So this was my first backpacking trip, my son's first backpacking trip, and also my dog's first backpacking trip. I had bought my son a Gregory Wander 50 for his birthday back in February and he's been dying to put it to use ever since. I had recently picked up a Gossamer Gear Mariposa to use while I meticulously design and make my dream pack, and managed to find a cheap pack for the dog last minute before our trip. I wish I would have taken the time to weigh all of our packs before leaving, but I'm guessing my pack was just over 20lbs with food and water, my son's around 15-18lbs and the dog just carrying enough food for 2 days and a collapsable bowl.
The plan was to make it at least to Eddington Creek the first night and make camp, then hike the rest of the loop on Sunday.
After dropping my oldest daughter off with my parents for the weekend, we made our way to the Red Bridge trailhead. Shortly after arriving we walked down to the river to filter some water for our first part of the trip. The dog got a little over zealous and ended up going for a swim, pack and all. Luckily her food was in ziplock bags and didn't get soaked. We set out on the trail about 1:45pm on Saturday and were joined by one of the members of the local hiking/backpacking meetup groups.
We proceeded along the North Country Trail side of the river and I had forgotten just how hilly that trail was. Not much in the way of views, but very hilly. We did happen to see a couple of deer cross the trail not more than 10 yards away from us. We rolled into Eddington Creek right about 6:30pm to make dinner and filter water. I got to give my new MSP Core Recon wood stove a try (another first for the weekend). The wood was a bit damp, but managed to get the fire going and boil some water for my son and I to rehydrate our meals.
After we ate dinner and cleaned up, we filtered some more water and continued another 1/2 mile or so to find a spot to call home for the night. I quickly scrambled to setup my son's hammock, a purple Dutchware NylonD 1.6 w/Fronkey bug net. I think by the time I had setup my hammock, a Dutchware Half-wit in grey Hexon 1.6 (thanks Jolly), my son was sound asleep. I tied the dog up to a tree and drifted off to sleep myself. Next thing I knew it was 6:00am and I was awoken by the rain. I brought the dog to hang out with me under the tarp while I packed up my hammock. The rain stopped about as quickly as it started. We sat for a while then decided it was time to rouse my son from his slumber and make some breakfast.
We quickly packed up the rest of camp and continued along our journey. This is the half of the hike I was looking forward to as there was much more to see. After being on the trail for a couple of miles we finally came upon the Mini Mac bridge, which from what I understand was modeled after the Mackinac Bridge.
Now we were on the east side of the Manistee River heading southbound. This trail was quite a lot of fun and seemed to alternate between hiking in the deep woods full of cedars, pines and maples to bluffs overlooking the river, and this hole that was eroded down through the bluff.
A few more miles down the trail and we came upon the backwoods waterfall, which according to my son was his favorite part of the hike.
A short time later we started to hear some distant thunder, which led to the skies opening up and soaking us with a torrential downpour. This didn't seem to deter the dog from catching a little nap while my son and I ate our lunch.
Eventually the rain let up and we started to dry off. The rest of the trail presented us with more backwoods creeks which the dog refused to use the bridges to cross and insisted in fording across instead.
As we were nearing the end of our journey, we met up with another HammockForum member twandawg85. Shortly after, we reached our destination. The dog seemed to gain a quick burst of energy when she saw our car, and her bed in the back. No sooner did we get off the trail, than a large storm front blew in. All in all it was a really awesome trip. I was very impressed that my 9 year old managed to hike the entire 21 miles with minimal complaining and carrying most of his gear. I was equally impressed that my 9 month old lab made the entire journey as well with minimal napping along the way. She is still laying around the house today trying to recover.
Thanks again to Randy for hiking with us and helping to keep my son motivated. Can't wait to do this trail again.
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