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Ok, so this isn’t a how-to of tee-pees, but rather a recollection of a fun trip we had with our kids a few years ago, in the middle of winter, on a mountain, in the snow, on a frozen lake, in a tee-pee. I had been talking to a friend about going ice-fishing (something I had done once as a kid), and making it a family experience (he with his wife and I with my wife and 2 kids). He was in charge of the tee-pee designs (what we thought would provide the most space for us, the fishing holes and cooking dinner.

The tee-pee was the right choice as it had fairly vertical sides to stand up in and shed the snow, large floor space, and a ventilation hole for fumes for the planed cooking experience. My friend pulled some 16 foot 2x4s and a large tarp out and with a rope, we were set.

That was the easy part. The lake we chose was in an area rarely travelled in winter and then normally only by snow machines. His Durango made short work of it though and before too long we were at the trail head and read to pack in our gear.

Note my old-school backpack!

To add to our theme of things that you don’t normally see in winter, I had brought a small inflatable boat. Why? It was to be an improvised pulk for the trail. It did the trick.

We hauled the gear and kids out there and went to work clearing the lake for the tee-pee. The tee-pee worked surprisingly well and we had it up in no time. Lunch was smokies and chocolate (and no fish).

 There was plenty of space for the kids to play around, but my daughter chose to sit on the cool new seats instead.

We did fish, but with no success!

The kids had a blast, we had a blast and now my friend is sold on Tee-pees for shelters!

This is it, New Years. With it we normally hear about resolutions and goals. I like plans and I need your help for it. I’m calling upon all the outdoorsy people or anyone that has seen a Survivorman episode to help me plan a trip where i can try to implement a few survival tools and tips.

That’s right. I’m relying on my readers and youtube followers to help me plan a 2-3 day trip where I can try my hand at survival. You, the reader gets to help decide what to bring and what I need to accomplish.

When: 

I’m planning the event for early May.

Where:

In the Pacific Northwest and probably in a controlled environment for safety reasons (I have a wife and 3 kids to worry about). Altitude will be between 1500 and 2000 feet. I’ll be planning to be near open water.

How long:

2 to 3 days. possibly 1 or 2 trips.

Your involvement:

I’m looking for things that you’d want me to try/demonstrate. Fire, shelter, fishing, you name it.

I’m also looking for things that you think I should be allowed to take with me:

Pot? knife? ax or hatchet? cordage? bags? emergency blanket? shelter? food? fire steel?

Depending on the feedback we can work together to plan the trip. I need the feedback now to hone my skills and put them into practice.

Please challenge me. I have some basic skills and a lot more head knowledge that I want to practice. This controlled environment means I’ll have access to help in an emergency, but will also allow me to try more challenging things.

Please leave a comments with your ideas, how every wacky you think they are.

Suggestions I have received:
Just a knife – @davidecreech
survival fishing kit… Do they work? – @Richkolb
A clear plastic bag (construction) – TheDao101

Survivalvideos1 says on youtube:  I did a survival trip a couple weeks ago. Built a wooden bed and all that. Basically what i brought was a Knife , a stainless steel canteen that i can boil in, a magnesium fire starter, a coat, one protein bar, and 2 mylar blankets. only got a few hours of sleep but i survived!

Commonsurvivalnet on youtube says: 6 C’s of Survival: Cutting tool, Cordage, Combustion device, Cover, Container, Calories,
ere it me, i would try: 
Cutting: Multitool and forest ax
Cordage: about 50 Feet of 550 Cord that would be wrapped around various gear 
Combustion: Ferrocerrium Rod 
Cover:80% or higher Wool Blanket
Container: Canteen with Stainless Canteen Cup 
Calories: King Size Snickers bar

Well, this year we wanted to do something special and have a few friends over for New Years and after a week of prep my wife decided on a sucking pig roasted in the oven with the trimmings. Things were going off well, but when she went out to buy the pig they were sold out. It could have been that she asked for a lechero (milk man) to roast and not a lechon (suckling piglet).

Oh well, she found one eventually, but when she got it home it turned out that it was too big for the oven so I put my own plan into action. I’d been hoping to smoke said pig in our barbecue and this was my chance! I could get my way and be the savior of the party as well. So here’s the run up. I originally planned on doing a video and got half way through until an event that will be described later. I looked at a few websites and ideas and ended up following the advice of Ray Mears.

The Prep

So the day before I took a coarse salt and coated the pig evenly inside and out. This was done with a patting action as rubbing it just made it all fall off. Then I put it in the fridge in a bag over night. I cleaned everything really well (including myself) as you have to be very careful with raw pork.

The next job was to adapt my bbq, which is an open grill in a brick house. It already has a crank to lift the grill up and down and so I drilled several holes, six inches apart, in the shaft of the crank in preparation to wire it on with non-galvanized wire.

The next morning, I woke up early and faced the less than pleasant task of taking out the pig and strapping it to the rotisserie. The skin was thick and it took a bit of work to get the wire through (especially as my 7am pre-coffee self!). By cutting with my knife I was able to get it done. The wire was tightly bound and I bound the pig’s legs together to keep him in place. They said that sometimes the legs fall off while cooking (presumably at the shoulder), but I haven’t had that experience.

Once imprisoned on his skewer I set to scoring the skin with my knife in a crisscross style so that I had a diamond pattern. I could have scored it a bit deeper in places, but it did the job.

I’ve smoked stuff in various ways, using wooden boxes, etc, but this time I got some heavy duty aluminum foil and put it across the front of the BBQ and locked it in place with wire and some tape. I find that while smoking there’s no problem if you get packing tape on while the bricks are cool. It doesn’t affect the cooking at all or the taste as the heat is coming out, not in.

Next was the roasting.

The Smoking


After setting up the tin foil I started the fire. It was a mix of natural charcoal and wood. Although it is a bit harder to manage with the wood, I find the flavor mix is excellent. I kept it burning low, adding water to the coals whenever it flared up. Every 15-20 minutes I gave the pig a quarter turn, listening to the spatter of fat that dripped down, basting the meat as it went.

This went on for several hours until on turning the crank on one occasion the crank slipped off the shaft and became loose. It was quite the challenge for the rest of the day, but we managed.

Things became complicated when the car broke down on the way to pick up people for the evening. It broke down in the middle of a main road full of traffic in the rain. The alternator had gone on the fritz and I had to get a friend to help me take out the battery and take it home to charge.

I managed to get back in time to baste the pig with honey and then turn up the heat for the final roast.

The Roast

My plan was to do a full roast for the last hour or so to finish it off and get the crackling all ready. It was working great until I went to remove it.

By then, the fire was roaring and it was a challenge to get close, let alone work with the pig to get it off. I decided to take off the foil and place it over the coals to tone it down. This worked for about 5 seconds until I touched the pig and the fat poured off, onto the tinfoil and then flash ignited. Welcome the 4 foot flames.

I took the burning tinfoil away and this just compounded the problem. I managed to get the pig off and onto the grill itself which gave it an unneeded scorching (for effect you know). At this point I remembered the water and doused the coals (not the pig) and we pulled off pieces of the pig and placed them on a platter.

It was this series of events that made me forget to take a video.

The Eating

I’ll definitely be doing this again. The pork was succulent and smokey. It was the perfect compliment to the rest of the meal prepared by my wife. Several ours later I fell into a pork induced coma and slept peacefully despite the fireworks, drunken singing and early morning sounds of people staggering home through the streets.

The evening went off without a hitch and had the added benefit of me getting the car back home late that night in a town full of drunken revelry.  It hadn’t even been broken in to!

So now it’s your turn. What did you do and what great foods did you sample or make! Better yet, what memorable mistakes were made?

This December marked our first year in the blogosphere and I just wanted to give a great big thanks to all the readers who read our posts,contributed or just plain stuck around to see the site grow. I figured it was a good time to look at the year in review and see which posts were the most popular so that we can direct next year’s content to what interests you.

The Top 10 posts of 2011





Number 10 – DIY: The Tomato Burner October 24, 2011. Setting a trend for the more popular posts a lot of you share my passion to get outside and to do so on a budget. The tomato burner, while probably already in existence before this DIY, is an alcohol stove made from two tomato paste cans. Very simple to put together it is also efficient and a good starting point for DIYers.

Number 9 – On a budget: shelter, packs, sleeping bags and trekking poles November 13, 2011. Heading into the Holiday season I shared some ideas on how to get into backpacking on a budget. This article looks at how inexpensive it can be, if you know where to look.

Number 8 – How to make Biltong (South African Beef Jerky) July 12, 2011. This thicker beef jerky gets its secret flavor from coriander and in this particular batch the delicious aroma that only comes from a true smokey wood fire. Give it a try and adjust it to your tastes.

Number 7 – John Deere, Green Fever Giveaway December 2, 2011. Well, our first giveaway got off to a good start. John Deere contacted me and in exchange for promoting their contest we worked out some free swag to give away. Thanks for your support! I have some more ideas for even bigger giveaways next year. If you want more giveaways tell your friends and let us know below in the comments!

Number 6 – Gore-Tex: “Your Story, Our Gear” Giveaway November 30, 2011. You the reader loves free stuff almost as much as DIYing. That’s how it should be. Another promotion and a great idea by Gore-tex and their PR company had some great entries. Take a look at the winning entry. You may recognize the background music!

Number 5 – DIY Resources: Make your own snowshoes November 16, 2011. Expect a lot mor DIYs in this list. Winter arrived and many people wanted to see how to make their own gear. Did you give it a try? I’d love to see photos!

Number 4 – Gear Review: Vaude Ice Peak 37 degree bag December 9th, 2011. Thanks to a contest for Sierra Trading Posts’ 25th anniversary I was able to pick up my first down bag and while not perfect I like this summer bag a lot. I have lots of plans for it. Do you have a Down bag? What’s your favorite?

Number 3 – DIY Neck Cooler Scarf January 29, 2011. One of our earlier posts, it was also one of the favorites. If you do a search on “Neck cooler scarf” this one is on the first page. Crazy! This scarf is great for keeping you cool in hot weather and on long hikes. If you have a sewing machine you need to try this out!

Number 2 – DIY: High Efficiency Backpacking Wood Stove February 3, 2011. This was honestly one of my favorites. We went through a lot of cans of peaches before I got this one down. A very light and efficient backpacking wood stove that satisfies the pyro in all of us.  While not as pretty as the backcountry boiler it might be a stepping stone! With over 36000 views on youtube this video is by far my most popular!

Number 1 – On a Budget – The Backpacking Cookset November 10, 2011. A late entry this one rocketed to the front in the past two months confirming that you the reader knows the importance of saving money without losing out on quality.

When all is said and done, and I ask what this blog was started for I realize that the answer is simple. I wanted to get out and enjoy nature and I wanted to share that with my family. The gear, the projects and the discounts all serve to facilitate opening doors to the outdoors. To quote John Muir:

Now it’s your turn. Was there a favorite post you wrote or read this year (from another blog)? Post a link down below!

Well, as the temperature drops, you’ve probably been thinking about getting your hands on some great new gear to keep you warm and get you back out into the outdoors. Never fear, one of the best recognized brands (Gore-Tex®) is offering a selection of North Face, Arc’Teryx, Patagonia or Marmot gear (your choice) free that will let you do just that. Those are some great brands and you don’t want to miss out on this chance to win!

What they’re asking is for you to send off a photo or video chronicling when your Gore-Tex® gear really counted and how it got you through an outdoor adventure. Take a look at some of the entries to get an idea of what people are submitting.

What’s in it for you?
Besides getting to share your amazing Gore-Tex story you could win one of 4 cool prize packages. The prize is your choice of one of the following sets… Yes sets. Each set is worth over $700!

The North Face

• Mountain Light Jacket
• Mountain Pants
• Double Track Shoes

Arc’Teryx

• Alpha FL Jacket
• Alpha SL Pants
• Sigma LT Gloves

Marmot

• Alpinist Jacket
• Alpinist Bib Pants
• Radonee Gloves

Patagonia

• Primo Jacket
• Primo Pants
• P26 Mid Boots

Are you interested? I’m guessing the real question is: what do I do? You can go to the following link, or read a bit more below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-GORE-TEX-brand-page/331436701202?sk=app_257395437643113

I’d love to see your entry, so once you’ve gone over and submitted it, come back and leave a comment on this post linking to your entry. I’ll throw my vote towards my favorite!

Here are the facts:

CONTEST DETAILS:Whether you blazed a desolate Rocky Mountain Trail, boarded down a stormy K2 or just relaxed at your local fishing hole, your greatest outdoor adventure is worth sharing. Upload a video or photo chronicling your experience and let us know how the GORE-TEX® brand promise allowed you to focus on what you love so you could perform your best.

Want to win some GORE-TEX® gear? Then check out the awesome contest they are running on the GORE-TEX® Brand Facebook page from Nov 21-Dec 15.

The ‘Your Story – Our Gear’ contest invites you to share your story about how the GORE-TEX® gear delivered for you when it counted in a memorable outdoor experience.

The most compelling story will win, so get going and upload it to the contest page along with a photo or video of yourself .

The Top 10 entries will be determined by People’s Choice voting, and then three expert judges — an AMGA guide, a Gore tri-athlete, and a GORETM MountainTechTM – will pick the grand prize winner, who gets a sweet head-to-toe GORE-TEX® gear package. Choose from among the hand-picked The North Face, Marmot, Patagonia, or Arc’Teryx product groups.

Upload Entry Here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-GORE-TEX-brand-page/331436701202?sk=app_257395437643113

THE GORE-TEX Promise:GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY is more than a slogan about waterproofness, windproofness and breathability, it’s a promise that you’ll resist the elements in the mot impossible of conditions; a promise that you can trust your GORE-TEX equipment the way you trust the sun to rise on another day of adventure.

The Outdoor Adventure Disclosure: I received basic remuneration for hosting this promotion, but a huge factor in accepting the promotion was that I feel it will interest you the reader.

Well Black Friday has come and I saved a ton… by not buying anything. It may just be me, but the thought of pushing my nose into the armpits of someone that spent the last week camping outside the store just doesn’t impress me… Even if I lost out on one good deal.

To console myself I look through a list of news articles on the joys of Black Friday shopping. For example, aren’t you glad that you saved yourself the fun of getting pepper sprayed just to save a couple bucks on an xbox at Walmart? Or maybe the let down of getting shot in the foot after walking home after midnight with your prize purchase? I think it’s slightly scarier that those individuals were ready to shoot back at the perps.

Then of course there is the multiple accounts of people ignoring the lines and choosing the 100% off 5 finger discounts being offered in the parking lots. Not cool guys. Why is Walmart a magnet for these sorts of things?

If looking at photos of crazed Walmart shoppers floats your boat then I recommend looking at Black Friday in photos.

Here’s a question, what’s cooler? Getting your wife a good deal on a piece of Walmart jewelry, or getting arrested for fighting over said jewelry?

I think the following tweet says it all, “Nothing makes me less hopeful for humanity than watching people get trampled for a $5 microwave at Walmart.” Thank you America.

Ok, so I know most of us really want some good deals. Fear not, most of your favorite stores are kindly offering black friday sales. Here’s a few to add to the links on the right hand side of the page.

The Clymb’s not so black friday sale for men for women and for feet and gear
Left Lane Sports has some gear on the go
Even BackCountry.com has it’s share of deals on with a bunch of 70% off deals too

So don’t despair, don’t resort to bear spray and just walk away from that imposing individual who wants that jacket. When you get back to your computer you’ll know that you are the fastest click in the west.

Plus, Amazon already has your shipping address saved!

I remember my first backpacking trip when I was a kid. My dad took me out for 3 days to a beautiful, spring fed lake in the mountains. We packed a 10 year old A-frame tent, garage sale, used external frame packs and low end, big box store sleeping bags. We had a great time, I have great memories and we didn’t dish out a ton of cash on gear.

Our first backpacking trip with our 1 year old daughter. Note the old pack that carried our gear.

When I started my own family, I though back to that experience years earlier. Could I still go out on a budget so we could enjoy ourselves without spending a ton of cash? We planned and did a hike with our 1 year old and decided to try it without spending much money on new gear. We had a ton of fun and proved it possible.

Because there was a lot of interest on the “on a budget – backpacking cookset” post last week I decided, as a challenge to myself, to put together a list of major gear items that can get someone into casual hiking as cheaply as possible.

Obviously, there is lighter, more expensive gear and you should buy the best you can afford within the budget you have, but if you’re just looking to join in on a backpacking trip and you’re missing a couple pieces of gear, don’t think that you have to break the bank or waste your retirement fund just to get into the woods for a few days a year!

Here we go:

Shelter:
Traditionally we go with tents, but a good tarp can do most, if not all of what a shelter can do.

6×8 foot coated nylon tarp from campmor: $27 Wt.: 22.5 oz
8×10 foot coated nylon tarp from campmor: $34 Wt.: 15.2 oz.

Want to save even more money but carry a bit more weight? Why not try a polyethylene tarp:
8 ft. x 10 ft. Ripstop Woven Polyethylene Tarp from campmor $5.50
6 ft. x 8 ft. Polyethylene Tarp from campmor: $3.50

If you’re not a tarp fan and want to dish out some more take a lookysee at these options:

What about sleeping bags? In this category I specifically chose bags between 15 and 35 degrees to handle 3 seasons. With sleeping bags you want to consider size and weight. Some bags are cheap but the cost is that it will take up half your backpack and weigh you down. Speaking of down (from birds) down bags are nice, pack smaller and are lighter.But be careful, when wet they don’t insulate. It’s like sleeping in a wet duck.

Here’s a few options:
Slumberjack Ultimate 30 degree $30 –  3 lbs 11oz
Slumberjack Super guide 30  $40 – 2 lbs 9 oz
ALPS Mountaineering 20 degree $44 – 3 lbs 12 oz
ALPS Mountaineering 0° degree $50 – 5lbs 4 oz
Coleman Cresecent 15 degree $50 – 4.2 lbs

Or take a look at these slightly more well known brands. A bit more expensive, but in some cases smaller and lighter:

And of course you need something to lie on.

Like the Pack-Lite Closed Cell Foam Pad for $12 – 8 oz
The thermarest ridge rest for $17 – 9 oz
Or maybe one of these:

Next a pack to stuff it in:
For Packs on a budget I usually check the Sierra Trading post as they frequently have discounts on listed prices. Stock varies. If you were to splurge on anything, I’d recommend finding a good pack. You’ll have to carry everything in this so it should be comfortable.

A couple packs that caught my eye for under $100 were the following:

Vaude Brenta 38 Backpack $89 at the STP
Vaude Rock Ultralight 35 Backpack $69 at the STP

Another good option is Golite. While they’re a lightweight backpacker’s choice, at times they have great sales. Check their clearance section for all sorts of good deals.

Trekking poles, although not essential, do help with stability and for holding up your tarp if you can’t find sticks at your camp site.

Mountainsmith Trekking Poles $25
Easton ATR-50 Adjustable Trekking Poles $37
Cabelas Trekking poles for $40

Well, I did a bunch of fishing this summer ranging from bass to trout to steelhead and even a bit of the salmon run. Most of it was of limited success, so when my father in law talked about the pink salmon run I had to give it a try.

It was packed. 1 rod length is the rule and everything has to be synchronized. Very few lines tangled and even the Europeans with their almost non-existent english knew the key phrase, “fish on!”. At which point you watch the fish, reel in if necessary and if available you grab a net and get ready to dip.

It’s a fun game in the river. The slow moving fish that comes to life as you reel it in close enough that it sees you and then runs away with your line. The snags that seem like fish until you have to wade down stream to try to untangle. Well, it was fun to watch everyone else play the game…

I had to watch the seasoned pros to see what I was doing wrong. Was it the speed? the rhythm of the retrieval? the color of the dick knight? Eventually, after a few hours of envious glances at the other successful fisherman, the adrenalin of the jumping “humpys” that signaled the arrival of another school, I figured it out. It was the bite. It was incredibly subtle. Almost  unperceived in the Snohomish River. I couldn’t feel it, I had to watch the rod. The slight bounce of the tip as the protective pink nipped at the invading lure had to be met with an immediate strike. It made me realize that I had missed many a hit earlier that day. After that the game was a foot… or a fin i guess.

I lost many a fish, but managed to limit on three decent sized males and a female (all weighing between 6 to 8 pounds). Both my father-in-law and I carried home limits, much to the chagrin of other fisherman and the glee of the family. We enjoyed three of them on an open fire on a camping trip that weekend which made me think of taking a week or two off next year just to fill the freezer with those fresh, tasty fish (and probably a few smoked ones as well).

Are you a pink fan? What’s your most successful year or favorite recipe for pink?

How young is too young to take a kid backpacking? I’ve been on the forums long enough to see many a question like this and many an answer. There are probably two big fears for parents, the first one is safety and the second is making sure they enjoy it. Recently, I wrote two posts on a father daughter backpacking trip I did with my almost 5 year old (here and here) and an anonymous commenter suggested I write up something on the preparation that I did.

“It seems like you were very organized (I guess you have to be if you are taking a kid). Maybe you should do a post on how you prepared her beforehand for the trip. Like rules and things to keep her safe. Did she have a whistle? Did she know what to do if there was an emergency (like she got lost, or you fell and got knocked out)? etc. I think a lot of people who are nervous about taking their kids out into the woods would find a post like that useful!”

I don’t know if I was that organized, but I’ll at least show what we did.

The Hype – Give them something to look forward to

What makes a kid want to walk a long distance (for them)? The same reason we want to. No, not weight loss, the experience! It started well over a year ago as we showed her photos of the backpacking trip we did with her when she was one and another one I did with some friends more recently. She got to see the tents, the bugs, the lakes, the rivers, the food, the fishing and all the small animals. We tried to make it alive for her. Once she had the fun stuff ingrained in her, we would ask if she wanted to go backpacking. That was the most important part. The hype. If she hadn’t have wanted to go after that we wouldn’t have. But, since she did want it, we started the next stage.

Safety first – Preparing for the worst

After she started showing interest in backpacking we started teaching and showing her how to stay safe in the woods. This included practical tips as well as bear and animal safety.

First off, I want to say that I planned the trip with at least two adults. Originally it was to be with my father and myself and in the end we had a group of 12 people or so. That way there was always redundancy in case of emergency.

The most obvious and important thing to teach her was what to do around bears. We would be hiking in the Pacific Northwest, so both black bears and grizzlies would be a good possibility. Amongst other things, we showed her an excerpt of a video by Ray Mears (Extreme Survival Rocky Mountains, available at www.raymears.com) which addresses bear safety. To help concrete the “what to dos” we would ask her questions so she could “teach us” what to do around bears. She knew not to run and not to climb trees and she knew to keep her food far away from her tent. If things turned bad she knew to make herself look big, throw her pack and if necessary how to use bear spray. (If you’re interested in more detail feel free to look at the following articles here 1 and here 2) or play the following video.

There were other things, like knife safety which we felt was important. Simple tips like cutting away from yourself and more important for her, NOT to cut towards anyone or walk in front of anyone that is cutting. Kids are always interested in what’s going on and you don’t want anything to go wrong with knives in a wilderness situation. Of course, this wasn’t too hard to teach as I make a habit of whittling things for the kids with them around.

General health and safety was ingrained through the preparation period, from the importance of boiling or filtering water, keeping dry, especially before night fall and layering (it turned out this was important as it got down below freezing at night.)

Finally she knew that if you got lost she was to stay where she was, find a close tree/rock and sit there. She knew to blow her whistle in emergencies and shout for help.

Responsibility – Treating your kids as big kids


To make it fun we made sure my daughter felt like she was contributing and was responsible. Her responsibilities were choosing clothes, giving her some new gear for the trip and of course, carrying her own snacks.

We started by asking her what she wanted to bring with her. We gave her guidelines (1 pair of warm PJs, 1 rain jacket, 1 sweater, 1 vest, 2 pairs of pants, warm sleep socks, 1 toy/blanket. We double checked and gave recommendations, but she got to make the decisions. In addition, she got to carry on the hike her 7 in 1 whistle and snacks. If you can, it’s really good to give them their own water supply.

Keeping fit

We tried to get out with her once a week or more to walk around town, ride her bike and go for day trips at parks, etc. She loved playing “camping” by carrying around her small kids school pack full (5lbs) of her things, and it helped show me what she was capable of. I tried to be aware of distances and how tired she felt. It’s one thing to hike 5 km in a day (which she could) but doing that multiple days ended up tiring her out. We did 2 day hikes one day after the other a few weeks before the trip and it ended up tiring her out (2 km and then 7 km) so I changed my plans of a 7km hike in with a day of rest before a 7km hike out to a 3.5 km hike in, a day rest and then a 3.5 km hike out. I had to be flexible to make sure she enjoyed it.

We started a short hike the second day which we decided to abandon part way as she was clearly tired. We stopped there, had lunch and then headed back to the tent for an afternoon nap. I really had to read her well and see what was just fussing about boredom and what was tiredness.

Making her comfortable


It had to be all about her. I carried in 2 camp chairs, as I knew we would be spending a lot of time at camp.She got to bring her special blanket for security and slept in her nice, warm 20 degree bag and wear her own LED headlamp. I also carried some of her favorite foods (porridge for breakfast with dried fruit in it, rice crackers and goats cheese for lunch and for the first night sushi). For snacks we had a large supply of homemade beef “turkey” as she called it, gluten free “candy bars” and other nut bars. It’s all about making her feel secure in a strange environment.

Trail Distractions


We know our kids can play all day in the back yard without getting tired, and yet, if you try to tackle even half that distance on a trail or road it becomes impossible after the first 5 minutes. That means I had to distract her. The first distraction was letting her use her own hiking poles. Then we pointed out flowers and small animals, lakes and rivers and even a waterfall. We took breaks where necessary, but not when she complained. Complaining is often a sign of boredom and so we would focus on something else. While hiking, her job was to find the trail markers (piles of rocks, painted triangles or colored tape on the trees). We tried not to focus too much on how long it will take as she would get overly focused on the destination and miss the journey.

That said, when we did take breaks, she got to choose what snack she wanted. Usually, when we stopped for a break, she was so chuffed at getting to decide what snack she wanted that she started right on going as soon as it was open! Breaks were rarely more than a minute, unless it was to look at the ground squirrels, flowers or view.

Conclusion

I read a lot of useful advice on a lot of different forums, but in the end I had to take into account my daughter.  That’s probably the greatest advice I have to making the trip successful. Get to know your kids and see if they would like to go hiking. Go on day trips as a family and see how they do and what they enjoy about it. Finally, make it about her. I know I wanted to go all the way to that next lake on the 2nd day, but she was clearly tuckered out, so we turned around. The first impression is a lasting one and how much THEY enjoy it will be the determining factor in whether it happens again.

I guess the nights wouldn’t have been so cold if I wasn’t using my son’s sleeping bag. Don’t get me wrong, it was rated for 40 degrees F, but it wasn’t rated for someone that is 5′ 10″. My head and shoulders stuck out and I ended up assuming the fetal position most of the night. My daughter did well. Her 20 degree F Kelty Kitimat more than did its job for her.

The temperature dipped a few degrees below freezing judging by a pack of baby wipes that was frozen solid well after the sun had risen. Most people were cool in their tents and suffered somewhat, but we all pulled through.

The next day when the other group went off for a long day of hiking we aimed for Big Peter’s lake. I say aimed because after an hour and a bit the previous day’s hike caught up with my daughter and no amount of snack breaks or markers could coax her to continue. We came back for more cheese and crackers and a pleasant afternoon of chatting as we sat in our tent or on our chairs.

When the sky threatened rain, I brought the Golite tarp down to the ground and brought the front down to give us a warmer, drier night. We again pulled through after a nice dinner of freeze dried curried rice with shrimp and green thai rice with fish (both very tasty) followed by more hot cocoa.

We packed up the following morning and made a leisurely trek past the downed aircraft remnants, small snow fields and down the steep hill back to the truck. While my daughter slept in the front seat (and we waited for the crew to come back after some more hiking) I re-attached the canopy to the pickup (the road in had completely detached it from the bed) as best I could and took a look for wildlife and wild edibles.

We celebrated on the way out by stopping in Revelstoke for Subway and by late evening we were back at home, ready for hot showers and a good night sleep.

If you ask my daughter she’ll say she had a good time and that her favorite part was, “all of it”. Hopefully she’s caught the backpacking bug and is ready for even more adventures next summer!

When I was about 13 my dad took me on my first backpacking trip. Now that I have my own kids, I’ve wanted to instill in them a love and enjoyment of the outdoors. That made it very important for me to do it right when I took my almost 5 year old daughter on a backpacking trip this summer. The trail was a little used shortcut into the Monashees Park in BC that starts at a deactivated Logging road and pops you out at Margie Lake.

Margie Lake is usually the end point of a long hike that starts with a 1 hour hike into Spectrum lake, continues 8 km and 52 switchbacks up to Little Peter’s lake, a little further to Big Peter’s lake and then another hour or so to Margie Lake. With this shortcut and a bit more driving, you hike 45 minutes up hill and then 30 to 45 minutes around a lake and then end up at your base camp. A reasonably easy hike, all things considered.

The park has been reasonably active and in the past 5 years has put in an outhouse and bear tree to lessen the impact of hikers (the park doesn’t permit fires in alpine areas). The trail, however, into Margie from the deactivated logging road is not maintained, but not too difficult to follow if you follow the tape and are familiar with map and compass work.

After crossing into the park at the trail head, be expected to traverse a creek, follow a muddy trail uphill and then continue a somewhat steep climb up the valley side. The sound of the rushing creek, complete with waterfalls is a pleasant background noise and the trail itself sweeps by to give several beautiful photo opportunities on the way.

Once the trail levels out, you begin to skirt the lake (watch for a side trail to the left that takes you by the remnants of an old plane crash (it’s easier to find on the way back)). You should be able to see an outhouse (brown building with a white door) across the lake that is close to your camp if you aren’t moving on to the tent platforms at Peter’s lake. After crossing the creeks that flow into the lake you should find a nice area with a beautiful view of Margie lake.

My daughter managed without too much complaining, especially after we started implementing our distraction plan. To keep the trip interesting, my daughter got to choose when to take a snack break and what type of snack to bring. We brought beef Jerky (or Beef Turkey as she chose to call it), rice crispy bars and gluten free cereal bars /she has a sensitivity to gluten and dairy). As a further distraction she had the job of watching for the marker tape and finding the trail. As the trail was still muddy she also watched for the footprints of those in our group that had gone ahead of us. The presence of snow on the trail acted as a good play time as well!

After setting up camp the rest of our crew headed off on the 1.5 hour hike to Peter’s lake while we stayed behind to eat lunch and rest. I had packed to collapsible chairs (something my daughter greatly appreciated) and we sat by the lake eating cheese (goat cheese for my girl) and crackers. I threw my rod in and we managed to pull in sushi… er… trout for our sushi dinner. This time we would cook it. My daughter had a small net that she used to “help” me bring the fish in.

After that, she was ready for a nap and slept until dinner time while I prepped the food. The sushi was a disaster this time (brown sushi rice does not work on the trail), but Abigail had worked up an appetite and happily downed an entire rolls worth. With cocoa and sugar we put together some hot drinks for the nice and we put my penny alcohol stove to good work.
After that we both ducked into our sleeping bags an early (and what would be a long, cold) night.