We decided that it was time to start taking our 4 1/2 month old daughter, Charlotte, on some of our favorite easy hikes.  Ed's parents owed us an anniversary gift, so we thought that a baby carrier backpack would be the perfect answer.

On Saturday, we drove over to Campmor in New Jersey to check out the possibilities and to subject Charlotte to an immense amount of manipulation as we put her in and out of each carrier in the store.  We tried some Kelty carriers and one by Deuter.  Unfortunately, we discovered that she is still too small for all of these.  So, we decided to stick with our trusty Baby Bjorn front carrier until she gets a little older.  Refusing to leave empty-handed, Ed grabbed a pair of The North Face nylon shorts, hoping that they would ease some of the burden he has placed on his favorite EMS shorts which seem to have been discontinued before he could buy another pair, two DuoFold wicking t-shirts ($9.99 each -- what a bargain!), and a pair of Bolle "Swisher 800" sunglasses that Frances thought looked really cool.  Frances did not buy anything, but she warned Ed that she expected her patience with him to be reciprocated the next time she dragged him into Michael's craft store.

On Sunday, it was slightly warm and very windy, and we headed off to Sterling Forest to walk the Sterling Lake Loop.  Ed wore one of his new DuoFold shirts, together with EMS Wilderness Pants, EMS trail runners, and his new GoLite Ether Windshirt.  Frances is jealous of Ed's Wilderness Pants.  She is upset that they are not made in petite sizes, and she gave Ed an evil look when he suggested she just buy a pair and roll up the legs.  During a stop at the Palisades Parkway's Alpine Lookout to feed Charlotte, Ed walked around the windy cliff-top area and decided that the GoLite Ether Windshirt actually works, and quite well.  He will be bringing it with him on all future hikes, if for no other reason than to be able to say "GoLite Ether Windshirt" enough times to annoy Frances.

After a little more than an hour's drive, we arrived at the Sterling Forest Visitor Center parking lot.  Frances popped into the Vistor Center gift store to buy the mandatory Audubon stuffed bird with authentic bird call (this time it was the Northern Cardinal).  We put Charlotte in the Baby Bjorn and headed out to follow the blue markers around Sterling Lake.

Ten minutes later, Charlotte was screaming and needed to be fed.  We wish to extend our sincere thanks to the Townsend Family, on whose driveway rock Frances fed Charlotte.  (A portion of the Sterling Lake Loop is on a little-traveled road).  Charlotte was unhappy when Frances tried to put her back in the Baby Bjorn, so Ed just carried her in his arms for a while.  About a half mile later, his arms and back got tired, but Charlotte still objected to the rear-facing Baby Bjorn position.  So we did the previously unthinkable -- we turned her around to face forward in the Baby Bjorn -- and she was happy!  There was much rejoicing, a little bit of photo-taking, and then we journeyed on.  At the far end of the lake, Ed spotted a bare rock on the sunlight.  We followed a small side trail to the rock, which Ed declared would now and forever be know as Charlotte's Rock.

After a few minutes of rest, we decided to retrace or steps rather than continue the loop -- we know from experience that the back half of the loop does not stay close to the lake and is not as interesting.  Halfway back, Charlotte decided to object to the front-facing Baby Bjorn position, so Ed carried her again.  This only appeased her for a few minutes, and Frances thought that she might need to be fed again.  We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to the Harriman family, on whose driveway rock Frances fed Charlotte.  And if anyone in the Harriman family reads this, we would love to take a tour of your property and sit on that chair -- you know the one. 

Deciding that it would be fruitless to make Charlotte hike anymore, Ed decided he would go get the car while Frances and Charlotte took in the scenery from the Harrimans' rock.  For the first time ever, he put his EMS trail runners to their intended use, and ran on the uphill dirt trail back to the parking lot.  Much to his delight, they worked very well.  A mere ten minutes later, he was placing Charlotte in her car seat.

Ed and Frances know very well that no trip to the Sterling Forest area, with or without crying baby, is complete without a visit to Bellvale Farms Creamery for homemade ice cream.  They took the special insulated bag out of the trunk and asked the creamery clerk to please put it in the deep freezer for a few minutes.  (This is all true).  They sat inside and enjoyed their cones -- Ed had Bellvale Bog (chocolate with fudge chunks) and Frances had cheesecake (which contains swirls of pie crust).  After they were through, they okayed the removal of the insulated bag from the deep freezer and purchased a quart of Great While Way (white chocolate with raspberry swirl and chocolate pieces) and a quart of Black Raspberry.  The quarts were placed into the bag and the bag was sealed and immediately taken to the car (Frances determined that the floor of the back seat was the most strategic location).  Exactly 1 hour and 18 minutes later, we pulled up in front of our apartment building, and Frances took the baby and the ice cream upstairs while Ed drove to the garage.