When it comes to physical fitness, San Diego children have a slightly poorer report card than the already dismal national average. The California Department of Education collects statistics from schools’ physical fitness tests, and the compiled data reflects America’s obesity epidemic. Instead of parking in front of the television or computer this weekend, why not enjoy some healthy family time out on the trail? Physical training may also have an interesting side benefit for your kids. The tests also show a correlation between good physical fitness and high academic scores.

No Excuses
San Diego’s open space parks and preserves await your exploration. Getting out into the fresh air with your spouse and family is both physically and psychologically healthy. Peruse the calories-burned benefits below then pull on your sturdy shoes and get hiking in San Diego!

Approx Calories burned in 1 hour:

• Flat hike, leisurely pace (2mph) carrying no weight => 90
• Flat hike, semi-leisurely pace (2.5mph), no weight => 120
• Up and down hills, carrying 0-9 lbs weight => 360

Enjoy Nature On San Diego’s Hikes
What better way to get to know your children? On a trail lined with tangy-scented sage and birdsong filling the air, families get out of their usual environments. As the path curves around to a ridge, and a gauzy veil of early morning clouds drifts amid valley trees below, you won’t be thinking about who left towels on the floor, didn’t do homework or forgot to take out the trash. The surprising beauty of a bright blue pond appearing in the middle of pine forest or the sight of colorful orange-tipped butterflies flitting from monkey flowers in yellow, orange and red free the mind to focus on the present. Each step into a beautiful natural setting leads you to a spirit unfettered by the troubles left behind.

With growing children, time races amid the busy-ness of life. Get out into the wilderness areas of San Diego, hike into a future of good memories and family bonds forged closer through pleasant shared experiences. Besides, hiking builds muscle and stamina –­­– good for your children.

Adults will also benefit. Hiking paves a wellness path toward continued physical fitness and activity, readying you for the time when you take a grandchild’s hand, and enjoy a beautiful San Diego hike.

Links related to this article:

• California Department of Education
• CDC Growth Charts

Every New Year, scores of San Diegans promise themselves this is their year to get fit. But with the prospect of boring treadmill duty stretched yawningly before them, it’s no wonder so many New Year’s fitness resolutions fail.

Often right outside our office doors or a quick hop from home, many natural preserves and open space parks offer flat ground that allows for easy hiking. Even people who are not so physically fit can enjoy nature, and make their fitness regime fun.

A reader recently told me she’d lost weight using a treadmill in 2004. Too bad she hated every minute on the machine – - – literally, time spent going nowhere. Her New Year’s resolution is to use some of the shorter hikes presented in 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Diego as her weekend reward.

Is your exercise a reward? Try getting out into nature. In San Diego, we’re fortunate to have several hiking areas that don’t require you to “rough it.” Often with learning opportunities and restrooms, San Diego’s natural preserves and open space parks offer a pleasant pastime while getting fit. In our mild climate, just a few steps from city streets, birds sing, flowers bloom, and the Zen-song of trickling
water drifts into the soul. In the great outdoors, even the rushing wind seems to say “hush-hush,” quieting the mind and spirit.

This New Year’s, make getting fit rewarding to the soul as well as the body. Step off the treadmill and step onto a San Diego hiking trail.
On average, hiking burns approximately 500 calories per hour (more or less depending on your weight, pace, terrain, etc).

To get started, choose short, easy hikes (see the three listed on the left). Then consult the book’s individual trail write ups. These and many others in the book are perfect for beginning hikers starting a New Year’s fitness plan that beats the exercise equipment doldrums. A few steps into nature and you’ll be hooked . . . ready to try more San Diego hikes, which are categorized in the book by length, ease, and criteria including wildlife and water features.

As a native San Diegan and author of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Diego, let me figuratively take you by the hand, and guide you along the trail. I’ll point out native plants, flowers, birds and other wildlife . . . and remind you to relax.

This New Years, step off the treadmill and into the serenity of the great outdoors. Let nature transform you – - – in body and mind!

Dateline: 3/17/06

By Sheri McGregor

As the weather turns, the soft, warm breezes of spring call for us to revel in the bright green of newly sprouted grass, and the promise of budding blooms that hold sweet scented rainbows inside. With the snow melted and the blue sky brightening their worlds, how do you keep your home schooled children on task? Take the task outdoors, of course. Hiking into nature provides the perfect environment for some whole learning that can cross the subject borders: physical education, science, history, social studies, literature, and art.

Before You Go

Get a local guidebook and research which trails will fit your child’s age and ability, as well as your other needs. Do you want long stretches of easy, flat trail on which to run? Can you bring along the dog? Are you seeking wildflowers for a lesson on native plants, their pollination or cycle of life? Determine your specific needs then find a trail that fits. (See below for hiking preparation and safety tips.)

Decide what you’ll study. Hiking lends itself well to several subject areas. Whether you get cooperative same-grade groups together, or bring your own or others’ homeschooled children of various ages, on-the-trail activities work. Below are a few possibilities.

Ideas

These are just a few of the easy ways you can incorporate hiking into your lesson plans, for fun learning that promotes healthy physical activity. Plan ahead, so that as the weather warms and winter-weary students are anxious for the great outdoors, you can all take a pleasant hike.

1. Have middle grade students research local native plants, then look for and identify them in the field. Have them note what they found and draw pictures in their take-along journals. Back at home or in a cooperative home school group, children can share interesting facts about the plants they researched (verbally or written), or write a poem. You could enrich the study by reading nature essays and literature. Call a local nature photographer or writer to come in and speak to a group of home-schoolers you’ve gathered.
(Subjects: science, art, language arts.)

2.Choose and study a historical journey or event that fits your students’ grade level, then host a re-enactment on the trail. Fifth-graders can learn about Lewis & Clark, for instance then take little red wagons on a wide, flat hike, making notes of what they see just as the historical figures did.
(Subjects: History, Social Studies).

3. Study different types of rocks and how they form, then choose a trail that features some about which the children learned. Have them point out metamorphic or igneous rocks. Small, handheld rock samples are only the beginning. Out on hiking trails, children can get up close to towering boulders, and observe the earth’s work in more magnificent form. Have them use rich language to name the boulders based on shape or surface texture; i.e. “seal,” “hamburger,” “gritty” rock. Have them look at the trail’s soil. Is it made up of smaller, broken pieces of the big rocks they see? Younger children can pour water into the dirt. Is it porous? Dry? Soft? Back at home or in your group, share information about locations around the world where there are interesting, carved or sacred stones such as Easter Island, or islands with volcanic rock. (Subjects: science, physical education, literature, geography).

4. Grab up easels and paints, or drawing pads and pencils, and take children to a hike with a view. Teach them about perspective and let them experiment with it in their own nature art. (Subject: art)

Preparation and Safety Tips

a. Preview the trail, or use a detailed guidebook like one from the 60 Hikes series (right) in order to match the landscape to your lesson plan and children’s abilities.

b. Whether bringing your own children or home-schooled children in a bigger group, outline guidelines and rules such as staying on the trail to avoid snakes or someone getting lost. Have a “trail boss” and someone also bringing up the rear to keep anyone from straggling. Groups may want to invest in two-way radios so everyone can keep in touch.

c. Bring plenty of water. Better to err on the side of too much than too little. Even in mild weather, the body needs hydration. Many public hiking trails do not have drinking water available. Snacks or a picnic lunch are also good ideas.

d. Wear appropriate shoes and clothing. Is poison oak or ivy present? Long sleeves and pants are a plus. Sneakers with good tread are often okay. Actual hiking boots may be a better bet for slippery, rocky, or steep trails.

e. Bring a camera.

f. Most of all – - have fun!