Friday, June 28, 2013

Grouse Grind 2013

A few days back I asked Gary if we could hike the Grouse Grind as a family on his first day off of work.  He thought I was crazy in the sense that it would be so hard with our kids.  I thought it could be a total disaster but if we never tried, how would we know? It's an awesome challenge, and besides, the view and ride coming down would be really fun.

My goal was for us to at least go to the 1/4 mark and then if we could do the whole thing, to do it in 2 hours. Kai was amazing.  Almost 7 year olds must have the perfect body for hiking?!  Koen had a good attitude (phew, you never know with that guy) and just kept going and going.  I carried Nya on my back for the first 3/4 and couldn't do it anymore. I was exhausted and sooooo sweaty.  Nya was happy.  So, Gary took her and we continued on.

We did it!  1 hour and 45 minutes.  Awesome.  So proud of the boys.  Even though Gary and I know them best, we were both surprised.  You just never know unless you try....I seriously finished last of our group (although I do think carrying Nya was just a bit more tiring!!).  I thought that I would be able to keep up with my kids until they were teenagers or something. Great.  We better hike the West Coast Trail sooner than later:)

Here is a quick video that Gary put together of our hike.  Some photos are from my iPhone and the rest is the GoPro.  You'll see a bit of `Kai Cam' going on.   Had I known he was putting together a video I may have thought for a second about what I was wearing but oh well.  And as for `Drago', Gary says that most people would get it.  I did not. I learned something today.





4 comments:

  1. That's awesome. Your children are officially in better shape than me :)
    (It says your video is private?)

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  2. You are amazing! I am embarrased to tell you what my time was about a few years ago sans children.

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  3. wow that's great - how did u get so many clips without ten strangers in the background?? wasn't it quite busy? good job chapmans...im guessing gary loves his gopro

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  4. Joanna de Jong9:59 AM

    Hi Louise! Love this video clip. You guys are amazing! Just want to wish you a safe and fun trip to Asia!

    Ps: Roberta did the Grouse Grind last year with the youth group of CLA. It was a "Unity" hike. They had 45 or so people TIED together to do the hike. I think it took 4 hours or so. The eager beavers couldn't go any faster than the whiny 18 year woman who kept saying, "I can't do this!" I wonder if they built any "Unity" within the group?

    Joanna

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