We’re 10 minutes into our hike when my two-year- old daughter sits down and starts to cry. “I want back- pack!” She hollers, meaning she wants to ride in the carrier.
I stand a few feet ahead of her with my Irish Wolfhound mix, who’s sniffing the breeze — for horse scents, no doubt. This area of Mt. Charleston is popular with trail riders. I consider my options: The hike is only a little over a mile and mostly flat, which means I could encourage my daughter to keep walking. Or, I could give in and put her in the carrier.
I give in.
If I were hosting one of the kids’ hikes that I lead through Tiny Hikes and Adventures, I might have tried harder to get her to hike on her own. Some of the group’s two-year-olds can hike for hours without being carried, and I know my daughter can, too. But I also know the longer we wait, the warmer it’ll get. Even at our 15-degrees-cooler-than-Vegas elevation, it’ll hit the high 80s on the Sawmill Short Loop Trail by midday.
SAWMILL SHORT LOOP: Parents of young kids like this hike because it’s short, flat, and a loop, making it easier to keep kids engaged. The piñon pines and junipers offer some shade, and certain points offer a clear view of Mummy Mountain poking through the treetops — a chisel of gray against a cobalt sky.
Once my daughter is strapped in safely on my back, I continue up the trail. My daughter starts to sing, her tears from earlier forgotten. I wonder, not for the first time, if hiking with a toddler is worth all the work. Then, we turn a corner and see a glade of grass dotted with red and yellow wildflowers and several pink and yellow blooming cacti.
I smile and decide that it is.
GETTING THERE: Exit U.S. 95 North at Lee Canyon Road. After 12 miles, look
for the Sawmill Picnic Area on the right. Sawmill’s parking lot is set a safe distance away from the main road, so you can pack and unpack the car more safely with little ones around. The trailhead is behind the restrooms. Watch signs and follow yellow markers to stay on the trail.
DISTANCE: 1.3 miles (With a child, it can take an hour or more.)
ELEVATION GAIN: 164 feet
STEWARDSHIP 101: The Spring Moun- tains are home to a wide range of plants and animals, including some you can’t find anywhere else in the world. Respect their habitat by remaining on the trail and taking only pictures. The Junior Ranger program teaches kids Leave No Trace principles.
LEARN MORE: Visit gomtcharleston.com.