We took the kids out this weekend and hiked up Waterfall Canyon just above Ogden, Utah. It’s a nice 3 mile round trip hike with an amazing focal point at the end of its winding trail, a 200 ft. frozen waterfall.
As we approached the waterfall there were softball sized chunks of ice scattered here and there on the ground. It wasn’t until we got right up to the frozen waterfall that I realized it was portions of ice breaking off from the top and bouncing down just like a pin ball machine.
We quickly went to higher ground away from the base of the waterfall so we could take in the view and the eerie sounds echoing from it. The kids were in awe and I was grateful to be sharing the experience with them.
After spending the winter day in and out of the sunshine I was reminded of how quickly our body temperatures can change. And how easily it affects kids’ comfort levels and therefore the outdoor experience itself.
That’s why being like an onion is the only way to go during the winter, layers layers layers. With layers you can easily regulate your body temperature by taking on and off thin layers when needed.
Later this week I’ll be sharing with you some layering options for kids from Icebreaker. And we’ll have a giveaway for you as well. More info. coming soon!
This summer we decided it was time to take the entire family on a backpacking trip. With four kids and two of them under 5-years-old we had to get creative with the packing and the transportation if their little legs gave out.
We decided to pick a familiar trail that we knew our jogging stroller could go on so #1 the stroller could help hold gear and #2 if the little ones got tired they could hitch a ride for a bit. The trail we chose has moderate elevation gain, low mileage (only 5 miles round-trip), and bonus hot springs at the end. It’s called Fifth Water Hot Springs.
I carried Hiccup in our Kelty Child Carrier along with water, sleeping bag, diapers, clothes and the cooking gear. Damon took care of the rest between his pack and the jogging stroller.
Favorite Food Of The Trip: Idahoan Instant Mashed Potatoes
The entire family gave them 5 STARS (they were so warm and yummy and all we had to do was add 2 cups of boiling water and stir)
what we also ate:
Couscous – this is warm too and doesn’t take long to prepare, unlike noodles or rice. Just pour boiling water over it and cover for 5 minutes. We added some sun dried tomatoes to it. Yummers! (they pack tight too)
Spam – I don’t like eating this at home but on the trail it’s delicious fried up. It now comes packaged in foil packets rather than just cans so it’s backpacker friendly.
Tuna – Like the spam it comes in foil packaging now too. We made it tasty using little mayonnaise, mustard and relish packets from the deli. We ate it on flat bread.
Trailmix – We like to mix cashews, almonds, dried fruit and yogurt raisins together.
Oatmeal - You can never go wrong with this. Plus it’s easy to beef up with a little bit of dried fruit.
We also brought the GoGirl along for this trip. Scout always has to go, shall we say tinkle, when we’re outdoors. No joke, at least three times while on a short hike. And part of it always ends up on the cuff of her pants. So we thought we’d give it a try. It allows girls to stand up while going pee. It was effective but awkward…I think it’s going to take some practice.
Doober also used his Deuter Fox 30 youth backpack. Which is proving to not disappoint with each outing we go on. The pack is meant to grow with him. It’s compact enough now to hold smaller loads and as he grows it has the ability to hold a lot more and adjust to fit his torso. I didn’t hear Doober complain about the pack at all during our trip so I’m guessing the fit must have been right. You’ll be seeing this more in the future at Nature For Kids I’m sure.
So overall what are my thoughts on our first family backpacking trip? Well we all managed to survive and had some fun along the way so that’s a SUCESS in my book.
Damon took the boys on their first backpacking trip last weekend. They went to the Wellsville Mountains beginning at Rattle Snake Canyon near Logan, Utah.
Kronk is 7-years-old and carried 14 lbs. in his pack. Doober is 9 and he carried 24lbs in his new Deuter Fox 30 backpack. Once they set out on the trail they lasted a good mile before the grunts and groans began, then some of their gear got transferred to Damon’s pack.
They eventually set up camp and continued on with just a daypack to get some more mileage in and to get a great view of the Cache Valley.
Damon admits he was a little too zealous and picked a trail that had too much elevation gain for the kiddos, at least for the weight they were carrying. But for a first time backpacking trip they had a lot of fun and learned a lot…
reduce weight of packs
pick a trail with less elevation gain
get rain gear that fits the kids
get Dad a pack goat for Fathers Day
Here’s a video recap of their experience…p.s. keep an eye out for the tusken raiders. And also Doober will be using his Deuter Fox 30 backpack throughout the summer. A full review on it will be coming soon.
We have a waterfall on the mountains behind our house. It’s just a little guy but it’s cool just the same. This last week we did a cousin swap. Doober went to the Phamdamily house (Youtube sensations!) and their son Gickos came to stay with us. So we decided to hike up to our backyard waterfall so he could take a look.
Here’s a little visual recap of the experience…
This is everyone scrambling to keep up with Scout. As usual she tried taking the lead, “You guys are slow pokes!”
Kate’s Real Food provided the sustenance for these little guys to make it to the top.
Kronk and Gikos taking a break sharing a Tram Bar.
This is at the top of the waterfall. The kids decided this wasn’t good enough. They all wanted to be right at the bottom of it, so we had to do a little exploring to find a good route to the base.
Heading back down was a little more tricky than going up. The kiddos quickly learned that bum sliding was the easy way down the steep loose dirt and rocks.
This is Damon and Hiccup peaking around the corner at the waterfall. Since he was packing little man in the child carrier I scrambled down to make sure it was doable and to help spot the kids as they crossed over to the base of the waterfall.
We made it! HOORAY!
Damon said, “I’ll give each of you a dollar if you touch the rock behind the waterfall.” Gikos was the first to go and the others followed shortly after. They were a bit wet on the hike home but the next day we of course hit the snow shack…money bags.
At the end Hiccup thanked Dad for the comfy ride by giving him a fist bump!
The snack we had, Kate’s Tram Bars, were sent to us from their location in Driggs, Idaho (oh my heart I love this place). The Tram Bar is the original bar Kate created. She has several to choose from now. Each bar is made of all natural, organic ingredients, things you can actually pronounce, imagine that. The shelf life isn’t as long as a twinky of course but it lasts a few months and can be frozen for a long time too. We all liked it a lot, even the kids! They’re priced a little steep at $3 a piece but honestly they fill you up like you just ate a full meal. So they’re great on the go and especially when you’re exploring outside like Nature For Kids !
We loved having Gickos with us…he’s just as crazy funny as his mom and dad. Check out their families 200th vlog! I’m warning you it’s addictive! And if you’re interested to see what Doober was doing while at their house watch this …
OK first off I have to admit I had to spellcheck the word cocklebur. I’ve said it a million times but never had to type it out. I grew up calling them cacaburs. Uh…yeah I grew up calling a lot of things differently. Ambliance ambulance, fruit and cotton-tail fruit cocktail and the list goes on.
Enough with my childhood, let’s get on with it. During a recent hike with the kiddos I looked down and realized we were all covered in cockleburs.
And Kaiser the dog didn’t escape their clutches either. He lodged a bigger one right in his grandpa beard.
I guess I’m not suprised. By the end of summer this should be expected. Everything is drying out and these annoying hitchhikers are excited to travel to new places.
Once these cockleburs were brought to our attention we began to see them everywhere and what their plants looked like. There were several different kinds, extra small to ginormous. My creative son got really excited and started collecting them…”MOM they’re like legos”. He went on to build this killer cocklebur man.
If any of you are interested he is now selling it on ebay for a mere $100.
Although cockleburs are overall unpleasant I guess they do have some redeeming value. In my book about medicinal plants it says that the leaves of the plant can be used to make tea in order to get rid of diarreah. Now that I think about it my Cacabur pronounciation was right on target!
I found a great site about cockleburs that you can check out if you want more indepth info on this natural velcro.
