Edwards Backpack

We reserved permits a month out and prepped a week out and packed...as fast as we could the night before.  It took longer than expected, because packing always takes longer than expected.  We decided as a group to leave at 7am on the nose (and by as a group, I mean that I absolutely said I would not leave before 7am...).  We were so proud of ourselves for pulling out of the garage at 6:59am, although the wind came out of our sails a bit when we had to turn around for our lunch.  Cory met us halfway so we wouldnʻt be the weak link.  We were all excited and ready!

The Johnsons took their horses on the trip, but sadly Hilary stayed back because Saleh threw up all night.

Group Shot!  The one and only.

The weather was gorgeous.

Owen started out hiking with all his friends but sadly, his 6-year-old legs were no match for 9/10/11+ legs.  After his potty stop, he was hopelessly behind and really disappointed.

Very soon, the path ahead looked like this--a descent with no friends in sight.

We told stories, sand songs, and kept ourselves as upbeat as possible to motivate him.

Nic came back to hike into the camp with us and show us the river crossings.  By then, Owenʻs happy meter picked right up and he was excited to set up tents and drink hot cocoa (even though it was lunchtime and hot).

My picture for Shireen and Kristen.

Owen hiked most of the way back to the falls, but needed a little nap on Bradyʻs back.

We got there and found our boy sunbathing to warm up.  

One of my favorite photos of the trip:

Nic commandeered my phone and gave me lots of selfies.

More toasting on rocks.

Kate was pretty nervous to go down this the first time and reported that "it was not actually fun."  That sentiment is consistent with her feelings about Splash Mountain at Disneyland.

Owen felt the first way on his round #1 but warmed up to it and went down a dozen times.  At one point, the current carried him toward the rocks and he was scared.  Robert dove right in to help and I felt grateful for good friends who love my kids.

A coupleʻs shot.

Most of our group left mid-afternoon to go back to camp.  Zachary stayed back and played his heart out for two more hours with the rest of us.  It makes me so happy to see him play hard.  He is good at fun.

Harharhar.

I told my kids that if this turned out well, they wouldnʻt have to do family pictures this year.  Then I saw the picture and instantly realized I would not be sending a swimsuit card out to anyone at Christmas.  That is weird.

Big Falls: I was so nervous to go down the first time but Zachary showed me the ropes. 

This is so much higher up than it looks.  On day 2, I was just as scared to jump again as on day 1.

Zac wasnʻt nervous a bit and even tried catching a football off the edge.

Kate jumped on day 1 and 2, too!  So impressed.  She said it is much less scary to her than sliding down the waterfall.

Walking and exploring behind the waterfall before the big drop.

15 minutes into hiking back to the camp, Kate came running back to us and exclaimed, "ZACHARY SLID DOWN THE CLIFF!"  We asked her multiple times if she meant he fell off the cliff, and she repeatedly emphasized that he slid off the cliff.  She was clearly terrified but also said that he was ok.  I ran back up the trail with her, trying to dissect her meaning.  Zachary was sitting on the cliff next to a 40ʻ drop with tracks where he fell down.  It was clearly not life-threatening but he was scratched up and obviously rattled.  The kids he was hiking with laughed as he slid--I think as a defense mechanism...?  He was able to grab hold of bushes and scramble back up before the drop to the water.  If he had fallen, he could potentially hit his head or be hurt, but he saved himself from any other injury besides getting a bit banged up.  He is one athletic kid.

I also know he is scared of heights.  He refuses to hike Kalalau with us because the idea of falling off Crawlerʻs Ledge is the stuff of his nightmares.  This is a seeming contradiction as he jumps into 30ʻ waterfalls to catch a football, but there it is anyway.  He was quiet and reclusive much of the night, and I had moments with him to check in and make sure he knew he was scared and we cared about what happened.  (Then the next day, he still refused to hike in his tennis shoes and again opted for slippers--the ones he used on day 1 heading back to the falls that led to the cliff slide.  The invincibility of teens is alive and real.)

We enjoyed our chili dogs roasted over the fire--the "one time a year Karen eats a hot dog."  Flame roasted hot dogs > Mountain House backpacking meals by a mile.  We cooked up sʻmores and cocoa and stayed up late under the tea lights listening to the dramas of the teens who came along.  I slept cozy next to Kate, snuggled warm.  She said she woke up to me snoring multiple times.  I deny.  It must have been Brady with Owen tucked in next to him a few feet away in the other tent.  Zachary hammocked it--sleeping very little.  I absolutely cannot sleep with my feet above my head, so I imagine it was tricky for him, too.

Bringing horses down the canyon means you can also bring luxurious like packs of bacon (and a bunch of sʻmores fixings).  Derek and Damon treated the camp.  I still canʻt stomach the thought of bacon alone but my kids thought it was the best.

I love mornings around a fire.  It makes me feel like a wilderness mama.  The morning was so lovely.  We waited to see if Hilary would make it down the canyon to join us.  There was a big question about the day--whether we would hike back to the falls and add 4 miles of hiking to Owenʻs little legs for the day when we still have to backpack out of the canyon.  The hike out under the sun on the "Red Hill of Death" is, according to Derek who has done this 11 times, "Enough to make a grown man cry."  We knew Owen had a tough time hiking down the canyon and we didnʻt want to bite off too much for him when there was no way for us to carry him if he had trouble.  We decided to watch how things progressed over the morning and assess his mood and ability level.  

Marshmallows for breakfast!  

Hilary showed up along with Cali, Nassib, and Cedric (Zacʻs soccer friend).  We all wanted to hike back to the falls--especially Owen, and with the offer he could ride a horse if necessary, we decided to go for it.  BEST DECISION EVER.  Backpacking is so much work and preparation and rushing back home makes no sense at all.

We worked on yoga poses, did the river runs a dozen times, watched the kids laugh and play, and chatted/ate snacks for hours as we shivered with the sometimes-dwindling sunshine.

Donʻt judge my form.  I do piyo once a week but Iʻm not good at it.

The kids had moss fights.  

The biggest mishap of the adventure: Isaac sprained his ankle.  Nic bet the kids $20 for the first one to go down a falls that hadnʻt been explored by anyone we know.  We told Zac absolutely NOT--he could not go down without us being there and assessing it first.  (This meant that the moment he saw us, he took off and slid the falls...after all, we were there, right?!)  Isaac had already done it once, winning the $20, but on his second time down, he jammed up his ankle.  That made for a black and blue, painful, slow hike out of the canyon for him.

Kate was the only one who seemed grumpy that morning.  She refused to do the big waterfall drop on day 1 but was also irritated with herself for not attempting it.  She made justifications and set boundaries ("Do not encourage me to do this--I donʻt want to") and we tried to respect them.  But she was also GROUCHY and moody.  It was clear that she actually just wanted to prove it to herself that she could and finally she jumped into the water and decided to go for it.  Her face before the drop says it all:

Her face after the drop also says it all:

We made it back to the camp and my tummy was having trouble.  Hilary gave me an intestinal massage and it was hands down the funniest moment for me:

 

I spoke in church yesterday and shared the biggest lesson we learned from the trip:

Even when we are trying to do our part, we screw up!  We took our kids on this backpacking trip and it was dreamy in every possible way.  It left us with all kinds of experiences and helped the kids learn grit and love for the outdoors.

But Brady and I screwed up.  Zachary, our 14-year-old, was anxious to hike with friends.  We had not adequately explained what contributions he needed to make before leaving the camp, and in the meantime, several of the friend possibilities he had for hiking faster than our 6-year-old pace were headed down the trail.  We were determined to teach him responsibility and he willingly and anxiously helped pack and clean up.  Then, with our permission, he took off running down the trail to catch up.  They had been gone for some time, and Brady and I were nervous if he would be able to catch up in time, but not nervous enough in the moment to think harder about the situation before sending him off.  Within 10 minutes, we were pretty concerned: what if he didnʻt catch up and forgot which direction to turn?  What if he missed the almost-hidden trail to go up out of the canyon and instead went on the more obvious trail deeper into the canyon?  There was no reception for phones where we were so no one could communicate with us.  He had water, and (as it turns out) almost all our snacks, so if something happened, he had all the the provisions he needed.  But itʻs not like weʻve spent any time at all talking about wilderness survival, navigation, etc.  We also knew he would be scared and there were no other people that we had seen so far in the canyon.  As we made our way down the trail, we identified several places he could easily mistake as the trail.  Brady walked around, studied shoe prints and hoped for the best.  The thought came to me that we should stop and pray.  Of course.  Itʻs obvious.  Of course we should pray.  Me, Brady, Owen and Kate bowed our heads on the trail and prayed hard for Zac—that he would be safe.  In the meantime, Brady ditched his pack and ran down more obvious trails to see if he left a trace of going the wrong way.  Long story short, Zac caught up to his friend within 10 min of leaving the camp.  We were “worried for nothing,” although I would argue that Brady and I learned some important lessons for our parenting.  But what is most significant to me was the peace I felt on that mountain.  During my pleading prayer, I did not get any confirmation that Zac was ok.  I thought there was a good chance he was alone and in the canyon somewhere.  But I DID feel like it was going to be okay, that God was aware of our circumstances and would help guide us to make the next best possible choice.  I did feel overwhelming love from God while I prayed.  Moroni 8:26: “which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love.”

It was a humbling experience worrying about my oldest child, but otherwise, the hike out of the canyon was spectacular.  After 4 miles of hiking, a late night and sore legs, we figured Owen would need plenty of breaks.  NOPE!  That kid came out of the gates ready for the challenge.  Kate kept commenting, "How is he going so fast?!"  The kids killed it, never complaining.

I should rephrase.  Kate complained a LOT, but her complaints sounded like, "I am so sad this is over.  I wish we could stay here forever.  Can we come back next weekend?  When can we come again?  Why do we have to leave so soon?  Backpacking is my favorite!"  Music to our ears.

Rock hopping on the way back was easy for some reason.  The way down, I struggled with balance and worried about falling into the river, but apparently I just needed some more time with my pack.

You can see the clouds in the distance.  That cloud cover was a gift.

The beginning of the "Red Hill of Death":

The end!

Gorgeous, unique flowers taken for Mom Edwards.

Yelling echos into the canyon.

Moss-covered trees.

Get em!

Once we were out, we met up with Ainge and Damon who told us the horses could not make it up the trail.  We spent the next hour working out plans to help the Johnsons and make sure they were taken care of.  Hilary is made of a different kind of tough than me--she stayed down in the dark with two horses for two hours while Derek hiked out for provisions.  Creepy.  They hiked out the next day through the canyon and taking their time.  It all worked out just like she always says.  She is my friend that is good to approach situations with the assumption it will work out rather than fear over the "what ifs."  

Zachary, in the meantime, was with Cory and cousins and back for many hours before us.  He told the horror stories about sprained ankles and 40ʻ falls to the death that made our family fret over our safety until we were back.  Ha!  

Edwards Backpacking Trip #1: On the books!