Family Packing into Independence

I have to start this post off by apologizing for being mum this summer.  We were so busy working and playing that we didn't have time to sit down to write about it all.  So, as the season changes and I watch the snow fall out my window I will get you all caught up on our summer.

Toward the end of the summer I grabbed my sister's family together and took them all on a local hike to Independence Lakes just outside of Elba, Idaho.  As a youth I hiked this yearly with my father.  We would use the four mile hike as a means of determining our condition before setting out on our annual 50 mile backpacking trip.  I have a lot of fond memories of this area and was excited to take my family and hopefully continue the tradition with my son.

As many of you may already know we are family ambassadors for Deuter.  Thanks to Deuter and my current employment with the BYU-Idaho ORC I was able to equip our entire trip.  

Multi-day packing with a toddler, or any child for that matter, can be a bit of a challenge.  The child carriers don't hold much gear and require your partner to carry the extra.  For our three day stay our packs averaged out around 50-60 pounds, except for mine which weighed out around 80 pounds with Ky in it.  As you can see we had to get creative with strapping on extras to get the volume we needed, our next pack will be a lot larger than a 45 liter.

 

With having other kids to walk with Ky decided to tackle the trail with his cousins.  Allowing them to get down and hike is important to us.  We feel it gives him a sense of accomplishment and allows him to participate rather than just ride.

On our layover day we decided to hike on up to the upper lakes.  On this hike we utilized our Boba Air, we love this carrier because it is light weight and packs down small.  Though in the photo Ky doesn't seem to like it much, he was in need of a good nap.  The quality of photo is such because in our day hike we allowed my 8-year-old niece to man the camera.  Allowing your child to man the camera can often be fun, it allows for a great discussion later in time when you pull them up and ask what they were seeing and thinking.  

While at the upper lake we basked in the warm sun, had lunch, and skipped rocks on the water.  Ky picked rocks for daddy and got to wade around at the shoreline.  The bandanna on his rear is there to protect our cloth covers.

I guess since I brought it up I will discuss what we do for diapers while backpacking.  We use Thirsties covers with gdiaper inserts, which are 100% compostable.  For wipes we chose some flushable/compostable unscented wipes.  We bought some compostable bags from our Whole Foods store which we would gather the diapers and wipes in and once a day we would head out and dig a big deep cat-hole and burry the entire lot.

Backpacking with children force you to be a minimalist so that you can haul enough gear to keep the little ones comfortable, just make sure to not compromise your own safety and ability to care for your child while out there.  Some of the light weight equipment we love to pack with are hammocks.  ENO does a great job of making lightweight gear that is awesome for lightweight backpacking.

The biggest thing about being out with family is to take time to enjoy each other.  We all piled into one tent to enjoy a friendly card game one afternoon while thunderstorms rolled through.

When all is said and done backpacking with your kids is one of the greatest things you can do to bond with them.  Just make sure to accommodate them and take it at their pace.  The outdoors offer so many learning opportunities that a classroom cannot teach.  

Get your family out there and enjoy the outdoors.  Opportunities like these build relationships that cannot be made any other way.