entry RSVP (Yes or No) to either next week's (10/28/10) Taiga Trek or the upcoming Family Weekend Hike on November 13th on the AOFN site .
3. You get one additional entry for coming to next week's Trek.
4. Get an extra entry for becoming a follower of this blog and posting a comment about what activities you would wear a fleece like this for.

Entries must be in by 9pm (Alaska time) November 10th 2010. The winner will be announced on Thursday, November 11th.

Hilltop Trails

Weather does't get any better than this, late fall in Alaska! What a gorgeous morning! We traveled almost exactly 4 miles up and down those hilly x-country ski trails. Great exercise, especially if you were pushing a stroller.

Mothering Magazine Give Away Winner!

Congrats Alison F. you are the winner of the year's subscription to Mothering Magazine! You can claim your prize at the next hike.

Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Mothering Magazine Giveaway!

Thank you Mothering Magazine! I will be giving away a year subscription to Mothering Magazine: Natural Family Living at this week's hike. This is one of my absolute favorite parenting resources! The 1st person to email a new family friendly trail suggestion (trail we've never done) in the Anchorage area takes the prize. Please note if the trail is stroller friendly, the length of the route and the type of terrain/elevation gain. If you have a link with information that would be even better!

Rendevous Peak Trail - Arctic Valley

What a fabulous morning! It just kept getting better and better! Not all the babes and mamas made it to the top. That didn't matter. The views were stellar no matter what direction you looked. We are using this time of the year to find out which combinations of clothing work best and keep our little ones warm but not too warm. We were even graced by the bounding presence of a coyote through the alpine tundra. There was a lot of speculation as to what it was from far away but it did get close enough for us to clearly identify it as a coyote. There was a reward of brownies and hot coffee when we returned to the cars!

Introducing the New Anchorage Outdoor Parent Network

As a counselor, educator and mothers we have a passion for connecting kids & now families to the place and environment in which they live. Since creating Skedaddle & Taiga Trekkers, we have found ourselves networking with other like-minded people through the Children & Nature Network. It has inspired us to want to do m...ore in our community. We have also been part of the amazing Anchorage Parents of Infants and Toddlers meet up group. For sometime now we have been dreaming up ways to engage families with children beyond the infant and toddler stage with nature and outdoor activities. Recently the Anchorage Outdoor Family Network has begun to take shape. Due to the ease of the Meetup.com format, it can be found at http://www.meetup.com/Anchorage-Outdoor-Family-Network/. Our aim is not to detract from other groups, but to compliment them by giving families in the area another resource in their parenting tool bag.

Cheers,
Harmony & Lia

A Winter Must

As snow is already in the mountains and teases us in lower elevations, I've started to get all my winter footwear out. After having lived in Alaska for a decade now, I think I have a shoe for every type of snow. No mater what type of shoe you wear, traction is always a concern, even more so when you are wearing your child. Products like cleats and Yak Tracks are a winter must. I have heard Skinny Raven, the locally owned running store will put studs in your favorite running shoes, and also sell shoes with them already built in.

Feedback Needed

As we enter the winter months I would like to establish some sort of back-up plan if the weather is subzero and the wind is blowing... I know I have come to rely on the great company and adult contact, every Thursday and don't want to give that up to Mother Nature. Anyone have any great ideas for a Plan B? Coffee shop, a home playdate are some possibilities....

I was thinking once we develop Plan B, I could post it by 8 the morning of the hike if things are looking pretty dismal outside.

Sometimes it is hard to tell until, we get to a trailhead, and we can always make the call there. What is happening downtown can be very different then what is going on in the mountains.

Your opinion and ideas are welcome and wanted!

Eklutna Lake Trail - First Weekend Family Hike

An phenomenally beautiful autumn afternoon amidst the Chugach Mountains. It was great to see new faces and meet more of the dads! We covered a smidge more than 5 miles, according to Lia's GPS.                                                      

Save the date.The next weekend family hike will be Saturday, November 6th. We'll wait till we get a little bit closer before picking the trail so we can choose it according to the conditions.

Goose Lake & UAA Trails

What a great turnout and some wonderful new faces! Thanks Claire for bringing the coffee and Jamie for your knowledge of this trail system! Lots of great parental conversation and networking happening, all while getting healthy exercise in the great outdoors! There is a great playground where the toddlers were able to let off some steam and play, hopefully making some quite rides home and some nap times well earned.

In response to our article/pictures in the ADN this week there is some concern in the community about us following the rules of the trail/road. I feel we are all very cognizant and courteous to other trail users, but it warrants a reminder, as we often get caught up in our engaging conversations. We need to walk  2 deep, or make sure there is passing room and always be on the look out for other trail users. We will not tell you what to do but highly suggest if our K9 kids come they stay on a leash as muni laws require it. I don't want to be heavy handed. I think we are already very respectful of each other and trail users outside our group.