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Family backpacking
Last year, I took my two boys (age 8 and 5 at the time) on a backpacking trip with my FIL and BIL (age 9). This year, I was a little more ambitious and decided to take my 4 oldest kids (age 6, 8, 9, 11). I invited the whole extended family and got a pretty good showing. My father came down from Seattle. My FIL came with 4 of his boys (age 8, 10,11, and 25), and my sister's husband with their 3 boys. We left Thursday around noon, and left the trailhead around 2pm. My FIL went earlier and left the TH around noon. They couldn't stay Friday night, but my sister's family came in Friday night and met us at the lake we were spending the night at. Here are some pictures:
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Here is my pack before heading out. It was REALLY heavy. I had at least 15 lbs of food in there. Plus 3 sleeping bags, 2 tents, clothes for me and my 2 youngest, etc. Luckily my two older kids carried their bags, pads and clothes (about 13 lbs each, total). I realized my 11 yr old daughter could handle a little more, but my 9 yr old son was maxed out for his size. I don't think I overloaded them at all. My younger two just carried a water bottle, snacks and rain gear.
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Here they are going down the trail.
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We see deer at the first rest stop.
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First rest stop. Incidentally, it also became the second nights camp area.
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Being that I am a bad dad, this is her first time fishing. She loved it, so I obviously need to take her more.
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Here is the little guy fishing.
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Friday morning mountain goat sighting.
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Ranger told us to hang our food.
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He has fished with me a bunch of times. But, this was his first time with an open face reel. He was a natural. I am always amazed at how patient he is (he has ADHD) when it comes to fishing.
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Playing on the cliffs. (Don't tell momma :) )
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View from the cliffs
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More playing on the cliffs.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V...0/IMG_0334.JPG
Our second night, we moved to a new lake (it was the location of our first rest stop, but no fish).
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Messing around in the water.
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Second nights campsite.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n...0/IMG_0349.JPG
Packing up to come home. No food in this pack. I can't believe they ate 15 lbs of food.
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We met momma at the TH for lunch. Fresh sammiches.
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Obligatory stop at Provo River Falls on the way out.
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Some incidentals I forgot to mention. We went to a lake called Notch Lake. It is located around 10,000 ft and is about 2 miles from the TH. The second night was spent at Clegg Lake. It is a little less than 1.5 miles from the TH. The TH is located at the base of Bald Mountain at the top (elevation) of Mirror Lake HWY. It is a road that runs between Kamas Utah and Evanston WY. The trail is pretty flat.
here is a map showing the route. Red shows Thursdays route. Blue shows Fridays, and green shows Saturdays.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-q...20mountain.JPG
And, of course I did a video. I put a map up on the beginning of the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10eoY...1&feature=plcp
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Looks like fun... Memories like that last forever...
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Nice trip! Did the kids have a good time?
Took mine a couple of weeks ago (6 and 7 years old) and they ask me every morning ,"when can we go back dad?". Even got them thinking ultralight.
Even though I bet your trip was mostly work, it is worth it seeing how much fun the kids have. Plus your wife had a couple of days off, gotta be a plus for you.
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Kids loved it. They didn't ask at all when it was time to go home. Too busy playing in the woods. It was a lot of work for me, but I enjoyed it.
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It is great that your entire Clan go together in the piney woods. Looks like everyone had a great time!
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Looks like a fun trip. I need to take the kids up north for a hike in the Uintas so they can see what real mountains look like. Spent a lot of time up there growing up and miss it quite a bit.
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I thought that looked like the wasatch mts. I haven't seen those in person in over a decade. Good times I had out there with my family. Great to see others can enjoy it too. Thanks for sharing!
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Looks like you all had a great time! I love camping with my kids. My oldest is just now old enough to carry all her own stuff, so I know what you mean when you say it was a lot of work for you. It's a labor of love, though.
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Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing.
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Great pics!! Looked like a great time..