First Hiking / Camping Trip since having kids.

Diomedes Industries

Diomedes Industries

Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
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After having kids 5 years ago (I have a five years old and a three year old) I finally have purchased new hiking and backpacking gear and we went on a 48 hour shake out trip to get used to my new gear and have some fun.

We went to Pedernalas State Park in Texas and stayed in the primitive camp grounds. We hiked about 4 miles on the first day and about 6 the second.

Here was our camp site:

CampingTrip-ShakeOut001.jpg


Although camp fires are forbidden in the camp ground - I did start a small tinder bundle on fire with my Magnesium and Ferro stick combo (from my PSK in my Backpack). It was very small and we put it out directly after getting it to start.

CampingTrip-ShakeOut004.jpg


CampingTrip-ShakeOut005.jpg


It was difficult at first but I rebuffed the cedar bark (from a dead tree - but a little damp because of a recent rain) and collected the magnesium shavings in a small leaf.

After dinner (I used a Jetboil stove and some dehydrated food) we went down to get water and filter some for cooking and drinking. We found a VERY cool crevasse to get down to the river. We used a Pur filter and it worked VERY well.

CampingTrip-ShakeOut007.jpg


This is our view of the Pedernalas river valley from our camp site:

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There was quite a bit of animal scat around our camp site, cat, bear, armadillo - and others - here is my best friend Jason trying to identify some local scat - you tell me what you think it is:

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Kidding - it is some bark - but I fooled you!

Here I am on a bluff taking a look at the river.

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Here I am on the trail:

CampingTrip-ShakeOut022.jpg


Here is my buddy Jason again at a local cold spring:

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There are plenty more - but you get the point.

We had a blast and all my gear worked GREAT.

TF
 
Great pics and sounds like a great time. Also congrats on getting out there and taking a bit of 'me' time. I hope you realize that you need to do that once in a while, cause this parenting trip lasts for quite a while!

Was the tent part of the new gear? How much does it weight? Looks like you are guys were packed pretty good given the requirements for stove and filter etc. Also did your leg do okay?
 
KDG,

1) I DO realize that I do need this time. It felt SO VERY good!

2) ALL my stuff was new. My tent is this one: http://www.rei.com/product/761895

I got it for about 100 off from the price shown. It is essentially AWESOME - but more tent than I need by myself - but SO roomy for one two people and their gear.

We had WAY TOO MUCH gear for the small trip - but it was a shakeout trip so we wanted to test all the stuff. It was silly in that respect (we were carrying 70 pounds between the two of us) but we had a blast!

3) Thanks for asking about the leg - it is essentially fine - it still has a small scab - but it was great. I felt strong - and it felt good to be under a pack again. It has been since the USMC since I carried a pack - and this pack is FAR superior to anything I carried before.

Again - thanks for asking it means a lot to me that you recalled and asked.

TF
 
Looks like nice camping weather and a good time. It's a shame you couldn't have a fire. Would it have been welcomed, or was it mild overnite?

What other new gear did you take, and how did it fare?

B
 
Ah, I remember that first post-kids trip!

Even better was one a few years down the road - with :thumbup:the kids!

Good times!
 
Brians,

It was VERY mild - it STILL would have been nice to have a fire though. ;)

I had a North Face Cat's Meow bad with me +20 F. It was great. I had a Jet Boil cooking system - awesome - but it is certainly a water boiler - not very touchy with the adjustments.

I would say my favorite piece of kit, is the oddest, exofficio underwear. They are made to be washed at night, dry over night and wear the next day. They are awesome - check them out.

Gramps,

We are getting there - we go trunk camping now - but not backpacking yet. Soon!

TF
 
Awesome bro, I remember you posting pics of the new gear. Good to see it in use!!
 
great pics man.. thanks for posting them...:thumbup: looks like a fun trip.. we all need some time in the backcountry...:)

where's the mandatory knife shots???:o
 
And where did you get the pack and the underwear?? Feel free to NOT post pics of you wearing the underwear, we will just leave that to Pitdog!
 
REI is where I got all my gear. They had a member sale in November - so I went back multiple times getting a 20% discount every time! ;)

TF
 
Being the parent of a 2-year old, I can relate to a halt on my extended outdoor activities. It's just not all that fair to leave my family at home for the better part of a week. I have been able to do some weekend trips, as you did here and really appreciate the time outdoors.

At first I thought you meant that you got away for a trip with your kiddos. All that mileage for such little legs! I'm looking forward to the time that the three of us can hit the trail for a long weekend, or even longer with our little guy reeling in the miles. Be sure to let us know when you take your kids into the woods.
 
Oh yeah - the kids and I simply do trunk camping right now - they take small hikes when we are at the state parks. They have fun.

TF
 
Sounds like a lot of fun!

Pedernales Falls is a beautiful place! We camped there about a year ago, and it has to be one of the prettiest places I've seen in Texas.
 
Good quality gear you chose. I have some Exofficio clothing - it is well made and the fabrics are very functional. I've been eyeballing those Jetboils.
 
Great to hear you are getting back out and about, it looked like a really cool place to trek and is always good when ya have a buddy who enjoys that kinda stuff as well !

Thanks for the pics and I look forward to many more now that you are back at it !!!!
 
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