What May or May Not Happen While Backpacking with 6 Children...

If you get a wild hair to take 6 kids backpacking, you may encounter a few situations or experiences... or even mishaps. I have decided to fill you in on the possibilities!

You may discover that carrying food, clothing, tents and other supplies all by yourself a is a tad bit heavy. Like 90 pounds maybe...

You may notice that there are frequent stops along the trail for snacks, sugar checks (OK this one is only for those with Diabetes), and potty breaks.

And you'll find that often there are jokesters in every group...

You may hike up steep hills,

cross swollen streams, 

and get wet feet...

You may find that, though it's summer and 80 degrees out, there may still be glacial snow drifts to conquer

that may or may not cause you to slip.



Or even worse, you may be trying to figure a way to get away from the group clown and can't.

In our case we had many clowns...

You may find that in your drug-induced stupor from a nasty head cold you had while packing, you neglected to include any coat, sweatshirt or even long-sleeved shirt for your poor little two year old causing him to have to wear his sister's shirt that says "dream" on it with flowers just to stay warm in the morning.

Or even if you do pack enough warm clothes, you may find that you need to get back in your sleeping bag to warm up again after breakfast...

(See him in there?)



You also may discover that the camp stove will not work upside down...



and that you have to filter every drop that you drink.



And that you can train your 7 year old to do it for you.



While there are a lot of things you may be able to do, staying clean is not one of them.



Neither is relaxing at the lake without responsibilities.

You probably won't be able to eat your lunch in peace.

And you may not be able to figure out when your baby got so grown up and independent.

And yet you still might sigh a breath of relief when he pretends he's slaying 10,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a Racoon.



You may not realize that your 4 year old is part mountain goat...



or at the very least a mountain lion!



And you might never think you would eat a freshly cooked crawdad with the guts still inside of it.

But you might!

and so might everyone else!

You may spend all day fishing for these little guys

and then catch about 5 in the cage and 3 by hand (Go Isaiah!). 

and then you'll probably feel bad about it for a little while,

 

but then you just might cook them and eat them, and maybe even put them in your top ramen.

You may be able to catch a fish...







and it could be tons of fun, but they might all get away :( But that's OK, because you could catch a frog instead!

because your friend Isaiah is the "frog whisperer."

Or you might take a trip around the lake

 and find a log with a burn mark in the shape of a girl drinking hot chocolate!

or learn how to echo!

Or you might just enjoy throwing rocks in the lake,

or enjoy the view...

with friends :)

and family...

while a chipmunk may be stealing your food.

But you just may think this is a trip worth repeating in the future, even though kids are a lot of hard work, the nights might get cold, and the snow hasn't quite melted at this elevation. Mount Hood National Forest just may be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

and though one of us may have fallen asleep, 

this may have been the start of a very fun future of backpacking here with our kids and with good friends.