"we needed this!"

Strap 20... or 30... or more pounds to your back.  Hike several miles through the woods.  Hang your food in a tree.  Sleep on a thin piece of foam.  Repeat.

Backpacking.  Yeah, I do that.

It's definitely not for everybody.  Many wouldn't even consider trying it.  And, if I'm honest, when I've packed my food too heavy, and I'm powering up a hill, and my back is wet with perspiration, with a blister forming on my heel... or, when the nighttime temps drop low enough that I'm chilly in my sleeping bag, and my back is sore if I don't change positions every few hours, and I'm continually wakened by night critters stirring about; it's times like these I wonder why I willingly choose to participate in such an activity.

But, the flip side is the satisfaction of walking into camp, dropping your pack, and knowing you did something others wouldn't attempt, or the rare experience of waking up in the forest, with the forest, as the first rays of sun stream through a woodland mist and break into the open end of your lean-to shelter.

You may not "get it"... but I enjoy it enough to strap 20... or 30... or more pounds on my back... well, you get the picture.

I have been waiting for the right time to introduce my two oldest boys to backpacking.  They needed to be old enough to carry all their own stuff, and old enough to appreciate the tired-end-of-day feeling of a job well done. 

I felt this was the year.  I debated whom to take.  At age 11, I definitely felt Dylan was ready.  But, At age 9, I wasn't sure about Zachary.  Zachary has eczema and asthma, and I knew it would be more difficult for him than it would be for Dylan.  Yet, they are so close in age (23 months) that they often experience things together.  I discussed it with Zachary and let him know that it would be difficult, and that I expected him to complete the trip, carrying his gear, without excessive whining.  He wanted to go... I agreed.

I chose Raccoon Creek State Park for several reasons:

1. It's one of the closest developed backpacking trails to our home.
2. The terrain is hilly, but with relatively mild elevation changes.
3. The trail system is a series of interconnected loops and it is possible to adjust your daily mileage by switching to a different loop.

By "developed", I mean that Raccoon Creek has two designated backpacking camp areas within the park's trail system.  Each camp area (Sioux and Pioneer) has five Adirondack-style lean-to sleeping shelters that can be rented, designated campfire rings, pit toilets, and a water pump... primitive for camping, but posh for backpacking.

I got home from work last Friday about 6:30 PM, grabbed a quick shower and dinner, changed clothes, loaded the three packs in the car (mine weighing about 32 pounds, Dylan's about 20, and Zachary's about 19), and got on the road around 7:30... which, by the way, is dusk in northeast Ohio in October.  It was about an hour and a half drive to the park, putting us there around 9:00 PM, which, by the way, is dark in Western Pennsylvania in October.

I parked the car at the park office, which is just over one mile from the Sioux camping area.  Because there is a group scout camp area near the Sioux shelter area, we were able to avoid the trail in the dark, and hike our one mile mostly on the park roads.  With the nearly full moon, we didn't need our flashlights until the last section, where we had to use the trail.

Friday night, Sioux shelter #1

Only one other shelter was occupied when we got into camp (more on that in a minute).  We set up our beds, gathered some wood, built a small fire, ate a snack, hung our food, and got into bed a little before midnight.  Even though Friday was a short night, the boys were excited about being on their first backpack trip, and they thought the shelter was really cool... "Dad, you should build one of these in our backyard so we can sleep outside any time we want."  Their excitement didn't keep them awake, though; they were asleep almost the minute they zipped up their sleeping bags.  Me, on the other hand...

Remember that other occupied shelter I mentioned?  I'm pretty sure they weren't actual backpackers.  I didn't go investigate, but it sounded more like a party in the woods.  This theory was further supported when more friends arrived around 11:30 PM with a cooler and lawn chairs... I've never carried a cooler and a lawn chair when I backpacked.  The fact that the road comes so close to this shelter area makes it conducive to such activities.  I doubt that they were even registered campers, because the park does not encourage backpackers to park in the group camp area, which is where all their cars were parked.  They partied until somewhere after 4 AM, which means I didn't get much sleep Friday night.  They didn't physically bother us, but the noise disturbance was annoying.  Since "they" were many and "we" were only one adult and two kids, I left them alone.  However, at one point in the wee hours of the morning, I called the number for the park office (I carried my cell phone in case I needed it, but left it turned off the duration of the trip), which was, of course, closed.  The recording directed me to 9-1-1, which I phoned and asked for a ranger to be dispatched to break up the party.  Unfortunately, that never happened.  I dozed off and on until about 4 AM, then slept until about 8AM, when the boys awoke.  I didn't make any effort to be quiet, once we were awake!

Saturday morning, Sioux shelter #1

Raccoon Creek provides these poles to hang the food... easier than messing with a tree and a rope.

pop tarts for breakfast

ready to hit the trail... next stop, Pioneer shelter area

Saturday morning started with a pop-tart breakfast, followed by packing up our gear and hitting the trail about 9:30 AM.  We hiked just over eight miles, and got into camp a little before 4:00 PM.  It wasn't "Are we there yet?", but rather, "How many miles have we hiked, so far?"  If I had a dollar for every time I heard that!

The weather was perfect the entire weekend, with daytime temps about 70 and nighttime temps in the 40's.  Saturday was a beautiful day to be in the woods, with leaves starting to color and crunch underfoot, and a few small stream crossings along the way.  Saturday's route also took us by Mineral Springs, which is a park highlight.

Dylan did very well with Saturday's mileage, and probably could have done a few more.  Zachary struggled a little toward the end, but I expected that, and he maintained a great attitude.  I was very proud of both of them!

When we started the weekend, I had given the boys a pep-talk about doing this as a group, rather than an individual event.  I told them that we were going to encourage each other through any hardships, and if any of us struggled at any point, the others would stick with them and pull them through, not just hike out ahead and leave them in the dust.  This is not to say that we didn't sometimes pull the hills at a different pace, but we had an agreement that if we pulled ahead on a hill, we'd wait at the top, and if we sensed the man behind us was struggling, we'd hang back to be an encourager.  For the most part, the boys "got it" and we had a good bond going on the trail.

Toward the end of Saturday's hike, however, when we were getting tired and we had exhausted our water bottles, a brief "spat" broke out between Dylan and Zachary, when Dylan lost his patience with Zachary, who was really beginning to drag.  (Not faulting him... he did great for his age!)  I immediately stopped the boys and told them that we were a team, and that was unacceptable.  I reaffirmed Zachary, and suggested that Dylan might owe him an apology.  I left it at that, and we moved on down the trail... no apology.  We were getting very close to camp, and I knew that we'd pass the water pump a short distance up the trail.  I took Zachary's water bottle and told him I was going to hike ahead, and I'd come back and meet him with some cold water.  I told Dylan to stay with his brother and encourage him into camp.  As I was returning with the water, I rounded a corner to a sight that made me proud... both brothers, side-by-side in the trail, Zachary packless and Dylan carrying both their packs.  I guess that would count as Dylan's apology in action!

Zachary shouldered his pack, and we hiked into camp together.  The boys were beaming with pride and accomplishment when they dropped their packs after completing just over eight miles.  We all pitched in to cook a meal of chicken and noodles, explored camp, built a fire, hung our food, played some flashlight games and went to bed about 9:00 PM.  Our beds felt really good after a long day of hiking.  We talked in bed a while, then drifted off to sleep.  All five Pioneer area shelters were filled on Saturday night... with considerate backpackers, and we enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep!

Saturday rest break... one of many!

Dylan was begging me to let him try to hand-catch a minnow... anything to do with fishing!

the falls at Mineral Springs

Dad and Dylan

Dad and Zachary

lunchtime on the trail... beef jerky, cheese, and GORP

stream crossing

"How many miles have we walked, Dad?"

"We're almost there, boys!"

Zachary, sporting a doo-rag soaked in a stream to cool him off

Saturday evening, Pioneer shelter #4

8.2 miles today... great job, boys!

exploring camp

I was apprehended by the "Flashlight Bandits"!

the beds feel good after a long day on the trail

 

Sunday morning, we were talking and thinking about getting out of our cozy sleeping bags, when Dylan said, "Dad, look at the spider above your head!"  I looked up and saw this guy about four feet above my head.  For size reference, the black dot to the right of Mr. Spider is a nail!

Sunday morning breakfast... oatmeal and hot chocolate

breaking camp

Traverse Creek

The trail ends here!  +/- 13 miles weekend total!

Our hike to the car on Sunday was about 3.5 miles.  We completed this by about noon; then we changed into clean clothes and ate lunch at one of the picnic areas.  From the state park, we were within a 50 mile drive of the Cabela's store, nearest to our home, in Wheeling, West Virginia.  We had never been to Cabela's, so we pointed the car south and spent several hours browsing and wishing we could afford a big shopping spree.

the boy has never seen so many fishing rods in one place!

Fortunately, the only black bear we saw this weekend!

Mannequins, these days!

Couldn't bring myself to buy it, but I'd wear it if I had one!

West Virginia geocaching... my first interstate geocache... with Interstate 70 in the background

Zachary mistook this sprinkler head for a geocache.  It  was just a few feet from the actual cache, and as I was retrieving the cache, I looked down to see him attempting to uproot the shopping center sprinkler system.  That was worth a good laugh!  We logged five West Virginia geocaches in the vicinity of the Cabela's shopping area.

It was just over a two hour ride back home, which put us arriving about 8:00 PM, tired and ready for a shower.  It was great weekend, with perfect weather.  Both boys had a blast, and both agreed they'd love to go again... although Zachary requested a little shorter mileage next time!  (Honestly, I estimated the trip less, and I was surprised at the actual mileage when I analyzed the tracking from my GPS unit... see below).  No problem, Zachary, we can do that.  To quote Dylan during the trip, "We needed this, Dad!"  I agree... we did need this.  Great job, guys... thanks for a great weekend!

Racoon Creek Saturday

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Raccoon Creek Sunday

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

gear review

I would consider myself a backpacker, albeit not an avid one.  On a good year, I may do one weekend trip, and I haven't made it out at all in the past four years.  I would enjoy going more, but other responsibilities get in the way.  For several years I have entertained the dream of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail (2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine), and then writing a book about the experience.  But... remember those "other responsibilities"?  Yeah... that'll likely never happen!  Instead, over the years, I've read several other thru-hiker biographies that I have managed to find in my local library system.

This weekend, however, I'm taking my two oldest sons on their very first trip.  I'm looking forward to it, and I am hoping they like it.  I'll likely, being just the occasional weekend warrior, come home with some sort of sore-something-or-other that will make me wonder just what would cause someone to want to do that for 2,180 miles!

I began backpacking in college (1990), when my Baptist Student Union campus minister, Andy, introduced me to it.  I went on several trips throughout my college years, but with very little budget for gear, I used whatever rented, borrowed, yard sale/Goodwill purchased gear I could acquire.  Gear, even if you stick to lower/moderate end stuff can be pricey, and it is hard to justify a large expense for such an occasional activity.  Decent gear, however, makes a big difference, and I have slowly been acquiring and upgrading my collection of gear over a many year period, to the point where I have a "respectable" rig... not all the latest and greatest, mind you, but respectable and adequate for my skill and participation level.  I have been rounding up and checking out my gear over the past several days, and seeing how to best outfit the boys with mostly what pieces and parts I have on hand, and maybe only a moderate expense.  In the process, I decided to document my current gear in a blog post... if for no other reason than to be able to look back from the future as my gear continues to slowly evolve. 

My current pack is a Kelty Trekker 3950 external frame.  There is great debate over internal vs. external frame packs.  I have carried both, and, although they are a little more bulky, I prefer the classic simplicity of the external frame.  I suppose the higher-dollar internals (I carried lower-end ones) preform quite well, but performance for the dollar, I don't think you can beat the Kelty externals.

My sleeping pad alternates between an old Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad (mine, on the left) I acquired years ago at Goodwill, and a newer RidgeRest foam pad (Jen's, on the right).  I think I prefer the RidgeRest, and I will likely replace my Therm-a-Rest with a RidgeRest at some future point.

My sleeping bag is a Quest (Dick's Sporting Goods brand) mummy bag, rated to 20 degrees (although I've been in it in the 30's, and I don't think I'd care to see 20).  You can spend a lot on sleeping bags (and it is an important item), but this bag seems to be a good value for the investment.  It adds a little more weight than carrying a bag rated lower, but to make my bag more versatile, I use an optional supplemental fleece sleeping bag liner, which I designed and sewed myself for a fraction of what you might spend on a commercially made one.  Cozy!

My "kitchen" consists of a Coleman dual-fuel stove, an MSR cookware set, a fork and spoon, and my favorite old cup that I have carried on just about every trip since 1990.  The stove is not the lightest model available, but I already had it for car camping, before I upgraded to a two-burner propane.  Even though a little bulky, I like it because it is simple and the tank and stove are one unit.

Boots were one of my big splurges.  I wear Vasque Sundowner GTX.  The verdict is still out on these boots.  I wanted them for many years, and finally bought them a few years back.  I think I like them.  They have proven great for dayhikes, but I have developed blisters on backpacking trips.  I think this is because I wore them backpacking in the past without adequate break-in.  I am curious to see how they perform this weekend.  They were a sizable expense to my budget, but I LOVE hiking, and if I treat them right, they'll last many years.

On my last trip, I added the use of a pair of SwissGear trekking poles (Wal-Mart).  Again, you can invest a lot of money on trekking poles, but these budget ones get the job done.  I first thought them a little nerdy, but they do help reduce knee strain and promote stability.  I liked them well enough to make them a regular part of my gear.

For rain gear, I utilize a $5.00 plastic poncho, and pack my items in plastic bags inside my pack.  This is an area I might want to upgrade in the future, but for now, it works... that, and I try to watch the forecast and only go backpacking in fair weather!

I prefer classic ragg wool hiking socks with polypropylene liners.  Actually, it's not so much that I prefer them... I've just never tried any of the modern performance hiking socks.  Classic ones work, so I just stick with them.

My clothing is mostly Goodwill stuff that I have acquired over the years... nothing very fancy.  I steer away from cotton as much as possible, because it is terrible when it gets wet.  I wear a pair of bright orange (I bought them for the fabric, not the color!) No Boundaries brand cotton/nylon blend pants, with zip-off legs.  I wear a cotton/polyester blend t-shirt, and I usually carry a wool sweater, a wool shirt, and a windbreaker to layer over this.  In cooler weather, I always carry a fleece winter hat, and usually a pair of gloves.

Other essential gear includes an Energizer LED headlamp, a Leatherman multitool and a first aid kit.  Also, I never go without at least one bandanna... it weighs nearly nothing and has numerous possible uses.

Certainly, this isn't exactly an exhaustive list of gear, but it covers the majority.  Hmmm... three packs are packed and ready to hit the trail... wonder what I forgot?

three score and ten

My Dad recently celebrated his 70th birthday... twice.  Because of my Dad's cancer and chemo treatments, he has been left with a pretty weak immune system.  Therefore, we try to avoid being around him if we have any kind of an illness, even just a common cold.  It's pretty hard to get two sons, two daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren healthy and together at the same time.

We had a celebration planned for the weekend of his birthday, but part of my family was sick, so only my brother's family was there.  A few weeks later, my sister-in-law was out of town for a conference, and my brother brought his kids and his camper to my parent's house for an overnight backyard campout.  Since my family was healthy at the time, we turned it into a second birthday celebration.  I brought my tent and spent the night with my three older kids.

My Dad and I are alike in a lot of ways. Among them, is that we are both sentimental and emotional people. That's a nice way of saying we are crying men: weddings, births, funerals, Hallmark movies... we've been there, done that, have the hankie to prove it! And yet I (and I think Dad would feel the same) sometimes have a difficult time putting my emotions into words. I love my parents, but I hate buying cards and struggle to write a meaningful sentiment in them. I have no problem hugging my Dad's neck and telling him I love him, but I sometimes struggle to get any deeper, emotionally, than that. 

For some reason, though, my blog seems like a very comfortable medium to allow myself some vulnerability and emotional openness.  So, in honor of 70 years, here's a few things I appreciate about my Dad, that me and Father's Day and birthday cards struggle to express:

Two things I learned from my Dad are the value of hard work and family.

Raised a southern Ohio farm boy, my Dad is a worker and a fixer. He always has been and he always will be, though currently his age and health do not permit him to do as much as he would like. That doesn't keep him from trying, however, to the frustration of my Mom.

My Dad has held four different jobs his entire life. Four. I have had four in just the past three years! A high school graduate and a graduate of a technical school auto mechanics program, my Dad made a good living fixing things. He retired from a maintenance position, at the General Motors Corporation, just over a decade ago.  My Dad was well-liked by his co-workers and supervisors, and he believes in giving an employer a good day's work for a good day's pay.

One could assume that a hard worker translates to a workaholic. Au contraire. My Dad maintains the opinion that if the wages are relatively comfortable, 40 hours per week is enough to give to one's employer... the rest belongs to home and family.

At home, or with his family, is where he has always preferred to be. He is a hard worker around the house, and he especially loves working outdoors in the yard, or cutting firewood in the woods.  Growing up, he often expected my brother and I to pitch in and help.  I often balked at helping out, but now I appreciate him instilling a work ethic in me... one I am trying to pass on to my children... who often balk at helping out.

Dad has always been great at balancing work with play.  I can't ever remember a summer without at least one week, often two weeks, of vacation travel.  He coaxed my Mom to purchase a brand-new 1973 Four Seasons motorhome, and my brother and I grew up travelling and camping during the summers.  We visited a lot of neat places and my favorite childhood memories involve bicycles, campfires, family times and that 1973 motorhome.

I appreciate you, Dad!  Happy 70th birthday!

Here are photos from birthday weekend #2:

70 candles!

One big puff gets... 69 of 'em!

Happy Birthday Dad!

two Granddaughters sharing Grandpa's lap

And, here are a few photos (from Mom's camera, since I wasn't there) of birthday weekend #1:

Dad's favorite cake is my Mom's coffee cake.  You can see from the picture that he felt that 70 years entitled him to help himself to a pre-gathering sliver (snuck while Mom wasn't looking!) while the cake was still warm!

my niece and nephew

Dad's backyard fire pit