Last month I received a copy of “Tell It On The Mountain”, a walking documentary of life on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT is 2,663 miles long and extends from the U.S. border with Mexico to the U.S. border with Canada near British Columbia. This movie documents the lives of a dozen or…

As we walked through preparing for our first family backpacking trip I noticed something: there are a ton of articles on backpacking with kids in their teens. Even a few with middle schoolers. But I found only a couple posts on backpacking with young kids… seeing as our kids are ages six, five, and three, I just…

I do some “risky” things. Climbing. Backpacking. Some might even say skiing. But not that risky. I am that person who sits down after a fun multi-pitch 5.7/5.8 trad climb (for you non-climbers, 5.7 is easy) to read Climbing Magazine or Backpacker Magazine. I like absorbing other people treacherous tales and the lessons they’ve learned…

Recently I had the opportunity to try out the Deuter ACT Zero 50 + 15. (Wow, that name is a mouthful). It is a somewhat minimalist 50-65 liter pack from Deuter. I was really intrigued to try it out since it weighs in at a scant 3lb 4oz and has the same spec’d volume as…

As a family, we’ve tried out a ton of different sleeping bags over the years. And for the vast amount of families, you cannot go wrong. Well…too wrong. Most sleeping bags on the market will keep your kids warm in moderate to warm temperatures. But there are significant differences that can affect a good night’s…

Duration: A total of 5 nights and 7 days on the trail so far. Location: Testing in the Wasatch and Uinta Ranges Best Uses: Backpacking, Multi-day trips for those looking to go “light weight” or even climbing day trips where a larger pack would be needed. Yays! Size is great. I could easily fit a…

After an inspiring all-women’s backpacking trip in Colorado last year, I was motivated to plan my first trip out here in Utah. After much debating on location, I settled on The Notch Trail, High Uintas because it was super scenic and pretty tame in terms of trail difficulty. We had a few “first -timers” and…

I have several backpacking pet peeves. Bad (or not enough) food, bad sleep. They can take what would be the most amazing experience and make it unenjoyable. The first time I saw an ENO hammock was about ten years ago on a group camping trip. One of the guys pulls out this hammock that is stuffed…

Gosh, when looking for a tent, where do you start?! Honestly, when we first had kids I wished we had started here. I never really considered Kelty as my brand of choice when tent shopping but I have been more than pleasantly surprised! We sort of figured we only use it backpacking when the kids…

Every once and awhile I have some romantic, glorious idea…albeit ambitious. And last winter, when the snow swirled deep, I was dreaming of sunshine and wild flowers and high mountain lakes. I got it in my head to try taking my kid’s backpacking…not a long distance, but far enough to feel like we were getting…

I really don’t have any idea how to approach this post. Every person requires a different amount of food. Quantity also depends greatly on age of kids and gender! So what I am going to do is add in a bunch of qualifiers. First, we went with another family of four and there was much…

This last week we embarked on our first backpacking trip as a family, and our first trip into Willow Heights Lake in the Wasatch. Really it could not have been more perfect and our trip report is coming soon. But for now I wanted to share a glimpse into our time on the trails through…

Weather, snow pack, and location permitting, we are headed on the first of our family backpacking trips this weekend! And so, my posts have been less frequent because I am spending most my brain energy on packing lists. I figured I’d share my list and a few a guidelines in choosing our gear/clothing for the…

The #1 gear item on our list for this summer’s Backpacking Project 2013 was kid’s backpacks. Now I don’t expect them to carry much…but I NEED them to carry something!  But in my opinion kid’s packs are tricky. Most are designed for school, for obvious reasons. But we needed and wanted something with a little…

This last weekend we were side-lined by a small running injury so we decided to kick around close to home. Which led to a whole host of new adventures up near Rockport Reservoir and the High Uintas. But we also frequented one of our favorite Salt Lake hikes perfect for kids, Bell Canyon Reservoir. Not…

Footwear for kids is tricky… Do you go with a stiff sole or soft? How about traction? And if I finally settle on a pair of shoes, will I have to buy new ones in three months because they’ve already grown out of them?! We’ve put most of the major outdoor brands through the paces…

Since the moment our kids could hike on their own two feet, we’ve been searching for the right kid pack. And we’ve had mixed success. But at least I can say we’ve tried a ton of backpacks…and I now know exactly what we want in one. As part of our Backpacking Project 2013, we are…

Honestly, this is mostly for myself! So next year or next time I can bring up the post and pack my bag. I looked up many a packing list for my three night, all-women’s trip into the Collegiate Wilderness. I added specific brands for items I was particularly impressed with! And I won’t say this…