Rock climbing involves plenty of book learning in addition to hands on learning.
​

It's pretty exciting when you're able to do more than you thought you could.

We have plenty of challenges and lots of encouragement along the way.
​

With our decreasing daylight this time of year, we ended up coming back out in the dark with our headlamps after getting the rope down and gathered back up on a recent evening climb. There certainly are a lot of toads hanging out on the trail at night! LOL! :)
​

​Megan and I tackled "Practice Rock", a 35-foot climb. While it is Kootenai's lowest rated climb at a 5.4-5.6, it's definitely more challenging for beginners than the name implies.
​

Finding good holds you can reach while pulling and pushing yourself up a rock wall is quite challenging. It always looks easier from below than it actually is on the climb.

The higher Megan goes, the more spooked of heights she gets. Especially if she looks down. But she did great pushing herself to get to the top and coming back down.
​

With motivation and guidance from below, Jamie took on the challenge of conquering this 50-foot, 5.7-rated climb known as "Classic Crack". 

We're working on learning and trying all sorts of things. On this climb, Jamie works her way up the crack of an inside corner. She was pretty excited to make it to the top.

A little chipmunk comes out near Practice Rock to see what all the commotion is about.

I especially love going on the big, exciting, mountain treks to explore places I've never been before... but I just can't work them into my schedule as often as I'd like.

​So I make a point to work in plenty of smaller hikes in the bits of time here and there in between. It takes a bit of careful planning, but we can do so much more with our time when we make a concentrated effort to do so. Here are some photos from a little 4-5 mile hike we squeezed in recently up a trail we've been on too many times to count. :) 
​

If you have an eye for enjoying nature, you will have no problem finding lots of fabulous discoveries while hiking mountain trails. But you gotta take just a few shots and keep moving, so you don't hold everyone up too long!
​

Little rock cairns were waiting to greet us at the creekside. For some reason, I enjoy discovering and photographing them. Apparently others enjoy building them. :)
​

​Last year I started a new adventure with my family: rock climbing and rappelling. (Well, our son started a couple of years ago, so he is teaching us.) We got in a few baby lessons last year, and have now got back to it this year with a couple of "real" lessons. This video is our first time climbing up Kootenai Creek (in the Bitterroot Mountains), which is well known around here for rock climbing. 

When my son first got into rock climbing, he tried to get me to join him so we could do it together. I told him I found it very intriguing, but it was something I would never be able to do. It took a little time, but that changed. I've been working on challenging the limits I've placed on myself, and this is one of those challenges. :)
​

​Although I'm very new at this, I hope you enjoyed this little video my husband put together for me to share with you. There will be more to come as I progress with my rock climbing and rappelling, and I invite you to follow along with me on this journey. How far I go, I don't know. I've removed my limit on this, so I won't know until I get there. :)

​I also hope that this little video will make you think about the limits you have set for yourself. What might you be able to do if you simply gave into the idea that it might be possible? 

​A beautiful day for a little hike up Kootenai Creek with a friend, enjoying the wonderful sights and sounds of nature ... rushing water, little critters, and lots of lovely flowers. :)