Keeping a hiking journal can be very individual. Hikers will use random words, hand drawn pictures or sketches, poems or philosophical thoughts. But all will contain memories and specifics about your experience.
For littles, journaling will spark their curiosity, improve their observation/focus and writing/drawing competency, along with their other senses. You will find it will build their literacy, science and math skills. Helping them research their interest of what they see ie; a plant/bug and finding out more about its life cycle. The number of petals/legs and patterns will help them to learn these lessons through play and journaling. Stickers and colored markers will be a way of expressing themselves through art.
Prompts suggestions include:
Name of Trail, location, distance hiked, who was with me, how long and how hard was the hike
Dates/Time of day/Weather conditions
Birds/Animals/Plants what we heard and/or saw, describe/draw what is blooming, growing…
What are you thinking about while hiking
Your thoughts about the overal hike, would you repeat this at a later time
Including a US state or country map to pinpoint all the places you hiked
Maybe have a section for goals where you can record your objective and how you are getting closer to meeting it. That can be anything from achieving a specified number of miles in a certain timeframe or hiking all the trails in a particular park or town. One of my goals is seeing all 17 bridges at Acadia National Park. A selfie at each bridge is the end goal.
Now when you need a gift for the hiker in your life…why not a journal! It can be as simple as a spiral notepad to a leather bound book. Journaling will become routine and you will enjoy looking back on your entries. Keep it in your backpack with your other hiking items. If you are looking for us, you will find us outside.
Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Its the not the destination, It’s the journey.”
