The plan was to take my 7 year-old son on his first backpacking trip in August, but various things scheduled for this past week got cancelled, so I found myself with two days to spend with just my son (husband had work, daughter had camp). Quickly moved up my plans, made the decision Tues., headed out Thursday.
I chose Siouxon Falls in Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southwest Washington because 1.) the trail had access to a creek, with possibilities for wading and swimming, and 2.) lots of campsites to choose from early on in the trail.
I have a renewed appreciation for my lightweight gear, having to go back to my old circa 2000 Dana Designs Glacier, cause there was no way it would fit in the Ohm. I carried everything, let him go pack-less for this first trip. We decided each trip in the future he'll carry one more thing.
So that's 31 lbs. 14 oz — not including the phone I used to take the photo or my water bottle.
He was blissing out on nature early on in the trip.
He decided it was time to stop about 1.5 mile or so in, just past Horseshoe Creek. It was a pleasant spot, up over the creek.
Fun with the new lantern
The new (to me) Stratospire2!
The next morning we hiked a bit further to Siouxon Falls, which was 2 miles from the trailhead. There was a swimming hole at the bottom and he (with very close supervision, practiced some of his relatively new swimming skills.
His ideal scenario would have been to wade all the way up the creek, instead of hiking up the trail!
Overall it was a great trip, very favorable ratio of enjoyment to whining! He wants to do more, yay! As we were getting back to the trailhead he didn't want to leave the forest, he said "I feel like this is my home."
