Trekking, Toddler-parenting, & Teamwork

adventuretravelgetawaystrip hostfor the moms

13 Aug

“Who is going to keep your daughter?” is the most common question I get if I tell anyone about an upcoming adventure that does not involve my little bestie. While we do a ton of adventuring as a family, maintaining my sense of self is vitally important to me, and traveling without my family is also a part of that. I can come back from these trips refreshed and renewed – complete with a better sense of who I am and who I want to be as both a mother and a wife. Completing the Salkantay Trek in Peru was strenuous and physically demanding (likely the single most physically demanding trip I’ve done in my life thus far), yet I still came back feeling incredibly rejuvenated.

I have a funny thing I try to do for these daughter-less adventures – I print out a “flat Harper” and travel with her, taking funny and memorable photos to send to my husband to show her. “Flat Harper” completed the Salkantay Trek too, meeting new friends and seeing new sights along the way. It has a fun way of connecting me with other women on these adventures too – we all get plenty of laughs and bond over people we’ve left behind due to our sense of adventure. Ten days in Peru leaves a lot of work for the solo parent back home, and I’m thankful that Harper has another parent who is so supportive of me continuing to do things for myself. Harper won’t remember that mom left for a certain number of days, but she may remember me coming back a better parent.

Teamwork on the trail is just as important as teamwork back home. Bonding with these women over our experiences along the trail was a life-changing experience for me. We shared laughs, tears, blister bandages, and snacks (nerd clusters for life). My calves will remember the incline, my lungs will remember the altitude changes (my burnt lips too!), and I will forever remember this trek and the group of women who completed it with me.