Monday, November 3, 2008

Backpacking with a Baby!

For Kevin's Birthday (October 27, 2008) we decided to go backpacking up the street from my parent's house. So, when Kevin got home from school on Friday the 24th, we packed up our bags and headed up the street to the mouth of the canyon! It was one of the craziest and most fun things we have ever done together! The hike was only about a mile and a half up the canyon but with Brooklyn, my bedding, and all of Brooklyn's things on my back, and the tent and food on Kevin's, we were hauling quite a bit of weight up a very steep hill! After a while, Brooklyn even started mimicking my breathing pattern, which was both embarrassing and funny!
When we left the house in the first place, it was already dark, so...by the time we got to our campsite, Brooklyn was a little angry with us for keeping her up late in the cold! We parked as quickly as possible and thus, ended up smack-dab in the middle of a game trail! We found that out in the middle of the night when all the elk came strolling through our campsite to get some grub!
Brooklyn didn't sleep the best because she had to squeeze into Kevin's sleeping bag to stay warm. She has never slept with us before and is appalled at the idea of cuddling, so it was a bit torturous for her. Nevertheless, when we woke up in the morning she was the happiest baby in the world! She ate several leaves, licked some rocks and laughed at the waterfalls. We are lucky to have a baby born to be in the outdoors. She LOVED it!

On the hike down we took extra time to take pictures since the hike up was pitch black. Here is a picture of one of the bridges we crossed on our hike. As you can see, it was a VERY cold night!

Last but not least, the birthday boy was the one in charge of the camera, so naturally, we have about 100 pictures of him making faces while he was hiking behind me. I couldn't figure out what he was giggling about until we got home and looked at the pictures together. What a nut! Oh well...we're glad he was born and super glad that he has lived this long!


5 comments:

Brian Hanks said...

Some very cool photography in there. I'm looking forward to you teaching me your skills, oh wise one.

Natalie said...

What you wrote about the marathon is exactly how I feel about you guys doing this backpacking thing. And I quote, "You are the kind of "buff" that I have no desire to ever be...but still think is cool!" :)

Tara said...

You are an inspiration to me, because Justin and I, who once loved camping, have sworn it off since having babies because we (and by we I mean I) can't get over the crappy night's sleep freezing with crying babies. You have such a good attitude about it, I will try to have a better one next time.

I think that's a way cool birthday outing, you guys are cool. And yes, Kevin is a total nut!

The Reese's said...

wow that is something i would never even consider doing but looks like so much fun! i could maybe see doing it by yourselves but taking a child with you- crazy. and i laughed so hard at kevin's pictures, how you can hike and take pictures amazes me :)

Beccarigg said...

Great pics you guys! Brooklyn is such a little nature baby! I love it! That first picture of her in the backpack with the blanky around her head makes her look like a really cute ET : ) The Kevin collage is classic too! What a nut case! Glad you guys had fun and got to make some cool (or shall I say cold!) memories!