truepatriot09
New member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2003
- Messages
- 193
- Reaction score
- 6
So, now that Lily is 8 months old, it's high time she went camping, don't you think?
We had planned an overnight trip up to Umbagog but for whatever reason we decided to backpack in the Whites instead. I had been out west for the Outdoor Retailer trade show for 6 days so it was up to my lovely bride to plan the logistics. My brother-in-law and his wife had never been backpacking so we invited them, for sort of a "first timers-let's get them all out of the way at once" trip. The overly ambitious plan (of course - my wife and I can't plan something small and simple) was to hike into Zealand Falls, find a place to camp, set up, pal around in the woods, sleep, get up and bag Mt. Hale, return to camp, pack up and head out. Sounds about right.
The three of us left the Seacoast and went up to a B&B in Bethlehem to spend Tuesday night, the plan being to meet our two adult firsties at the trailhead on Wednesday morning. Like I said, I'd been in Salt Lake City for a week so we wanted a night together as a family. Lily is a trooper all around, a great sleeper with an already overly positive attitude. She's been away from home before, but this was her first hotel experience as well as her first outdoor camping experience...Good Times!
We met up with the other half of our crew at the Zealand Campground about 9am on Wednesday. We got all of our gear divied. My wife was to carry Lil in the Kelty Adventurer, a truly sick piece of equipment. Not only did the carrier hold the baby, all of her food, clothing and toys and my sleeping bag, but there was room leftover that we didn't take advantage of. I didn't want to weigh down Carli too much. I heaved up Car's sleeping bag, our tent, stove, filter and food. While we schlepped out some smaller stuff to the other two adults.
We drove to the trailhead and than took our time walking up the relatively flat path to Zealand Pond. We set up camp at the unmarked tent site just off of the Ethan Pond trail. Camping mid-week rules...we had the place to ourselves as no one else showed up. Great place to camp, probably 7-8 legitimate places to pitch a tent with 3 established fire rings (two at the main site, one a little further downhill next to the streatm) and viable water source. The only sound being that of the wind and of Zealand Falls which were tumbling about half a mile away.
After we set up camp we shouldered our much lighter packs and took a stroll up to Zealand Hut to see what the Croo may have out for hungry hikers. We scored with lemonade and applesauce cake! God I love the huts for that! The view from the hut is unreal. While places like Madison Hut and Lakes of the Clouds may offer the above treeline experience; Zealand's view was very special. Having been to the Whites many times, you become accustomed to a lot of the same views. It was fun to see peaks that I'd climbed in a new direction and in a new light. We sat on the porch of the hut and at the top of the falls for quite some time, recognizing that the day's hiking was about over and just enjoying the mountain air and good weather. In the grass near the porch lay two snakes, curled up together. I'm not a Zoologist, and I have no idea what kind of snakes they were, but it was a cool site nontheless and for some reason, I viewed it as a good omen.
Lily meanwhile was having a blast. She's really taken to the outdoors, even at 8 months, was finding all sorts of fun things to put in her mouth. I was tempted to try the dirt myself, she seemed to be enjoying it so much. She put her hands and feet in the chilly water of Zealand Falls and nibbled on some of the applesauce cake. A member of the Croo came out to see her and said it was great to have someone so young come and visit. We chatted with 3 thru-hikers and saw my boy Troy from Ragged Mountain. It was a great day in the hills.
We made our way back down to camp, started a campfire, made some grub and had a great round of Stick/Dirt Pictionary and Charades before turning in the for the night. The fire was an absolute luxury. My brother-in-law had asked if we were going to have a fire before we left. I told him only if ther was an established ring and explained how Leave No Trace ethics required we left no trace of our presence and how fires weren't permitted on state lands except at designated sites. When we found this site and there were rings, we were psyched. I told them how at many other backcountry sites in the Whites there were no rings, so this was very cool. The weather was great so when we went to bed, we left the fly off of the tent and the breeze felt awesome along with the soft roar of Zealand Falls. I slept like a baby, only waking once to the soft coos of my daughter, and smiling at how the moonlight was was shining down and into our woodsy abode.
In the morning we evaluated our options and decided to cut the trip short and head out. The main reason for this being that despite our required gear list we had given to our adult friends, they had reasoned that they'd be fine for one night without sleeping pads and had gone without. Anyone who has slept on the ground knows that not only can it be uncomfortable, it can be cold. The ground at our site was a bit moist and got chilly overnight. Needless to say, they did not sleep well. The other factor was that while Lily was kicking ass and taking names, we wanted to be sure that the whole experience was a positive one and that an additonal 4-6 hours in the carrier may make even the best and happiest baby cranky. So we made hot chocolate and packed up for a slow hike out. We saw a beaver in Zealand pond, and the sun was just warming the air as we crossed the bridges crossing the wetlands in some of the meadows along the Zealand trail.
The funny thing is, that no matter how short or long a trip is, as soon as your committed to heading home, thoughts of restaurant served food creep into your mind, and the car can't come fast enough. We all had a hankering for Flatbread...hmmm, Flatbread.
We were in the car heading east on 302 by 10. Lily again had done great, but you could tell she was ready to head home. Two and a half days away seemed to be enough for her. But it was a great start to her camping career. As for our other first timers, they're hooked. Other than adding Therm-a-rest's the their short list for future purchases, they loved it. For me it was great to get out in the Whites with a plan but not an agenda. Rarely do I go up there and not knock off 2-3 4k'ers with a stubborn drive almost as if it was a sport. It was nice to spend time with family and give some folks, including my baby, the chance to see and do something new. You don't always have to do a huge trip to make it meaningful, the memories create themselves, and if we can keep it up, Lily will grow up thinking that this is just what we do...
Time to plan the next trip.
We had planned an overnight trip up to Umbagog but for whatever reason we decided to backpack in the Whites instead. I had been out west for the Outdoor Retailer trade show for 6 days so it was up to my lovely bride to plan the logistics. My brother-in-law and his wife had never been backpacking so we invited them, for sort of a "first timers-let's get them all out of the way at once" trip. The overly ambitious plan (of course - my wife and I can't plan something small and simple) was to hike into Zealand Falls, find a place to camp, set up, pal around in the woods, sleep, get up and bag Mt. Hale, return to camp, pack up and head out. Sounds about right.
The three of us left the Seacoast and went up to a B&B in Bethlehem to spend Tuesday night, the plan being to meet our two adult firsties at the trailhead on Wednesday morning. Like I said, I'd been in Salt Lake City for a week so we wanted a night together as a family. Lily is a trooper all around, a great sleeper with an already overly positive attitude. She's been away from home before, but this was her first hotel experience as well as her first outdoor camping experience...Good Times!
We met up with the other half of our crew at the Zealand Campground about 9am on Wednesday. We got all of our gear divied. My wife was to carry Lil in the Kelty Adventurer, a truly sick piece of equipment. Not only did the carrier hold the baby, all of her food, clothing and toys and my sleeping bag, but there was room leftover that we didn't take advantage of. I didn't want to weigh down Carli too much. I heaved up Car's sleeping bag, our tent, stove, filter and food. While we schlepped out some smaller stuff to the other two adults.
We drove to the trailhead and than took our time walking up the relatively flat path to Zealand Pond. We set up camp at the unmarked tent site just off of the Ethan Pond trail. Camping mid-week rules...we had the place to ourselves as no one else showed up. Great place to camp, probably 7-8 legitimate places to pitch a tent with 3 established fire rings (two at the main site, one a little further downhill next to the streatm) and viable water source. The only sound being that of the wind and of Zealand Falls which were tumbling about half a mile away.
After we set up camp we shouldered our much lighter packs and took a stroll up to Zealand Hut to see what the Croo may have out for hungry hikers. We scored with lemonade and applesauce cake! God I love the huts for that! The view from the hut is unreal. While places like Madison Hut and Lakes of the Clouds may offer the above treeline experience; Zealand's view was very special. Having been to the Whites many times, you become accustomed to a lot of the same views. It was fun to see peaks that I'd climbed in a new direction and in a new light. We sat on the porch of the hut and at the top of the falls for quite some time, recognizing that the day's hiking was about over and just enjoying the mountain air and good weather. In the grass near the porch lay two snakes, curled up together. I'm not a Zoologist, and I have no idea what kind of snakes they were, but it was a cool site nontheless and for some reason, I viewed it as a good omen.
Lily meanwhile was having a blast. She's really taken to the outdoors, even at 8 months, was finding all sorts of fun things to put in her mouth. I was tempted to try the dirt myself, she seemed to be enjoying it so much. She put her hands and feet in the chilly water of Zealand Falls and nibbled on some of the applesauce cake. A member of the Croo came out to see her and said it was great to have someone so young come and visit. We chatted with 3 thru-hikers and saw my boy Troy from Ragged Mountain. It was a great day in the hills.
We made our way back down to camp, started a campfire, made some grub and had a great round of Stick/Dirt Pictionary and Charades before turning in the for the night. The fire was an absolute luxury. My brother-in-law had asked if we were going to have a fire before we left. I told him only if ther was an established ring and explained how Leave No Trace ethics required we left no trace of our presence and how fires weren't permitted on state lands except at designated sites. When we found this site and there were rings, we were psyched. I told them how at many other backcountry sites in the Whites there were no rings, so this was very cool. The weather was great so when we went to bed, we left the fly off of the tent and the breeze felt awesome along with the soft roar of Zealand Falls. I slept like a baby, only waking once to the soft coos of my daughter, and smiling at how the moonlight was was shining down and into our woodsy abode.
In the morning we evaluated our options and decided to cut the trip short and head out. The main reason for this being that despite our required gear list we had given to our adult friends, they had reasoned that they'd be fine for one night without sleeping pads and had gone without. Anyone who has slept on the ground knows that not only can it be uncomfortable, it can be cold. The ground at our site was a bit moist and got chilly overnight. Needless to say, they did not sleep well. The other factor was that while Lily was kicking ass and taking names, we wanted to be sure that the whole experience was a positive one and that an additonal 4-6 hours in the carrier may make even the best and happiest baby cranky. So we made hot chocolate and packed up for a slow hike out. We saw a beaver in Zealand pond, and the sun was just warming the air as we crossed the bridges crossing the wetlands in some of the meadows along the Zealand trail.
The funny thing is, that no matter how short or long a trip is, as soon as your committed to heading home, thoughts of restaurant served food creep into your mind, and the car can't come fast enough. We all had a hankering for Flatbread...hmmm, Flatbread.
We were in the car heading east on 302 by 10. Lily again had done great, but you could tell she was ready to head home. Two and a half days away seemed to be enough for her. But it was a great start to her camping career. As for our other first timers, they're hooked. Other than adding Therm-a-rest's the their short list for future purchases, they loved it. For me it was great to get out in the Whites with a plan but not an agenda. Rarely do I go up there and not knock off 2-3 4k'ers with a stubborn drive almost as if it was a sport. It was nice to spend time with family and give some folks, including my baby, the chance to see and do something new. You don't always have to do a huge trip to make it meaningful, the memories create themselves, and if we can keep it up, Lily will grow up thinking that this is just what we do...
Time to plan the next trip.
