Just Plain Excited
I’m ready! The fear and trepidation are gone and I can honestly say I’m just plain excited to hit the trail. I spent most of Monday evening with Gabe sorting through our gear and making sure we had everything we needed and making a list of what we needed to get. He was so funny, I made check lists for our packs to make sure we didn’t forget anything. He was adament about packing his pack and going through his check list. There were a lot of blank spaces were additional items could go with check boxes. He would look around and see something and ask if we needed it. I would say, “yep”. Gabe would say, “Check”. And check one of the blank boxes. It was really cute. I’m excited to see how excited he is. It’s cool to see how into it he is getting.
Tired little buddy on the way home from REI
Before the Mexico trip we went up to REI to pickup a couple of things and we ended up there until almost 9pm. On the way back he fell asleep but only after he thouroghly tested the new head lamp. I think the excitement is building in the group too. I talked to Luis yesterday and the dread of the trail is pretty much gone. I also found out there is a trail that you have to really look for but that you can summit Ruby mountain. Luis and I talked about trying that out next year. As far as this trip I only have one more pack towel to pick up and that’s about it. Also this will be my first backpacking excursion with my low-top hikers. I’m hoping my ankles will do ok w/o the support. Gene might end up carrying me 
Lessons Learned in on this trip in ‘07:
- Sip water slowly and continually throughout the hike
- Nibble on gorp and energy bars throughout the hike
- Don’t pack an extra 2 weeks of food
- Minimize equipment by sharing/coordinating with the group
- On breaks don’t eat and drink till full
- Don’t pack multiple sets of clothes
- Don’t pack 2 coats
- Don’t bring unneeded equipment you won’t use
- Sit on the ground and don’t pack a chair up the mountain
- Use caution when hydrating a Mountain House meal, boiled water is hot and will burn you
- When you get back into town a burger tastes incredible
- I have some pretty awesome friends
S
It sounds like you have just about everything for your trip. I liked your bullet points, I’ve made similar observations on my trips being new to backpacking. It’s always good to get rid of some weight!! I think it is great getting outside with your kids. A friend pointed out an article to me about a guy who wrote a book called “Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder”. I am not sure if he is a believer but many of his points hit home. God Bless your trip. – Bryce
http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/03/30/louv/
I’ve heard of that book. I also read an article in Backpacker about a guy in Vermont, I think, that does survival skill with teens on a 6mo. trip through the wilderness. The make their own gear and hunt and stuff. Pretty amazing. I spent most of last night packing up. Thanks for the comments and God Bless you as well.
Ready to hit the trail!
Scott
I adore that boy of yours!