Father’s Day with the kids…

[W I S N E R !]

Took out the kids for a 24 in the local mountains on Saturday night. UL is sweet in that it really helps us get out. Too often I see parents with overloaded kids struggling through the woods…a great way to kill the fun.

A great quick trip with my favorite partners…

On the way in…

Breakfast…

Heading home

[Rod Lawlor]

Craig,

That looks great. Care to talk us through what gear the kids are using, and what clothing they carry.

In fact this probably deserves a thread of it's own.

Rod

[W I S N E R !]

This sort of trip is so easy I don't have to worry about too much gear for us. The weather is also so predictable in summer here that raingear, etc. is unneeded.

Here's our general gear list:
My daughter carried:
-Homemade pack (~6oz.)
-My WM Summerlite
-stuffed animals
-a BPL inflatable pillow
-spare shoes (slippers)
-her sleep/dry clothes…there are plenty of river crossings (spare underwear, a LS top, flannel pants, socks, beanie)
-Gatorade (she insisted)
-Tikka headlamp
*I'd put her pack weight at ~5 lbs.

My Son:
-Homemade pack (~6 oz.)
-adult sized homemade quilt (~20 oz)
-GG Nitelite pad
-spare shoes (crocs)
-sleep/dry clothes (same as daughter)
-BPL pillow
-a book
-Zipka headlamp
-his Mora knife
-Gatorade
I'd say he was also at ~5-6 lbs.

They both carry their gear comfortably.

Outside of my personal gear, the shared stuff is:
-Golite Shangri La 3 with inner nest (I never carry the nest on my own but the kids like it)
-Snowpeak Gigapower Ti (When feeding hungry kids, speed is of the essence)
-2 cookpots: Snowpeak 1400 Ti with frypan lid (which one kid uses as a bowl/cup), Evernew 900 Ti pot w/ foil lid, 1 Ti cup, 3 BPL Ti sporks. They all nest nicely when the handles are taken off the Evernew.
-I carried my daughter's sleeping pad (Ridgerest 3/4)
-I carry their jackets (generic nylon shell with fleece lining)
-I also carry a MSR Miniworks when with the kids on short trips…easier to have them pump than have them wait for Aqua Mira.

I think that's all that's noteworthy…

[Colin Matthews]

Great report Craig, and nice to see that you're passing your experience along to the next generation of UL Hikers!

[Rod Lawlor]

Have you written them up in the MYOG Craig? I'd be interested in taking a look.

Looks like I need to MYOG a couple of quilts too.

Rod

[W I S N E R !]

Here's the link to the first one I made. I was wrong in my post above- it's 9 oz. (the one my daughter is carrying).
It was originally for my son; he's getting bigger so it went to my daughter. He now uses a more minimal version of the one I first made him (no side pockets, no hipbelt, no compression straps). It's 6 oz.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=18307

I've been using adult bags and quilts for them. A good adult bag/quilt is light enough as it is- no need to purchase bags for the kids. I just fold the footbox under them.

[Ryan Tucker]

thanks for sharing.

[Tom Clark]

Craig,
I enjoyed the trip report, but particularly interested the MYOG backpack that was described the link. I agree that REI only has ridiculously weavy and expensive packs for kids. I had talked with Gossamer gear and MLD, both of whom are looking at a kid's version.

My 7 yr old has been bothering me for a pack, so I might have to think about doing some sewing.

Tom

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