Serenity NOW!

Hiking Near Cincinnati — Go on Hike, Any Hike will Do

By Tammy York

Finding time to hike is hard.

Hiking Near Cincinnati

I know sometimes life comes at you from a thousand different directions and finding time for hiking near Cincinnati or any hiking is difficult.

We all have family and employment responsibilities that add to our stress but if you can slip away just for a few moments…

—

Maybe you can do something just for yourself for a change.

You are the glue for your family and friends.

You need to be strong, clear headed, and happy.

I encourage you to go for a hike for yourself — there are plenty of hiking places near Cincinnati.

Even if it is just a wee-little hike

Take a moment for yourself when you are running errands or taking your break.

When I worked for the state, the building I worked in had lovely ponds behind it. The ponds were the remnants of an old fish hatchery and filled with scores of small fish.

I would slip away several times during the day, to stroll around the ponds to clear my head.

On my breaks, I did yoga while watching green and great blue herons stalk little fish.

In the fall, scores of migrating cedar waxwings would curl into the protected oasis of these ponds. The flock would fly in great right-handed swirling patterns, scooping low over the surface of the water stirring up the insects, and then the cedar waxwings would take turns diving through the cloud of insects much like various species of whales hunt.

You can capture time like this too.

Maybe wake a little earlier — this only works if you promise and keep your promise to yourself that this time is for you! Not so you can get done more stuff. Stuff to do will always accumulate.

Or, what if you actually took your lunch break?

Take a side trip on the way home and let the traffic clear while you go hiking.

Recently, we were returning from a trip to Indiana and since I don’t commute anymore, I forgot all about rush hour traffic. I was on 275 between Mosteller and 42 going no where fast when I realized, we don’t have to sit in this traffic we could be hiking in Hamilton County Park’s Sharon Woods or hiking at Trammel Fossil Park.

I took the Sharonville exit and we went fossil hunting at Trammel Fossil Park for almost two hours or hiking and exploring Cincinnati’s rich history!

We got a little carried away but I was watching the traffic from our vantage point and peeking at Google maps.

We wouldn’t have been home any sooner than we eventually got home because there had been a couple of accidents on all the roads we could have taken. Instead of sitting in a car with two bored children, we collected tiny brachiopods, corals, and hiked the rocky bots of Cincinnati’s ancient sea floor!

The kids still talk about it!

A hike through the woods sure beats sitting in rush hour traffic that isn’t going anywhere.

The holiday season is bearing down. Family is coming into visit. Your traveling to visit family. Ads are screaming for you to spend, spend, spend.

I’m begging you to spend time on yourself!

Here is my poem to help you remember to go hiking around Cincinnati or where ever you are:

Go on a hike

Any hike will do

Just go on a hike

A hike just for you.

HIKE OFTEN. LIVE MORE.

The Journey is the Destination?

By Tammy York

What? The Journey is the Destination?

Yep.

Seriously, who hikes to get from one side of the park or mountain or forest to get to the other side? When you could just take a car?

Hiking fulfills a connection to nature and to our self.

Hiking connects us to other people and especially with the people we love.

Research Shows

There are hundreds upon hundreds of research studies about the benefits of spending time in nature.

Heck, there are whole movements afoot to get more people (especially children) outside and spending time in nature.

Why do I hike?

I get asked a lot what I like about hiking the most. Here is my answer:

The cadence.

The heartbeat pace.

Hiking is moving meditation – I’m no good at sitting still.

Nature is never boring.

It makes me happy to know I make a difference in the world by doing something so simple as picking up trash along the trail.

I appreciate the quiet.

I don’t have to think about anything else besides not tripping over exposed roots.

I love thinking about NOTHING.

I’m a mom, wife, writer, and an entrepreneur.

It is a vacation to not be running scenarios and lists and plans through my head.

Hike Often. Live More.

Hiking Happy

By Tammy York

I want you to stop right now and think.

When was the last time you reached a goal and didn’t immediately move the goal posts on yourself?

Zaleski State Forest Backpacking Trail A-F Connector

How can you achieve happiness if you never reach your goal because you are constantly moving the goal posts?

We do it all the time.

Check out my favorite TED Talk on that topic.

We rarely stop and savor the little things.

We tend to think, “If I just have _________, I’ll be happy.”

If I just: Make more money. Drive a nicer car. Have a bigger home. Have a new kitchen. Go on world-wind vacations.

The list goes on.

Hail! The Mighty Backpacker and His Sidekick!

If you are thinking this is off topic for a hiking blog,

you

are

wrong

.

We are so fixated on the destination

**— if I can just get to ________, I’ll be happy —**

that we fail to realize there is no Point A to B destination.

Hiking is about the journey.

The journey is the destination.

Hike Often. Live More.

Up a Creek: Part Three

By Tammy York

The best thing about creeking is that there is no rush.

You are there.

You have arrived at your destination.

You have reached your goal.

Ta Da!

There is no next goal coming up.

You can reward yourself and actually enjoy the reward of relaxing and just enjoying each and every moment.

You can look for butterflies on the sandbars.

Find a feather covered in rain drops. Wonder if maybe there really are fairies and we are just too old and cynical to see them.

Or just dip your toes in the cool water while listening to the creek burble and the angry kingfisher chitter.

Hike Often. Live More.

Up a Creek: Part Two

By Tammy York

Sometimes when you go to a creek you just need to investigate as to what is under those rocks.

If you look closely at the underside of the shelf there is blue clay. A marvelous find found often in our Ordovician fossil rich area.

Blue clay is found between the large layers of stone.

Typically the thicker the slab jutting out the higher the likelihood of blue clay being underneath. If you look in the water downstream a few inches from these areas you’ll find round “stones” of clay.

Oh, and I know I don’t have to say this but you know I have to (kind of like those warnings to not eat the cotton-ball in the aspirin bottle) don’t take the clay, don’t excavate it, be kind to all and leave it for someone else to find and enjoy discovering.

Plus, you don’t want to undermine the shelf the clay is holding up. That is no good.

But what do you do when you get blue clay all over your hands?

You apply it to your face like American Indians did.

Apparently, those Summer Nature Camps with Cincinnati Park Board made an lasting impression!

Thanks Gia and her crew!

Then you look around and see if you can find another area to find clay in — after all you need to add designs to your mom’s face and legs too.

NOPE — y’all don’t get a picture of that!

Maybe next time…until then — Sign up for my blog to get the next post when I post it.

Hike Often. Live More.

Your Escape Plan

By Tammy York

If you are heading to Mary Gray this weekend, you may also want to check-out

Shrader-Weaver Woods near Bentonville.

The Shrader-Weaver Woods is amazingly tranquil especially in winter. This hike is one I have done many times and I enjoy the serenity it offers.

The parking area is right off of the road and easy to miss if there is snow on the ground. If you decide to try this hike during the summer, make sure you have ample bug repellent on because the back of the woods is a wet woods with a seep. Vegetation includes your standard water loving plants such as white oaks and skunk cabbage.