Author: Jess

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Backpacking Georgia Outdoor Gear

Backpacking with Kids: The Gear List

Gear List For Backpacking with Kids from CurrentlyWanderingLast Thanksgiving we went backpacking in Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park in Georgia. Andrew is working on his Wolf rank in Cub Scouts, and needed to create and use a gear list for a hike or backpacking trip. He did an excellent job, and the trip was great, so I thought I’d share the gear list we made. This doesn’t include any food, so that’ll just have to be the subject of another post.

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Standard Disclaimer: This worked well for us given the weather and ages of our kids. Adjust accordingly, Your Mileage May Vary, etc. etc. We’ve also included some Amazon and REI affiliate links. Shopping through these helps support our blog in a small way and we appreciate it very much!

The core of our backpacking gear remains the same no matter where or when we are going. You need somewhere to sleep (tent), something to sleep in (sleeping bag), and something to put it all in (backpack). All other gear really depends on when and where you are going, how cold it will be, and your comfort level. Our gear list is ever evolving, but here are some ideas to get your started!

Our Tent

We have a  Kelty Yellowstone 6. It is definitely NOT a back country tent, but we already owned it and had it with us in the Airstream. At 14lbs its a beast, but we’ve concentrated on getting our other gear as light as possible. I think when the kids are comfortable sleeping by themselves, we’ll eventually have two light weight tents. It IS a great car camping tent, however, just in case you are looking for that. But since you are here looking for backpacking gear, its probably not relevant.

Back on topic…

In addition to the tent, we also have a large piece of plastic (cut from a larger piece at my father in law’s house when he was doing some home improvement repairs) we use as a groundcloth. Its not fancy, but it does the job.

Sleeping Bags

Sam and I sleep VERY differently. At one point in our marriage we tried sleeping bags that could zip together, but that didn’t last long. He is constantly too warm, and I am constantly freezing.

Sam’s Bag: Since he is a super warm sleeper, Sam didn’t want anything overly warm. Half the time his bag is unzipped while I’m snuggled in tight. He has something similar to this REI Helio Sack 55 Sleeping bag from REI.

Jess’ Bag: REI Flash Sleeping Bag. I absolutely love it. Its down, lightweight, incredibly warm and cozy. I love that I have a place to tuck my pillow in and it won’t move, much. Its a bit pricey, but I expect it’ll be my sleeping bag until we are done backpacking. And then it’ll probably be Rachel’s.

With kid bags its important to make sure they won’t be too cold. This obviously depends on the weather and where you will be, but if you start out with a cheaper bag just make sure they have warm pajamas if the temperature is going to drop at night.

Rachel & Andrew’s Bags: Marmot Mavericks 40 Semi – Rectangular Sleeping Bag. Looks like this one is no longer available, but we love that it has two zippers, and even a place to stuff a pillow.

Cara has cheap sleeping bag from Wal-Mart (the polka dot one in the photo below). Out of all the kids, she could probably use a better one since little kids tend to not stay in their bags at night. So far we’ve been fine and eventually we’ll upgrade Rachel to a small women’s bag and she’ll inherit hers.

Another great option for kid’s bags that’s been tested by friends of ours are the Backcountry Quilts. Check out a review by Alyssa at Kidproject.org here.

Backpacks

Sam has an AIRX bag from ULA leftover from his trip on the John Muir and carries the tent and most of the bulky gear since his bag is the largest. Jess carries the Mindshift 180 bag with her camera gear (blog post here), Rachel has a GoLite 35L Bag (no longer available), Andrew has the REI Flash 18, and Cara uses the ChicoBag Reusable Travel Pack.

We are changing these up in the future with the addition of a Deuter Fox30 for Andrew and new bags for Rachel and I so we’ll keep you posted on how those work out!

Backpacking Gear

Clothes (Per Person)

  • (2) underwear
  • (2) socks
  • thermal pajamas
  • long sleeved shirt (not cotton)
  • short sleeved shirt (not cotton)
  • hiking pants (REI Link child, women’s)
  • rain shell
  • hiking boots
  • beanies
  • puffy vest
  • rainshell

Hiking Gear

  • Backpacks
  • Hiking Poles (REI link)
  • Trail Map
  • First Aid Kit
  • Platypus Water bladder (2) (Amazon link)
  • Platypus Big Zip Reservoir with Hose (1) (Amazon Link)

Cooking

Sleeping Gear

Toiletries

  • Toothbrushes with steripods (4) (Amazon link)
  • Bathroom Bag
    • Hand shovel
    • Hand sanitizer
    • Toilet Paper
  • Toothpaste

Extras

  • Books (Kindles)
  • Swiss Army Knife & Dad’s Multi-tool
  • Bluetooth Speaker (for listening to audio books at bedtime)
  • External Battery and USB cable (Amazon link)
  • Phones (scriptures, camera, music, audio book)
  • Camera – Fuji X-T10 (Amazon Link)
  • Gorilla Pod with ballhead (Amazon Link)
  • Card games
  • Bug Spray
  • ENO Hammock (Amazon Link)
  • Sun Screen
  • Micro Fiber Pack Towels (Amazon Link)

There’s the short list! Make sure you tailor your gear list to your family’s needs and know that it will evolve over time. We are still switching out some of our heavier gear for lighter stuff.

What equipment or brands have you found useful in your back country adventures?

Categories
Florida Mommy Diaries

New Year, New Possibilities

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New Year’s Eve found us sitting on a moat wall outside a Civil War era fort on an island 70 miles from Key West. We laughed, talked, reminisced, and watched the brilliant reds and oranges of the sunset paint the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon.

In that moment, I couldn’t think of any place I’d rather be. I was surrounded by my husband and kids in a magical place as we explored, pushed our personal boundaries, relaxed, and enjoyed each others’ company.

We each took turns voicing our favorite adventure from the year as well as speculating on where 2016 would take us. The possibilities were endless. When we sold our house and decided to travel two years ago, an entire world opened up to us. Suddenly we could do anything, and be anything we wanted and that feeling hasn’t changed. We continue to feel liberated with the freedom to create and shape our family without many of the social pressures we felt while living in our house.

We aren’t the type of people that make solid New Year’s Resolutions. I can never keep them anyway, so I prefer to make shorter, easily attainable goals that help me progress throughout the year. Or if they aren’t easily attainable, I prefer vague, broad goals that easily have a chance of me hitting them without trying. Some of those include, “continue to eat healthy and exercise regularly,” or “try something new”

Nestled in the broad goals that may eventually become more specific, there are also a few things we do plan on doing or seeing this year. Unfortunately, the ever elusive state of Maine is not on this list, but eventually we’ll get there too.

In 2016 we’d like to:

  • See a rocket launch
  • Explore Arkansas
  • Go on a multi-day river rafting trip
  • Backpack in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho
  • attend Camp Noyo with Sam’s family
  • Teach our kids how to ski

Its not a long list, but I don’t feel it needs to be. I feel like this year will be less about states we visit, or Junior Ranger Badges we earn, but the outdoor adventures we go on together as a family. I can’t wait.

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Holidays & Bdays

Merry Christmas from Currently Wandering!

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We have had quite a spectacular year! This has been our first year without a sticks & bricks house to call home and it has been liberating. We’ve had so much freedom to roam the country, explore, and spend time together as a family. We couldn’t be happier and hope to keep traveling for the foreseeable future!

Highlights from this year include:

  • Meeting new traveling friends and hanging out in the deserts of Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona (blog post here).
  • Day tripping into Mexico (blog post here).
  • Teaching our kids to mountain bike (blog post here).
  • Renting a house in Flagstaff with our Utah besties for Spring Break (blog post here).
  • Adding solar and bigger batteries to the Airstream (series of blog posts on that here).
  • Spending time with family in Idaho, Minnesota & Michigan.
  • Learning about the Voyageurs (blog post here).
  • Trying to keep up with our kids’ reading habits (blog post).
  • The Lake Superior Circle Tour – 42 days in some of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen, plus 3 backpacking trips with the kids.
  • Andrew’s baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  • Halloween with family in Utah.
  • Backpacking over Thanksgiving in FDR State Park, GA.
  • Florida beaches along the Emerald Coast (blog post here).
  • Florida Keys for Christmas.

We are extremely blessed and happy to be able to spend so much time together. We have a greater realization & understanding of how limitless the possibilities in this life really are when we work hard and are united in our goals. We love watching our kids grow and thrive in our lifestyle and are completely in awe of all they have accomplished.

We are grateful in this season for our Savior Jesus Christ. Through His miraculous Atonement we can truly do all things.

We hope you all are well and wish you a very Merry Christmas season!

Categories
Florida State Parks WanderLog

The White Sand Beaches of the Emerald Coast

Travel Dates: Dec. 3-13, 2015

We visited the Emerald Coast on our way east to west 2 years ago (blog post about that here) at the beginning of our crazy journey. We drove through this area way too fast and swore we’d come back and stay longer.

This time we wanted to try a different state park so we stayed at Grayton Beach. The campground isn’t right on the water (slightly annoying) but the sites were fairly secluded and it was peaceful.

We had some great beach time, ate at the Airstream food trucks in Seaside and even managed a visit to Santa Claus in nearby Destin.

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We also met some friends at church who are thinking about buying TWO Airstreams (one to sit and live in on the property, one to travel in) so we had them over to get a glimpse of what our life is like.

A new cast iron pan, a bike ride on the nature trail and a beautiful sunset topped off our 6 day stay.

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After leaving Grayton Beach State Park, we drove only about another hour and half towards Panama City Beach. We had visited Saint Andrew’s Park two years ago, but the weather was cold enough we didn’t get to see a lot.

This time the weather was beautiful! We picked up some boogie boards at a surf shop and the kids spent an entire afternoon riding the waves.

Our last body boarding adventure was over a year and a half ago (in southern California), but the kids took right to it. Cara, only 3 last time, picked it right up. With a few minutes of instruction from Rachel, she was catching pretty good rides. The beach here is perfect for kids, with a fully sandy bottom and gentle slope. It was a joy to see them shriek with excitement each time they got a ride.

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We try to not swim at the beach EVERY day (gotta give those swimsuits a chance to dry out!) so  one afternoon we escaped out to the beach for a much needed break. We visited the old turpentine still, carved faces into the sand, and practiced our dune jumping. Rachel was suffering from a bad case of a bad mood, and it translated directly into school struggles. After our afternoon wander, she was doing much better. It always amazes us  how a little wandering improves all of our moods.
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We stayed longer than normal in the last few spots and it was kind of weird. Like we are actually getting caught up on life. A few more weeks of this and we might actually get ahead! We had one last wander down the beach on Sunday afternoon and found this Merry Christmas sandman. A perfect ending to our great stay along the Emerald Coast. 

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Next we head farther southeast into Florida. First stop Tampa, and then Christmas in the Florida Keys!

Categories
Georgia WanderLog

Atlanta, Western Georgia, & We Call an Audible

Travel Dates: Nov 23 – Dec 2, 2015

When we announced our plans to head south after our trip to Utah, our friends from the house swap in Virginia mentioned they would be near Atlanta over Thanksgiving. We haven’t seen them in two years, so of course we had to stop by and visit! Our friend’s sister lives in Acworth and had space for us to moochdock in their driveway. We had a great two days exploring and the kids played pretty hard!
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After leaving Atlanta, we headed farther south in search of warmer temperatures. Our original plan had been to spend Thanksgiving backpacking in Smoky Mountain National Park, but it was cold and our plans from there down to Tampa just weren’t feeling right.

So, instead we decided to call and audible and head straight south to the beach! Of course, we can’t just hop RIGHT there as we had plenty to see on the way down.

We had some great recommendations from a friend on Instagram to visit FDR State Park in western Georgia, and we discovered there was back country camping in the park as well. That discovery sealed the deal.

We knew we wanted a Thanksgiving that was less about food and more about spending time together, and backpacking as a family does the trick.

Its hard to describe the feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction and pure happiness after two days out on the trails with our family. We did 7.8 miles over three days so it wasn’t hard, just lots of time unplugged with each other.

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt spent much of his free time out here in Georgia at this spot. He loved picnics, and even just being left alone out here with his thoughts. I imagine many of his projects and ideas were born while he was looking out over this exact view.

12277358_461449004045544_1962023149_nPacking up and moving on, we knew we wanted to visit Providence Canyon, but there’s not a campground there. We stayed only about 15 minutes away at nearby Florence Marina State Park and got our first taste back in the land of Spanish Moss.

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Unfortunately we got in late, and the next day it rained on and off so we concentrated on school and work. We finally managed to get our hike in early Thursday morning before checking out after lunch.

We explored Providence Canyon and loved the colorful rock formations. It almost felt like we could be back in Utah. The textures and colors in the walls of the Canyon make the 3 mile hike worth the trip. Canyon 9 might have been our favorite.

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From here we pushed on to the beaches in Florida. Its been 2 years since we’ve been there and everyone was ready for some white sand and boogie boarding!