Backpacking With The Girls
We recently went on our first family of 6 overnight backcountry trip at Cumberland Mountain State Park. The park boasts nearly 15 miles of trail and ONE (1) backcountry site. That puppy was all ours.
We started our day with everything already packed and loaded in the van. Guys, this is a key step for all of my anxiety ridden checklist addicted kings and queens. We need this to sleep. Treat yourself by doing the chunk of work beforehand. Afterwards, we hit up a sub chain to have a future lunch and late night snack if needed. In regards to food, Derek also made a tortellini and mushroom soup for dinner on trail. It was heavenly. Just right after a hard day of hiking. If you want that recipe, send me a message or comment!
The hike was pretty difficult. The Overnight Trail is not loved as much as all of the other trails at our park. The other trails show mossy rocks, water crossings, innovative and adventurous bridges, and more. This trail, well, it’s a walk in the woods. During the dry season, there is only one water crossing of note. The trail is a constant slow hike up and slow hike down. Oh and it’s buggy, like, really buggy. Nevertheless, it’s the trail that takes you to the cutest local camping spot. So we had to tackle it. There were some downed trees that we couldn’t clean up. They were the kind of trees that you study for a second to decide if you are going over or under. With over a third of my body weight on my back, it was safer to go under. I’m not sure if it was really any easier.
The campsite took us almost 3 hours to get to in the heat of July. There are so many other little nooks where additional sites could be added, but I’m not sure if that’s in the cards for the park right now. If you look at their reservation calendar, the backcountry site seems to stay available. Our spot was roughly 1/5 of a mile from our water source and had several tent placement options. Since the kids’ tent uses trekking poles for structure, their tent takes priority. Our tent is free standing and sat perfectly on a mossy surface. The fire ring was nice, there was a ton of firewood around, a mountain laurel bathroom provided privacy, and the “common area” was a cute giant mossy rock bed. Obsessed and would love to have any of this in my yard.
The kids spent their evening just vibing. The babies set up their stuffed animals on our sit pads with dirty shirts as sleeping bags. The big kids journaled and doodled. I read. Derek watched the fire. It was relaxing and felt safe. We still had (less than stellar) cell phone service. We were three and a half miles from our car. We were a 35 minute drive to our home. This was a great first full trip because it was safe. The heat taught all us of that we could still have fun while uncomfortable, which honestly is a massive lesson that we all need reminding of. Our society sets us up to seek the comfort, as it should, but we do need the occasional push to just feel something else, even if it’s discomfort. Shuffling through the dirt, carrying your bed and your home on your back, that’ll humble you and drive you real quick. We still had fun, we learned something about ourselves and each other. There are also countless studies that suggest that we need to let our kids be bored. Derek talks about memories he has of being bored as a kid. He would transform his pen into a spaceship and play. Being bored forces creativity and imagination. Our kids deserve that skill. Even though we do not deserve to hear them whine that they are bored 437 times. This is the plight of parenthood. Gods Speed.
Wildlife was amazing this trip. Deer, turtles, toads, slugs, coyotes (heard, not saw), and owls. Ten outta ten. No complaints. We also have no complaints on the water situation. We carried a collective 9.5L of water. Manny and I filtered nearly 8L while Derek made dinner. In the morning, we filtered some more. We like our water. We also like our morning coffee. You gotta do what you gotta do.
In the way of gear, we have found some shortcomings. I do need to get a larger pack. Since Derek and I carry a majority of the little ones’ gear, we need space. Derek’s pack is a 70L and makes it easy to just stuff equipment and go. Mine is a 65L, but it has too many nonsensical pockets that don’t improve my hiking experience. I would be better served to just color code some bags and stuff them in a sack. The big kids also need to bump up their bags. Manny is probably good to stay under 20L, just because she is petite and we don’t want to overload her. Kyra however wanted to bring more than her 35L would allow. Her pack was 12lbs, even after food and water. Considering she is my size, she can handle a slightly bigger pack. We also talked about giving her my pack and just checking that she packs it properly and not to it’s fullest extent. The big two also expressed interest in improving their sleep systems, which is something we will all research together before our next adventure. The babies don’t really need anything aside from proper footwear. Our issue with that is finding something small enough (they still wear toddler sized shoes) and convincing them to keep them on. As of now, they will occasionally wear their sneakers but still prefer their knockoff Crocs. They like their feet to breathe. I get it, but as their mom, it’s annoying.
At the end of the day, it was great. We learned a lot, tried out new gear (I’ll review some of that soon), and played and talked as a family for hours. “Would You Rather” remains the best game while hiking, just in case any of you were keeping score. We’re probably going to wait to bring the babies back out for a backpacking trip until fall. It was so hot and we don’t want them to get too discouraged with their lack of speed before we get into the bulk of our hiking season. We hope to take the older two out for a big trip sometime next month but we will see.
Happy Hiking!
The kids setting up their tent
Before the hike
On our 15 year wedding anniversary
Morning time
Tortellini soup
Kyra in moss, talking to the fairies or something
