Once upon a bright and sunny November day, one mom got dressed and asked her daughter to put on some hiking clothes.
Her daughter took a long look at her mother and headed upstairs to her room to change.
She came downstairs (like a freaking hour later...why do kids take soooo long to get dressed?) wearing a proud smile, a matching outfit, and shouting "TWIN BEARS WHAT WHAT!", and then insisted she take a selfie of the two matching girls.
Her technique could use some work.
So blurry. Can't see faces. Oh well.
And off they went, on their merry way to Sky Meadows State Park for a brutal hike. (All walks in our family, regardless of length or difficulty, are referred to as "brutal hikes". Even walking to school 0.3 miles is a brutal hike.) Their one and only goal: to touch the Appalachian Trail.
Upon arrival, the young girl bounded through fields and posed for majestic pictures.
She also walked through a pricker bush, which made her itchy and incredibly whiny.
"Mom, how much longer is this brutal hike?"
Once the two had traveled approximately 70 feet, they encountered a few
giant swarms of those black gnats that fly directly into your eyeballs and
also some starving mosquitoes trying to get their last meal before
winter, and the child upped the whining to straight up crying. The exasperated mother took a video
because, well, someday perhaps the daughter will think it's funny. Maybe.
It was clear pretty early on that this brutal hike wasn't going to last long. The mother tried encouragement. She tried distraction. She dug deep and told stories of her own misadventures on the trail, including whipping her bloody hiking boots off the side of a boat. Eventually though, the whining daughter wore the exhausted mother down.
They were so close to the AT, but seriously - look at the child's face... There could be no more hiking.
Fully lacking a decent attitude, though the AT is less than a mile away.
As the two girls lugged their matching selves back to the car, the best and most magical thing happened, which totally saved the day and made driving 126 miles round trip for a 23 minute walk totally worth it all.
THIS guy!
And then the mom took this hilarious and poignant photo.
"Lakeland! Deer!!"
For real. Look at her face. AND look at the deer's face. Best. Hike. Ever.
