First Hike Of The Year

As someone who loves to hike, get outside, and try to do those two things regardless of the weather, it’s embarrassing to say that my first hike of 2019 wasn’t until last week! I could probably drop you a million excuses as to why I didn’t hike at all in January + February (weather, winter blues, etc.), but we’re gonna push those aside and start getting after it now. After a long winter of so many below average temperature days, we were blessed with a warm (read: 50 degrees) sunny weekend, and I knew we couldn’t waste those sun rays sitting inside! Me, Laura, Taylor, and her new puppy Toast all drove out to Coeur d’ Alene to hike at Tubbs Hill to kick off the spring hiking season.

If you hike or regularly spend time outdoors, you know that spring can truly offer a mixed bag of conditions. Though it was warm and sunny, the trails were still snow and ice covered, which definitely presented it’s challenges! (I was kicking myself for not bringing my trekking poles the entire time!) On our hike out, it was still cold enough that the trails were compacted and icy, so rather than hiking, we were all just shuffling along trying not to slip and fall. However, on the way back, it had warmed up enough to turn that ice into slush and we had significantly more traction! If you’re gonna get out and hike this spring, consider the difference in trail conditions which can change rapidly just within a few hours. If you have spikes and/or poles, you should be okay on the ice, but if not, think about doing an afternoon hike instead!

Now realistically, Tubbs Hill has little to no elevation gain at all so this was less of a hike and more of a nature walk, but for the first one of the year, it was nice to just get out and ease back into it. Once we got to the main beach at the hill, we let Toast run around and play fetch, and you guys, he had a DANG good time. He’s gonna be the best hiking dog; you can already tell he loves the outdoors (and the water)! As I’m sure you guys know, I LOVE puppies, so the majority of the photos below are of him and his seriously derpy face (which is the cutest thing, possibly ever).

We stayed a little bit too long at the beach, soaking in every ray of sunshine and basking in the glory that is spring, after a long, cold, dreary winter. I am the kind of person who’s energy completely matches the weather, so as you can imagine, with this sudden onset of spring temps, I’m thriving in it. I can’t tell you how excited I’m getting for wedding season to come, plus as many adventures as I can squeeze in in between wedding weekends!

I’m sure we’ll be back at Tubbs Hill quite a few times this summer to swim, hammock, picnic, and enjoy the weather + views, so I’m confident that this won’t be the last you’ll see of this place! But for now, enjoy these sunny views and puppy candids!

And if you’re wondering, yes, Toast does have an Instagram you can follow! Click here to follow his adventures!

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