Outdoor Time and the Kokanee Salmon Run

This outdoor family adventure was sponsored by Zappos.

I love that the majority of our family traditions take place outdoors. I’ve always loved being outdoors and I hope that my kids will grow up feeling that same way. One of our favorite traditions takes place at the reservoir near our house. We have such a connection to this reservoir and enjoy all of it; we swim in it in the summer, fish in it in the spring and explore its deeper secrets as it drains in the Fall.

When the reservoir gets to its lowest point in late September, we love watching the Kokanee Salmon spawn up the Little Bear river from the reservoir. When we first learned about this happening in our own back yard we couldn’t believe it, I only thought this only took place in Alaska or coastal areas not in the desert state of Utah. The process starts happening in early September after the reservoir water has dropped to its lowest level and usually ends in late October. The Salmon make their spawning run from the reservoir where they have matured for the last 2-4 years into a tributary, where they fight, make nests, spawn, and eventually die.

Every year we hike over to the highest point on the river where the Salmon have to jump a one-foot incline before swimming on to the slower parts of the river.  My sweet little Ali always seems to find the biggest Salmon of the group and does everything in her power to be its number one cheerleader. I don’t think she has ever had one of her underdog fish complete the one-foot jump, but she doesn’t give up until they float back down the current. It’s such an amazing site to witness as the fish complete the jump and progress up the river. Every year I have to explain why it’s important not to disturb the Salmon as they make their migration. It’s easy to feel bad for the ones that wash back down the current but it’s an important natural process that needs to happen on its own. I cherish this tradition every year because as my kids witness this natural event I feel like it increases their connection to the outdoors.

This is the first year that Wil and Rockwell have been able to keep up with us on some of our hikes.  We put them in the kids Keen Hikeport Mid Strap hiking boots to give them a little more stability and traction on the trails. These boots are waterproof and breathable but also have Velcro straps across the front that make them easy to get on and off.  I truly believe that if you want your kids to love the outdoors from a young age it’s important to invest in gear that can help them love it. We got our kids hiking boots and my Keen Evofit One’s from the Zappos. We’ve been using Zappos for a few years now because we love the amount of options they offer and because their customer service is always great if you need to return or exchange an item.

If you need outdoor shoes for your young hikers, I put some links below to a few of our recommendations.

Thanks for reading!

Hikeport Mid Strap WP      Targhee     Terradora      Hikeport Mid WP      Moxie Mary Jane