I’m talking about pretty much all of our hikes. Our first hike as a family was Stone Mountain. When we hiked at Stone Mountain we went with our friends the Lucas family. I liked Stone Mountain probably the best out of all of our hikes. Stone Mountain was hard on the way up, but the way down was much easier and the view was just great.

Our second hike was when we went to Lake Norman State park. At Lake Norman the hike was just right, the hike was fairly level, the hike was easy, and the hike told you how many miles you had hiked from the start of the hike. The day that we had gone to Lake Norman State Park the weather was in the middle. I also think that the Lake Norman State Park hike was a close second to Stone Mountain. Overall I had thought that the two hikes that we had gone on were very good, and I thought that they would keep getting better. I was wrong in my opinion.

Our third hike was Latta Plantation. It was not the best experience of hiking that we as a family had gone through. First of all the day felt like it was in the high 90’s to the low 100’s. The hike had you hike up a huge hill and then you had to hike slightly uphill to get around the corner. Also the hike was confusing, because they had no map. It might have been the day or it might have been the hike, but Latta Plantation was not a fun hike that day.

Our fourth hike was at Max Patch. It was a moderate hike for us — the day was pretty sunny and the hike was short. Max Patch was a nice little hike. For those who do not know what Max Patch is, it is a little mountain I guess you could call it. Max Patch was a 2-mile hike, but it felt just like a 5-mile hike, because the hill was steep and the altitude was high, so we had to carry our small dog Bandit up the hill.

Our fifth hike was to the top of Mt. Mitchell. But since my brother wrote a post on Mt. Mitchell, I’m going to talk about our two dogs Trixie and Bandit. Trixie is our 40-pound purebred English Springier Spaniel (but we think she has a little bit of beagle in her, because she howls a lot.) Bandit is our Bichon/Havanese 8-pound lap dog. Bandit is a little champ when we go on our 5-mile hikes, because it is the driving loyalty to my Dad that has him always walking behind my Dad’s feet. My Dad walks Trixie and they walk in front of me, Bandit, Mom, and my brother Nathan. I walk Bandit and we walk behind my Dad. Next, my brother Nathan is in between me and my Mom, who is at the back.

Trixie is the one who starts fights with Bandit, and Bandit is the one who makes sure that we all know. But Bandit also starts fights, too, and he is the one who can’t finish them. Trixie is usually the one who gets in trouble, because she is about 2-years-old now and is afraid of everything. These are just some of the things that Trixie gets scared of: Fart noises, someone speaking into a paper towel roll, a rubber oven mitt, loud noises and sometimes Bandit. Vivian

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Our Springer Spaniel Trixie does great — as long as she’s in the lead. She’s a handful if someone else is out front, but seems to love the trips (and the treats). Our poodle mix Bandit has the shortest legs in our group, but the biggest heart. They say a good dog will run until its heart explodes, and I think Bandit would prove that true if we let him. After having to carry him for stretches on the first few hikes, we stuck him in Nathan’s backpack on the most recent outing (see Nathan’s update). I sensed some shame, but Bandit didn’t fight us, and I don’t blame him.

Early this year we did a couple hikes nearby — at Lake Norman State Park and Latta Plantation — then set our sights on bigger challenges.

A three-hour trip to a place called Max Patch, which included a nine-mile drive up a tight, winding, washboard dirt road, ended with an excellent payoff. The hike to the top was a short one, though steep in one stretch, and the summit was a big, grassy plateau with incredible views.

On Mother’s Day we tackled Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi. It’s just off the Blue Ridge Highway, and the temperature drop was pretty incredible — from mid 70s in our driveway to low 50s at the base of the mountain. The steep trails were by far the most difficult we’ve tackled — tree roots and boulders were our stairs for more than half of the four-mile hike — but everyone came through unscathed. And now we know hikes considered difficult or strenuous are still in our wheelhouse, although when Viv saw the parking lot near the summit, she let me (and everyone nearby) know we could have just driven to the top and walked a short, paved path to the observation deck. So maybe we’ll try a moderate trail next time.

Our hiking is sure to slow down in the summer heat, but the NC mountains are full of big waterfalls and other cool destinations, so I’m sure we’ll be back at it soon.