Manina and I have a goal to do a big backpacking trip later this year, so we targeted this weekend to do a practice run. We wanted to dial in our gear, try a couple meals, and see what works and what doesn’t.
We had enough gear and our kids were all game, so we decided to make it a family affair instead of getting a babysitter.
Megan didn’t come, but Katelyn invited her friend Hallie so we had a pretty big crew.
Friday afternoon we drove up to the Silver Lake Flat reservoir and hit the trail just after 6pm. We were a bit worried that the kids were going to whine and moan most of the way up the 2.5 mile trail, but they all did great.
The hike up was great. We were out of the direct sun and there was a gentle breeze coming down the draw that we were heading up. We had a nice winter, so there was plenty of water and it was nice and green. The wildflowers are also starting to come out.
We arrived at Silver Lake right about 8pm and found a decent camp site. Drew and Ellie set up a tent. Claire snuck my lightweight cot into her pack and was determined to sleep under the stars, and Hallie and Katelyn had their own little site about 20 yards away from the rest of us.
We cooked dinner; the kids choosing freeze-dried chicken and rice and Manina and I trying a new backpacking recipe (Skurka beans and rice — definitely a keeper). We setup our tents and went to bed as the stars came out.
Sleep is sometimes difficult when out backpacking, and that was pretty universal this trip. Manina got spooked by a deer tromping around late. Claire got woken up by the too bright full moon. Katelyn and Hallie figured out they brought one sleeping bag and one pillow combined among the two of them in a 1-man tent. Seth got woken up by Manina’s frantic deer spook flashlight hunts. And Ellie and Drew got invaded by Claire at around 2am seeking some shelter from the moon and bugs. So it wasn’t perfect success by any means.
Nevertheless we woke up with pretty good attitudes on Saturday morning. The stunning mountain views deserve a lot of that credit. We live in a spectacular place.
Drew tried his luck at fishing and lost his lure and his determination after just three casts. We ate breakfast, packed up, and hit the trail, stopping to take a couple pictures of the beautiful surroundings we were leaving.
It was plenty hot on the way down with a lot of the trail exposed in the late morning. We told the kids we’d stop at Tibble Fork reservoir to cool off on the way home, so they were motivated to get down and jump in to some chilly but refreshing clear mountain water. All the kids jumped in to cool off and it was a great way to end an awesome backpacking trip to Silver Lake.
MightyJohnsons 