Backpacking

Yep that isn’t a typo in the title! I went backpacking last weekend, no bikes involved! My backpack buddies were Emma and Wesley on their first ever overnight trip.  They were mega excited and lots of hyping got done. We hiked up into Cottonwood Canyon wilderness area.

Wes carried a for real backpack filled with 100 oz water, food, 2 sleeping bags, clothes and a stove! Ems carried an Osprey Talon 22 with 80 oz water, candy, clothes, a whale and a dolphin. Me – I carried what seemed like a lot but only weighed in at 19lbs at the trail-head (yes I took a scale).

There are some old tunnels in Cottonwood Canyon. Emma went down this one into the darkness. She woke up a bat and it flew out but she kept on going!! Clearly she didn’t get my claustrophobia gene.

Headed into the darkness

She popped out on the other side of a cliff. Wes and I walked around the cliff!

Camp was a tent for kinders and a yellow tarp for me. Wes was the fire bender, single handedly collecting all the wood and lighting it with one match – a feat he repeated nicely in the morning.

Whales and dolphins in the desert wilderness

Wesley fulfilled one of his big brother tasks and taught Emma how to light matches. No homes were burned down during the lesson :-)

We ended the trip with kinders begging to go again = success!!