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.

Backpacking in the Selway

What does it look like to take a 6-month-old backpacking?  I shall show you.

This was our camp set-up for our 2 day layover.

Grandpa came and we spent a lot of our day cooking over the open fire.

So, we didn't bring enough toys for Kylan.  Toys weigh too much!  So, he got sticks that I carved up for him.

Turns out that 6 months was the prime age for poopy blowouts!  Every dirty diaper on this trip was assisted by the positioning of our carrier pushing everything right out the top.  But at least we still had fun!

Kylan's night time outfit. We co-sleep at home which makes it easier for us when we go camping.

We found other items to play with while we were out there.  Nature is one of the greatest playgrounds!

Yes, it rained on us, for a full day!  We had an extra poncho which worked well since we didn't bring something for the little person.

These were the two best sports I have ever met.

What can I say?  Kylan LOVED the Deuter carrier.  Hiking down the trail was his favorite part of the day.  We were amazed at how well he loved that thing.

One happy family after spending 5 days in the backcountry.  Can't wait to do it all over again!

Backpacking At 6 months old!

I have been stewing over this post for 6 months now!  It is not perfect nor complete, but I am posting it anyway.  There will be a few more follow-up posts on this trip being as it was our "jumping off" point.  So, without further a du......



What comes to your mind when you think of taking your 6 month old child on a five day backpacking trip?  Most would answer this with one word... fear.  Some would speak of concerns that stem from fear, our answer was not any different.  Despite our fears and concerns we took a giant leap of faith and went for the adventure.  

The process of preparation was tedious as we faced the unknowns of what might happen.  Me being the more experienced backpacker was entrusted with the logistics of getting everything, we may need, packed into our seemingly small packs.  Jentri and my sister did what they do best and prepared the meals for everyone.  A lot of our fears were extinguished when my father decided to join in the fun along with his four horses.  The horses meant that we could pack more than just the bare necessities. 

I was considered the "guide" of this excursion being as I had been through this area the most.  Mind you, I had only been there one more time than everyone else, all of whom had never been there at all.  The stress of this responsibility weighed heavily on my mind all through the trip.  I was supposed to know what I was doing, and where I was going!

I am not going to tell you that this trip was easy, or liken it to a walk in the park.  No, it had it's rough parts that pushed each member of the party to their personal limits including the horses.  The horses were plagued by the treacherous landscape and the sharp granite rocks littering the trails.  We all realized we were in it together and with this reassurance relied upon one another to pull through the difficult times.

If I were to go into the nitty gritty details of each and every challenge and how they were overcome then this would turn into a book.  So, with that in mind I will speak of only a few.  Three out of the five days we had to deal with poop blow-outs which required quite a bit of hand washing baby clothes in the cold, high mountain lakes.  With Kylan only being 6 months old we could not put him down on the ground to crawl around in the dirt, unless we were willing to bathe him; this resulted in an extremely spoiled child once we returned home and attempted to resume our routines.  Being as I really did not know the area as well as I had wished I could not reassure everyone that we were getting close on those days we were hiking.  In fact on the worst day we set up camp just shy of my desired destination, which turned out to be alright.

Over all this single trip was the most liberating of any that we have done with our son to this day.  We were able to realize that we really didn't need all of those comforts provided by our home.  It proved to us that we would be able to survive on our own if needs be.  We learned to become flexible, taking trials as they appear and allowing them to pass with minimal attention.  

When someone talks about tackling a huge adventure with their young child the first thing that pops into my mind is "liberation!"  I have a feeling that we will be sharing more about this grand adventure with you in the future.

Deuter Kid Comfort III Review

In August of 2010 when our son was only 6 months old we went on a 5 day backpack trip as a family.  Call us nuts, but this experience was very liberating.  For this trip we borrowed a Deuter Kid Comfort III which was AMAZING!  We are currently saving up to get one for ourselves.  Here are a few things we loved and disliked about this kid pack.

PROS:
The main compartment is HUGE!  We could not believe how much we were able to stuff into that thing.  In fact the more we stuffed in the higher our kid sat.  There are plenty of pockets to suit any and all of your needs.  With all of it's pockets this pack held all of our child's clothing, 20 disposable diapers, a few toys, and other personal gear.

The seat is adjustable allowing this pack to grow as your child grows and the shoulder straps adjust for a perfect fit on whomever chooses to wear it.  My wife and I were able to swap packs in the middle of the day with minimal trouble.  Another great feature is the hassle free load/unload on one side for getting your child in and out easily.

Unlike with other kid packs you don't have to worry about finding a place to put the rain/sun shade, it is built-in with it's own storage compartment.  This feature alone was totally awesome!  The Kid Comfort III also has a higher back rest for the child versus many other carriers on the market.  The chin pad made for a great pillow being as our little man would fall asleep only minutes down the trail, and it was easy to remove and wash.

The base on this pack was very stable and unlike other's on the market it doesn't fold up when you put the pack on.  We could see where that feature would be nice, but for on the trail it was nice to be able to pick it up and move it around with out the base stand folding up on us.

This pack offers a hydration pocket where you can put a camel-bak reservoir which as well came in very handy being as when the pack is on you are unable to reach the pockets that may be housing your water bottle.

There is a small zipper pocket on the right hip that is just large enough for a few snacks.  On the left hip is a pocket that houses a mirror which comes with the pack when purchased so that you can keep an eye on that little one.

CONS:
The zipper on the large compartment proved to be a pain to use.  There is a fly that shields the zipper from rain and this fly was a bit snug making it difficult to operate.  The zipper operates in an arching motion which also made for difficult operation.

At 6 months old this pack nearly drowned our little man.  We were able to compensate for this by stuffing more things into the main compartment, which boosted the seat up just enough.

While wearing the pack it was impossible to reach any of the pockets on the sides or rear.  Once you had it on with the child secured in place you really didn't want to take it off just to get something out of it.  Which I guess comes with any backpack once fully loaded.

With these few minor flaws in mind we believe this pack to be one of the best on the market for backpacking with young children and would recommend it in a heartbeat.


Update:
We saw Deuter at the Winter Outdoor Retailer Show a couple weekends ago and got to play with the newest version of the Kid Comfort III.  They fixed the zipper issue we have talked about by getting rid of the flap that covers it.  The pockets are still difficult to reach but they made it so that the kick-out leg locks open when retracted and can be put back with a push of a button. 


In our opinion, they pretty much made it perfect!