Kellisa's Path

Bayfield to Madeline Island Wisconsin March 2013 Kellisa and Laurel states hiked together: 9/50. Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

Voyageurs National Park Minnesota March 2013 Kellisa and Laurel states hiked together: 8/50.  

Laurel pretending to be a bear. Tahquamenon Falls State Park Michigan October 2012 Kellisa and Laurel states hiked together: 7/50.

Okefenokee Swamp Georgia January 2012 Kellisa and Laurel states hiked together: 6/50.

Faver-Dykes State Park Florida July 2011 Kellisa and Laurel states hiked together: 5/50.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Ohio April 2011 Kellisa and Laurel states hiked together: 4/50. Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

 Urban Hike South Bend, Indiana April 2011 Kellisa and Laurel states hiked together: 3/50. Back to Kellisa's Path Blog

White Sands National Monument Carlsbad Caverns New Mexico March 2011 Kellisa and Laurel's states hiked together: 2/50.

Death Valley National Park California November 2010 Kellisa and Laurel's states hiked together: 1/50.

Auburn State Recreation Area California October 2016 Kellisa and I found this awesome trailhead only 15 minutes from our house. We had the Hippocampe in the car, so we pulled over to explore a little. The trail looked wide and flat (flat doesn't have to mean level, it just has to be free of major barriers that prevent our forward movement) as it descended into a little side canyon of the American River. The picture above shows the start of the trail and how it's blocked by a locked gate and large boulders. I had to lift the chair over the boulders and then carry Kellisa to her chair. This effort would have been unnecessary if they would make the trail opening just a little wider, but I guess they want to keep ATVs off the trail along with all other wheeled devices. This minimal effort would be more than rewarded as we pushiked 1.8 miles from Murphy's Gate to Robie Point and back. If we had more time, we could have continued farther. According to the website,

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Nevada September 2016 Between settling in our new home in California and summer's heat, we weren't able to explore any local trails for several months. That changed at the end of September when we hiked a nice little trail high above Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Loop Trail was the perfect trail to get back outside. It was wide and free of obstacles for Kellisa's Hippocampe . As usual, Laurel took the lead on the trail and even volunteered to push Kellisa several times. The girls were excited to have mom join us on this trail close to our home. Kellisa had pushiked in Nevada before, but never with Laurel. With this trail complete, the girls have hiked together in 41 states.  (More Pictures)  

Brazos Bend State Park, Texas March 2014 After my post that the girls are getting close to visiting and hiking in all 50 states, some have wondered what is left before completing the lists. I wanted to double and triple check my lists to make sure we didn't miss anything. Kellisa still needs to visit Iowa, Hawaii, and Alaska. In addition to those three states, Laurel needs to visit New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Utah.  The girls have visited Illinois and New Hampshire, but haven't hike a trail in these two states.

Tahoe Meadows (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada) September 2016 What started out as a promise back in May 1999 only to be forgotten for several years before being turned in to a real goal is close to being realized after several revisions.  The promise was to take Kellisa to visit all 50 United States by her 18th birthday. The promise grew to include hiking at least one trail in each state.  Along the path, Kellisa became an older sister to Laurel who started joining adventures to new states and without much planning, both girls are close to hiking a trail (together) in all 50 states.  Kellisa has visited 47 states to Laurel's 43 and together they've shared a trail in 41 states. Trips are planned to visit and hike the remaining states by the end of 2016.