My Misogi: Hiking the Thorsborne Trail With My Toddler

A few months ago, I declared my Misogi.

My goal was simple to explain, but slightly less simple to actually do...

Hike the Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island with my two-year-old toddler.

Four days. Three nights. One remote island in Far North Queensland. Around 32km of rough hiking. And a 13kg toddler riding on my back for all of it.

At the time, it felt like exactly what a Misogi should be. Something that genuinely excited me, scared me a little and made me wonder whether I could actually pull it off.

Then something pretty amazing happened. I shared my Misogi as part of a competition with Australian outdoor brand Zorali, and I actually won!

So, what is a Misogi?

The idea behind a Misogi is to choose a meaningful challenge that takes you outside your normal routine and pushes you into something bigger.

For me, that didn't mean climbing the highest mountain or hiking the longest distance possible. My challenge was about doing something that felt difficult in this season of my life.

Before becoming a mum, I'd travelled, backpacked, hiked and worked outdoors around the world. But adventure after having a child looks very different.

Suddenly there are naps, nappies, snacks, carriers, extra clothes and another little person's needs to consider. My Misogi became a way of asking myself:

How big can our adventures still be?

Why I chose the Thorsborne Trail

I wanted my Misogi to be something that genuinely challenged me.

The Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island definitely ticked that box. It's a remote multi-day hike through beaches, rainforest, creek crossings, waterfalls and crocodile habitat!

Everything you need for the four days comes with you. And in my case, that included the toddler. I would be carrying her in a hiking carrier while my friend Alana and I divided the rest of our camping equipment, food and supplies between us.

At the start of the trail, my pack weighed around 25kg including my toddler.

Zorali helped turn my Misogi into reality

When I entered the Zorali competition, I shared this idea without really expecting anything to come from it. Then I found out I'd won.

Zorali supported my Misogi with $1,000 worth of outdoor gear and $1,000 towards the adventure itself.

It was a huge help. But beyond the practical support, winning also gave me another little push of confidence. I'd declared the goal. Someone else believed I could do it.

Now I actually had to go and do the thing.

Zorali is an Australian outdoor brand with a strong focus on encouraging people to spend more time outside, including through its Zorali Outdoor Club community, hikes and outdoor events. That made this particular partnership feel like such a natural fit for the adventure I wanted to take on.

The Zorali gear I took on the Thorsborne Trail

I used my Zorali gear allowance to choose pieces I knew would be useful for multi-day hiking.

Some of my favourites were my:

• Merino T-shirt

• Hemp socks

• Cosy Camp fleece

• Merino X Slide Coffee Pour Over Sachets too

The merino T-shirt became a particular favourite. When you're carrying everything on your back for four days, you're definitely not packing a fresh outfit for every day.

Being able to wear the same merino tee repeatedly without it getting smelly was a BIG win.

And then we actually did it

In June, we boarded a boat bound for Hinchinbrook Island. Suddenly the Misogi wasn't an idea anymore. We were doing it.

Over the next four days, we hiked the Thorsborne Trail from north to south. And there were definitely moments when it felt hard. There were long days carrying a very heavy backpack and toddler. There were rough sections of trail where carrying a child made me much more nervous than I would normally be.

There were slippery rocks, creek crossings, scrambling, rain and very tired legs. There were sleepless moments. And there was definitely some self-doubt. But there were also moments of absolute magic.

The moments I'll remember

We swam in natural infinity pools above Zoe Falls.

We stopped beside crystal-clear creeks in the middle of the rainforest.

We camped metres from tropical beaches.

We ate dinner with the ocean in front of us.

My toddler happily took photos of trail markers with her little digital camera from the carrier.

She slept in the tent for around 12 hours every night.

And somehow, despite being dragged into one of the biggest adventures of her little life, she completely embraced it.

She barely complained.

She happily climbed into the carrier each morning.

She napped while we hiked.

She ate an alarming quantity of Freddos and lollies.

And she got to experience a wild place that many adults will never see.

Watching her take all of that in was probably the most special part of the entire trip.

My biggest lesson from my Misogi

I went into this adventure thinking the challenge would be completing the Thorsborne Trail with a toddler. But I came away realising something bigger.

Doing hard things with kids isn't necessarily about making those things easier. It's about learning to embrace a different pace.

Hiking with a toddler is different.

Sometimes you sing The Wheels on the Bus approximately one million times just to get through the day and to avoid a meltdown.

Sometimes you stop because they need something.

Sometimes the carefully selected hiking snacks aren't acceptable and they eat lollies for breakfast.

And sometimes they handle the whole experience better than you do.

Adventure after kids doesn't need to look exactly like adventure before kids.

That's something I'm learning to embrace.

A huge thank you to Zorali

I am incredibly grateful to Zorali for supporting this adventure.

The $1,000 in gear and $1,000 towards the trip helped turn an ambitious idea into something real.

But the competition also gave me a reason to actually declare the goal out loud.vAnd sometimes that's the hardest part. Once you've said, this is what I'm going to do, suddenly you have to start figuring out how to make it happen.

So thank you, Zorali, for helping me say yes to something that felt exciting, intimidating and just a little bit ridiculous.

It became one of the best adventures I've had since becoming a mum.

And now there's only one problem...

What on earth do I choose for my next Misogi?

Want to read more about our Hinchinbrook Island adventure?

If you're thinking about hiking the Thorsborne Trail or you're curious about multi-day hiking with toddlers, I've shared much more from our adventure here on the blog.

You can read my full day-by-day experience hiking the Thorsborne Trail with a toddler, including the parts I loved, the sections I found difficult and what it was really like carrying a toddler across Hinchinbrook Island.

I've also shared everything we packed for our four-day hike, including my toddler's clothing, our camping setup, hiking gear and the Osprey Poco carrier we used on the trail.

Hopefully our adventure gives another family the confidence to dream up a slightly ridiculous adventure of their own.