Finding a Relationship with Nature

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[00:00:00.00] Text, Presented by L.L. Bean. A man in a red L.L. Bean T-shirt stands in front of a stand of trees.

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[00:00:03.14] My name is Mauricio Valadrian. I am a Hike it Baby dad. And as of recently, I'm also a member of the board of directors here at Hike it Baby.

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[00:00:10.87] Text, Mauricio Valadrian. Hike it Baby Stories. Mauricio hikes up a forest trail while carrying a baby in a carrier on his chest.

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[00:00:13.02] I grew up in Colombia. And even though the country is known for great biodiversity, beautiful rainforests, I actually grew up in the city where there's very little forest, very little access to nature. And, in fact, activities like hiking and camping are more for people with means. And that was certainly not the way in which I grew up. I really didn't have a relationship with the outdoors and going out in nature, until ironically enough moving to the United States.

[00:00:44.46] I moved here in my late teens shortly after I became a father, shortly after that, I became a single father. In my effort to try to find things to do with my little baby, I ended up exploring nature. And here in the Pacific Northwest, there's plenty of opportunities for that. And I think at that moment was when I realized all the benefits and all the great things that come with being outdoors with your child and exploring together and discovering nature together.

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[00:01:09.28] A photo appears of Mauricio and his sun smiling by the side of a sun-dappled forest trail flanked by tall trees on either side.

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[00:01:09.48] Fast forward to today, I remarried. And now I have a four-year-old daughter and two beautiful twin babies.

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[00:01:17.49] Mauricio hikes across a grassy clearing with a baby in a carrier on his chest and a young child in another carrier on his back. He and his wife walk down a trail together as he carries the packs.

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[00:01:17.56] And my wife and I have absolutely made sure to make nature a priority, to be out there and exploring with them a priority because now I very much understand what comes with it. And so I'm very happy to be a Hike it Baby dad.

[00:01:30.46] And I'm hoping that I could become also an example for other dads and other parents that are trying to find that connection, people from other cultures and other countries, people that don't speak English. That's definitely something that I care a lot about. And that's something that I'm hoping that I can bring to the Hike it Baby organization as a whole.

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[00:01:49.19] A group of parents with babies and young children hike down a forest trail which winds between banks of greenery on either side.

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[00:01:50.04] Everybody is in the same page. And everybody is so welcoming and so understanding. No judgment whatsoever.

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[00:01:55.59] A woman turns and smiles as she ushers a boy forward on the trail.

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[00:01:55.80] And that makes that whole activity just so much more enjoyable. So we get to do something that we love to do. And we get to do it with our babies. And I don't think it gets much better than that.

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[00:02:05.69] Mauricio smiles as he carries his daughter in the pack on his back. Hiker logo, Hike it Baby.