Adventures as a family

Tiny Turtle gets bored quickly. During our hikes we will play games.  The first game is the “word” game. Most people have played this at one point or another. It’s a simple game. The first person says a word that begins with the letter “A” like apple. The second person then says “Apple” and a word that starts with the letter “B” like bear. The game keeps going until the end of the alphabet but each person has to say each of the words before making their additional word. You can change it up by going backwards on the alphabet or making it categories like animals or plants.

The second game is finding something like a walnut to use as a ball. This works great for an eight-year-old boy! Tiny Turtle was in a boredom spell and the only thing I could find was a walnut. As we walked the trail, he would kick and/or throw a walnut down the trail.  Then we would race to see if we could get it before he did but he was always just a little too fast.

The third game is Tiny Turtle will go up further on the trail and hide. Make sure your child knows not to go too far off the trail. The idea is to be on the trail but to see how long it takes to spot him/her. Kids love it.

The fourth game was to be the first to spot the blaze. This keep their attention on the trail in order to be the first one to see the blaze! An addition to this game is having them keep count of the blazes.

The fifth game we would use is a modified version of a scavenger hunt, which we call a survival hunt. The idea is that you have them be on the lookout for certain items along the trail and when they see it they alert you and you mark it off their list. With multiple kids this is a fun competition. You could have them point out items they could use if they needed to make a fire if they were lost in the woods. It is also a good teaching moment because they learn different types of trees, plants to avoid, and plants that are edible.

These are just some of the games we played and they seemed to work. If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear about them!

The past four months we have been training to take this long backpacking trip on the Vermont Long Trail, which is 272 miles. We started without any packs and low impact to build up our connective tissue. The idea was to decrease our chances of injury on the trail. The next step was to start carrying the packs and increase the length of the hikes. We also added a 2-mile run through the woods, which included some steep inclines to help with cardio. After the run we would strap on the packs and hike the same trail. This was a game changer! Switching terrains and training in all weather conditions is important. We practiced in low temperatures, high temperatures, and the rain. As time progressed we would increase the weight of the packs until we reached trail weight. Our packs were filled with the exact gear that we would be taking on the trail to ensure we had the right spot for each piece, the weight was right, and the packs were balanced. If we did not have the right gear at the time of training, then we substituted an item of equal weight. Something we learned by doing this was the difference that a 45-pound weight verses 45 pounds of food may feel on your back. So a helpful hint is to buy your gear you know you will be taking as soon as you can and use it in training.

Training is very important especially before a long hike like the one we are going to embark on. Going 272 miles on the Vermont Long Trail is going to be an adventure! A lesson we learned after our last trip to the Sheltowee Trace Trail, was training is important and we are not in as good of shape as we once thought. Yes, I just admitted that! On the good side, we learned our lesson, came home, and began training for the next big adventure.

Training is not always fun and sometimes it is hard to get the entire family motivated at once. Generally, if you can make it out of the door then everyone gets it in gear and the day is productive.  I have to say the “bargaining” of a twelve-year-old (Sissy Bear) can be amusing at times. I heard the excuses that she had to “take a shower” or “gather chicken eggs” and even “my toe hurts”. Generally, I heard excuses when it about to rain, which is ironic considering when it starts raining is when we have the best times. With kids it sometimes just takes someone hiking along with them to keep their mind on the goal.  During our first few runs at Fern cliff, I would run behind Tiny Turtle and Sissy Bear to keep them moving. The little bit of encouragement of someone running behind them reminding them they can do this was enough for them to keep the pace and continue.

I think the training was fun. The training was more fun than work. My favorite day was when it was raining at Fern Cliff. I was sliding in the mud up the side of the cliff. Dad was pushing up the side to make sure I didn’t fall. The longest day and hardest day was the day dad made us do 13 miles. I feel like I am stronger because I can kick harder and move faster.

I am happy that we were able to get training in before this big trip. I feel like it is going to help me a lot on this trip. I did not like all the training exercise but I did them anyway because I knew it would help me. I especially did not like the boulder training. We would carry our packs and go up and down the boulders. We would go up and down 172 boulders. They were not very tall at least.  It was the harder part of training for me. My favorite training day was when we took a trip to Fern Cliff in the pouring rain to test our skills in the rain. I had a blast even though I fell a bunch! I was thankful for my trekking poles that day.

By: Tiny Turtle (age 7)

My backpack was 9 pounds on the first day and then went to 11 pounds. I was the line leader the first day.

Sissy Bear kicks from her sleeping bag and the tent was very small but I slept like a baby.   Luckily my sleeping bag was incredibly comfy.

The food was good. I kind of liked the breakfast. It was a trail mix. I only liked the M&M’s, nuts, and pretzels. I kept taking my mom and dad’s because they did not really like the M&M’s anyway. I liked the lunch but I really wanted to eat the chicken for lunch. I liked the summer sausage. It was really good. I really really liked the dinner. I love the chicken and pasta. The 2nd night, my dad and I had to eat all the left overs for dinner. We can’t have any food left over because it attracts animals. I was stuffed and my belly was big.

One day it starting raining when we were all grumpy and it made up happier. It was super easy for me to get my pack covered and my jacket on because my rain gear was on the outside pocket of my pack. None of my stuff got wet.

The last day it got dark on our way out. It was really muddy and everything looked like a bed and blankets because I was so tired. My dad ended up carrying me over his backpack for like 10 minutes for me to get a power nap.

By: Sissy Bear (age 12)

I had a great time. I learned a lot on this adventure. It was hard for me to sleep. I was in a tent with my little brother, Tiny Turtle. He lays there and snores but not bad. I did not sleep well because I couldn’t get comfortable and I was a little scared. I am working on the being scared part. I am going to try to get my parents to invest in a sleeping pad for me before the next trip.

The food we had was delicious. I did not much like the breakfast. It was a trail mix, but I only liked the M&M’s and peanuts. Lunch was good. I love the summer sausages. My favorite is dinner with the pasta with chicken and the mashed potatoes. My dad, Bo Bonzi, cooks it all and it is delicious.

My pack was 20 pounds on the first day of the trip but it became lighter. The third day was my hardest day. I hurt my ankle, but it wasn’t bad with the trekking poles. I learned it was a good idea to keep all the rain gear easily accessible. I had to get it out quickly and cover my pack and myself. It was so much fun.

Written by Bo Bonzi

I put myself to the task of planning our food; how to prepare it, how much, and what to bring.

To start off, I figured our families total calorie intake for a day. Some backpackers recommend doubling the number of calories you eat while at home to account for the extra exertion while on the trail.  So I took the advice and chose to double my families’ calories, then added a little more just for insurance. I did not want anyone to be hungry and have low energy. Next, I set out to make a meal plan that had a long shelf life, economical, nutritious, tasty, light weight, and simple to prepare. Foods like pasta and rice are obvious choices. Seasoning is key with pasta and rice!

The Plan:

We decided to only cook at dinner, eat breakfast on the go, and stop for a little break for lunch. We prepared our dinner away from the campsite so critters would go there to look for food and not our campsite. We also put all our food in a 5-gallon bucket with a screw on lid and left it where we cooked dinner. It’s a poor man’s bear container! Considering we would have needed 3 bear containers, I decided I would carry the extra weight of the bucket. The bucket was able to hold enough food for five days for our family.

Breakfast consisted of trail mix containing granola, peanuts, M&Ms, pretzels, banana chips, and a prepackaged trail mix we found at the store. We put a bunch of different food in a bag and hit the trail to see what worked. The M&Ms were a top choice for the kids, of course!

Lunch consisted of crackers and summer sausage. This was another big hit with the kids! Pack extra summer sausageJ

Dinner consisted of pasta salad with chicken and instant mashed potatoes. Yes, this meal is a carb loader. The potatoes can be ready in minutes, are filling, and are really good! The pasta salad takes a bit longer than the potatoes but is delicious. Cook the potatoes first and that way everyone can start eating while the pasta is being prepared. This helps everyone from being grumpy while they are hungry!

We found out that the calorie doubling did not work out for our family. We actually ate less than the anticipated amount. Better safe than hungry.