Petoskey family hikes The Long Trail

In the fall of 2009,  my husband Todd and I  decided our kids were old enough to be introduced  to the joys of backpacking.  Before having kids we had taken many backpacking trips out West.  After having kids we switched to car camping out West, in the U.P.  and at Sleeping Bear Dunes.  Knowing that our kids were comfortable with rustic accommodations, it was time to start training for our hike by climbing hills at Nub’s Nob, the stairs at Petoskey State Park, and the tow rope hill at the Winter Sports Park.  And of course, lots of hiking.  As members of the North Country Trail and Little Traverse Conservancy, our family has always enjoyed the local trails and preserves on a regular basis.  Feeling ready for a longer excursion, our plan was to hike about 170 miles of the Long Trail in Vermont, the oldest long distance trail in America.  We would start at the southern end at the Massachusetts/Vermont border and head north along the main ridge of the Green Mountains as far as Waterbury, Vermont.  After looking through The Long Trail End-To-Ender’s Guide and the Green Mountain Club Long Trail Guide, Todd made calls to several hiker hostels and inns to arrange for resupplying as well as  the occasional bed and shower.  Next we perused Lipsmackin’ Backpackin’, filled with lightweight trail recipes.  After sampling several, we did a big grocery shop and started preparing individual servings for the three main meals of the day.  We divided the meals up into our resupply boxes along with turkey sticks, energy bars and gorp for each leg of the journey.  We planned for three resupply points since that would keep us on the trail longer, but it did mean carrying more food weight.  We knew a huge factor in this trip’s success would be keeping the kids well fed and happy.  Each day would end with a delicious treat after dinner, such as Green Mountain Grasshopper pie – add water to instant mint chocolate  pudding and powdered milk, crumble mint Oreo’s over the top, devour.  We also carried little plastic bags of ”incentives”, small candy bars for any rough spots along the way. 

We were fortunate enough to have good friends from Petoskey who now live near Waterbury, Vermont agree to drive us in our van to the Massachusetts border, drop us off at a motel, and drive our van back north so it would be waiting for us at the end of our hike.  The next morning our hike began.  It immediately seemed like the worst idea ever!  It was very hot and muggy, the trails were a complete mud pit after a summer of record rains, and my son’s backpack could not be adjusted in any way that he considered to feel comfortable.  We had to hike almost four miles just to get to the Massachusetts/Vermont border.  We stopped for lunch on some large boulders at the state line and things started to look up.  Other than our son tripping on a root and doing a complete face plant in the mud, we were all doing well physically, just a bit tired and overheated.  Mentally though we were questioning the wisdom of packing so many miles into each day.  We were hoping to average seven to eight miles a day for three weeks.  We only had two and a half miles to go after lunch until we reached our first shelter.  Once we reached the shelter,  we met lots of other hikers, mostly Appalachian Trail hikers who had already hiked about 1500 miles from Georgia and had about 600 miles left to get to Maine.  Theses hikers averaged 15 to 25 miles a day, sometimes going as far as 40 miles in a day!  This gave our kids a new perspective on our first day’s six and a half mile hike.  And this is when they started to get a lot of praise from other hikers for being out on the trail with a backpack.  Many of the younger hikers told our kids that they had never camped or hiked as kids.  They were learning how to do both as young adults.  You could see our kids’ self-esteem growing with each word of praise from both novice and veteran hikers.  We were told that there weren’t a lot of other families hiking these trails. 

The first day ended up being the worst.  Other than dealing with mud, blisters, a bee sting, and two nights of swarming mosquitos, things went very smoothly for the next three weeks. We got up with the sun, ate a quick breakfast, stuffed our sleeping bags, rolled up our air mattresses and repacked our backpacks for the day’s journey.   Todd had worried more about our physical capabilities.  But it turned out that we were all able to carry our packs along the rugged trails of the Green Mountains.  We were surprised by the difficulty of the terrain.  Hiking the ridge of the Green Mountains meant lots of rocks, tree roots, and almost constant ascent or descent.  The kids took turns leading the way, so we always traveled at their pace.  I had worried about the mental/emotional difficulties of spending so much time together under strenuous circumstances.  But my worries were unfounded.  Todd and I agreed to disagree about how much I should worry about black bears, and the kids got along even better than they do at home.  We had people ask us afterwards how we kept them from getting bored.  Sometimes we hiked in silence, but mostly we talked.  We played the “A to Z” game, picking different  topics, such as food, birds, trees and soccer players,  trying to go from A to Z with each category.   One day it was entirely about pizza – Awesome pizza, big pizza, cheese pizza.   We took frequent breaks throughout the day,  taking off our boots to soak our tired feet in the many cold, clear streams that we crossed.  Often we would read or journal at these stops, though our son mostly threw rocks and sticks in the water.  At one stop he made a burr ball six inches in diameter.  Todd also would read at these stops and at night from a book about a man who hiked the entire Long Trail.  After dinner at each shelter we had a little time for reading, journaling or socializing with other hikers before going to bed at sunset.

Because the trail was so well-marked, we didn’t have to worry too much about getting lost.  We did carry a compass and waterproof topographical map of the trail as well as the two guide books mentioned above.   We pumped our water from the streams.  We slept in wooden  shelters along the trail.  Most were three sided, though there were a few little cabins.  We slept in our tent one night when we got stuck between shelters in the rain.  We had decided to carry a tent since the shelters  operate on a first come, first served basis.  Quite a few of the A.T. hikers prefer sleeping under a tarp outside the shelters, so we were always able to find room in the shelters.   Every couple of days we would ask a day-hiker if they would take our  Ziploc bag of trash out to the trail head with them.    Because we talked a lot, we did not see any moose or bear, though we did see lots of their scat along the trails.  And though I went into the trip most concerned about bears, I ended up dreading mice more.  They know that shelters mean people and people mean food.  The shelters all have mouse-proof hanging devices since they are the greatest actual threat to your food.  The one shelter that had experienced aggressive bear activity provided a bear-proof locker for food storage.  We did see snakes, butterflies, birds, beaver dams, lots of flowers and mushrooms of every color.

Upon successfully completing our 170 mile hike,  we had climbed 29,000 feet in elevation over those many miles.  Our shortest day was three miles, our longest 13.  Our kids enjoyed the trip so much that when given the choice between car camping out West or doing another backpacking trip the following year, they chose to do another 100 mile hike from New Hampshire to Vermont along the Appalachian Trail.  That trip was just as enjoyable as the first.  The greatest lesson learned in terms of hiking with kids was to keep in mind their abilities and make sure their basic needs were met (provide treats!).  We talked to a woman along the trail who said she and her husband had tried to backpack with their kids when they were younger and pushed them too hard.  They never wanted to backpack again and still don’t as adults.  The majority of kids enjoy spending time outdoors, especially if given the opportunity starting at a young age.  I think our trip was such a huge success because of the advanced planning, the beauty of the trail, the friendliness of other hikers and our kids’ comfort level with being outside.

Jen Winnell

Getting Kids Outdoors Advisory Board Member

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