The first time I saw an ENO hammock was about ten years ago on a group camping trip. One of the guys pulls out this hammock that is stuffed into something the size of a softball, strings it up and sleeps in it. I was jealous.

We recently had the opportunity to test out an ENO hammock (double’s nest with insect guard) and pro-fly tarp. They are everything I hoped they’d be. Hammocks are amazing because you can sleep on a mountainside as long as there are trees. Rocks, slopes, branches, bushes? No problem.

Eno Double Nesting Hammock with InsectShield

• Location of testing: Red Rocks, NV and Wasatch Range, UT
• Best Use: Backpacking, car camping, relaxing
• Conditions: Daytime highs in the 60-70s, night-time lows in the low 50s. Favorable weather.
• Number of nights tested so far: 5
• 

Yays!

I’ll start with the hammock. When I got it I threw it on the scale and it came in a couple of ounces shy of the spec’d weight at about 19 oz.

It is easy to pack into it’s buillt-in stuff sack and compresses down to the size of a large grapefruit.

The InsectShield should repel mosquitos (haven’t seen too many yet this year, but have never seen them near the hammock) which is a definite bonus if you a) have kids or b) are going someplace buggy. Especially if you plan to sleep in it and don’t want to be buzzed all night.

The construction quality is superb, and the hammock is insanely comfortable.

During a hot day the parachute fabric allows enough air to travel through to cool you off, and at night with a sleeping bag and pad I’m able to wrap the fabric around my sides and top to cozy in like a cocoon. If only I came out a little more butterfly-ish.

I’ve slept in it a number of nights now and sleep much better than I do on the ground. I’m a side sleeper, which is a bit of a sacrifice when in the hammock but I’ve found I can turn my head to the side and bury my head into a pillow and get about the same effect.

ProFly Rainfly

I’ve not had a chance to try out the fly yet (maybe that’s a good thing ) but I’d be comfortable spending a night in a rainstorm under it.

It sets up super easy and provides great coverage.

Atlas Straps

ENO also sent us a set of the Atlas straps. At first I was pretty skeptical that they were worth anything, but have come to appreciate them. They make setting up and taking down the hammock a 60 second operation. It’s really nice if you are in a hurry to hit the hay or just want to set it up at a park for a few minutes.

They’ll save someone who is a knot wizard a bit of time and if you’re not comfortable with knots, they’re a lifesaver. To buy webbing to put up the hammock would probably be $10, so they are definitely a premium….but depending on how much you plan on using the hammock, totally worth it.

 Nays

The ProFly is a bit bulkier and slightly heavier than the hammock. (Check out the ProFly Sil if you want to go lighter). Ours didn’t come with cord ($5 at REI) or stakes but the construction quality leaves nothing more to be desired. Apparently that was a shipping mistake and flys usually have cord included.

Don’t leave small kids unattended. It is difficult for young kids to maneuver without falling out.

I’m excited to slip the hammock and straps into my backpack for my trip to the Tetons in a few weeks. If I can find two trees, I’ll be able to be comfortable regardless of the terrain. Now to find more good backpacking food….

Tested by: Family of Five

Yays!

This tent truly is a four-man tent. In fact, with three of our people being kids, we could easily fit my husband and the dog in the tent as well. Making it a 5 man plus one large dog tent!

Still packs down small (as small are our REI 2 man backpacking tent) and similar in weight.

Weighs in at 6 lb 8 oz. Sure, there are a few tents lighter (by only 1 lbs.) but very few family tents are that light!

Super easy assembly with two main poles and easy-clips. I mean REALLY easy and fast!

Full rain fly that clips on easily at the four corners and has four mid-wall tie downs for more extreme weather.

Interior “hammock” and four mesh pockets help keep all the gear a little more organized.

All zippers and attachments seem to be of high quality.

One of the least expensive 4-man ultra-light tents on the market.

Nays

Vestibule is small for four people’s gear. But large enough for four people’s shoes. So it depends on how much you want to keep covered.

Just ditch the stakes that come with it and invest in good stakes at your local outdoor store. These bent super easily…but then that is common with most tents.

Jury is still out

This tent far exceeded my expectations, especially in terms of light-weight backpacking tents. However, I would caution the family car-camper that this is a minimalist tent. It does not have windows on all four sides and some of the more plush features the bigger/heavier tents may have. However, I would highly suggest it for a family/group that is 1. looking to backpacking and hence wants a light weight option where you can all sleep in one tent or 2. a family/group with little storage space.

While Chris and I were sort of “set” in terms of gear, our kids were not. So I started researching hiking shoes, backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads…and of course a tent big enough for us! And so the Backpacking Project 2013 was born.

But like many ambitious goals, there is an undercurrent of doubt. Layered like a cake that is all beautiful and romanticized up top, yet has a whole host of details, planning, and uncontrollable elements (ie. weather) underneath. Somewhere down there I wondered if we’d talk a whole lot about it but never really do it. And if we did do it, I worried that the trip would well and truly flop.

Two weeks ago I put out a call to all our adventurous friends. “We are tentatively planning on backpacking into Willow Heights with the kids in a few weeks.” We started collecting our gear, organizing it, making sure sleeping pads didn’t have a hole and headlamps had batteries. All the time watching the weather. For quite awhile the nightly lows were in the mid 30s to low 40s. Eeek! I really wasn’t sure the kids could stay warm at night…But as the Salt Lake Valley temps soared into the upper 90s, [for once] my hope soared as well. Nightly lows were creeping into the 50s in the Wasatch and the game was on.

Friday afternoon we met another family of four (kids ages 2 and 3) and one brave single friend at the trailhead. We spent a good number of moments laughing at each other’s collection of gear. The other dad’s pack was truly glorious, with ornaments strapped all over and crowned with a stuffed purple unicorn. Chris’s Deuter ACT Zero was rockin’ the extra baggage with its super extendable main compartment and adorned on the outside with Subway sandwiches for the first night’s dinner.

The hike into Willow Lake is only 3/4 of a mile and roughly 700″ of elevation gain. Despite the small distance, the grade was pretty steep for little legs. Skittles came in handy as trail bait and more than one parent was carry a kid’s backpack. The trail winds northward from the road and ascends through thick aspen groves. The last 1/4 of a mile the trail flattens out substantially, enters a wide open meadow with a pond and goes up over one last hill before reaching the lake. My youngest chose a tutu as her lightweight, quick drying clothing of choice.

Once at the lake we began searching for a site. Not knowing the area, we actually hiked the trail all the way around the lake while we sorted out our options. We finally settled on a well established back country site on the west side of the lake, with close access to the lake and just down from the tree line.

We spent the first night setting up camp, eating dinner, drinking beer (we packed a few in and kept them cold in some snow) and watching the sunset reflect off the aspen trunks and light up the lake with ripples and color. It was a perfect first night which led to a perfect next day.

After breakfast we headed out on a day hike with the kids. We didn’t really have a plan, but knew that we could follow the trail around the lake to the north end where another trail branched off and headed up further into the mountains. This trail was steep and there was quite a few tears and complaints from the wee-ones but eventually we gained the ridge of a substantial “hill” overlooking the lake. We followed the trail another 5 minutes to a small pond/lake tucked back in the trees and sat down for lunch.

The rest of our trip rolled out from there. We dodged the sun (or failed) in the afternoon, got a little sunburned, played down by the shore, talked to many people on their own day hikes, hunted for more snow (for the beer and pudding that night) played all sorts of games and relaxed a ton. The nights were mild and everyone stayed warm. And because there were multiple parties our “mistakes” made on our first trip (like not packing extra fuel) were slight bumps in the road.

All my anxiety was for nothing. Our gear worked splendidly! The kids and I all slept in the Kelty Salida 4, with room to spare. My husband loved sleeping out in the ENO Hammock. The weather was perfect. The destination scenic. In fact, I could not have asked for a better trip.

Directions:

Head up Big Cotton Wood Canyon from Salt Lake. Approximately 11 miles up you will pass Silver Fork Lodge. JUST after the lodge the road curves and 200 ft later you will see room on the right side of the road for cars to park. The trailhead is on the left side of the road and marked by a large stone that says Willow Heights Conservation Area. It is easy to miss the trailhead.

Red tape:

No dogs allowed in the Big Cottonwood Canyon area.

Special Thanks

A number of awesome companies helped us to gear up for this (and upcoming) trips! We’ve been testing their gear and brought our favorites along for the ride. Here are a list of the notable gear items that we really enjoyed. Check out our Gear Review page for complete reviews (some coming soon):

• Kelty Salida 4 tent
• Deuter ultra light adult packs ( ACT Zero 50 and ACT Lite SL)
• Deuter kid’s packs (Junior and Climber)
• Eagle’s Nest Outfitters
• Big Agnes Little Red and Haybro sleeping bags
• Deuter Little Star and Starlight Sleeping Bags
• Big Agnes Air Core sleeping pads
• HiTec women’s + kid’s hiking boots (Harmony Life, Elastic Lace Jr, Omaha Low Jr.)
• HiTec Timaru Down Jacket
• NiteIze mini BugLite

Help stop the destruction of this area!

This a complete aside and for those of you outside Utah, you might never have heard of SkiLink. Just days after this awesome trip I learned that SkiLink will greatly affect the Willow Heights area. SkiLink is a proposed “transportation” connection between two Utah resorts, The Canyons and Solitude Mountain Resort. As a skier I am generally open to expansions…some of them.

But the practical implications of SkiLink is the destruction of some sweet backcountry ski/hiking in the Wasatch in exchange for a gondola that does not adequately serve the skiing public and in fact would cost so much, most of the ski population could not utilize it unless wealthy. Why do I bring this up? Because Willow Heights Lake is the proposed area for SkiLink to come through. Help stop the destruction of this beautiful backcountry location by signing the petition at the link below: Help Stop SkiLink

Secondly, if the meal was particularly tasty and portioned correctly I’ll add a .

Third, all our food was cooked on either an MSR Pocket Rocket or an Olicamp Kinetic Ultra Titanium Stove. Both worked really well. But remember, they can have issues if you are above 10,500 – ish feet. We did run out of fuel and were a little surprised by it. Bring an extra fuel can if you don’t want to risk it.

Last, I organized our food into three waterproof storage bag I found at Walmart, 3 for $10. They resemble the ones made by Sea To Summit, but are a fraction of the cost. These bags were awesome and can be hung easily from a tree.

Number of Adults: 2

Number of Kids: 3 (Ages 3,5 and 6)

Length of trip: 2 nights

Dinner 1: Subway. I am not kidding. We ran out of planning time and our mileage was really low because of the kids. So why not strap Subway sandwiches on the pack? It was awesome come 5:30pm. No cooking the first night. No clean up.

Dessert: 1 bag Keeber cookies / Beer for the adults

Breakfast 1: Quaker instant oatmeal (approx 7 servings) with 1/4 cup of chopped walnut/dried blueberry mixed. A spoon full of dry milk/per person.

Lunch: 1 box of wheat thins, 2 tins of Kipper Snacks (adults), 3 foil packages of pre-made Tuna Salad , 4 GoGo Squeeze Apple sauce. Looking back, I should have brought more tuna. The foil packages are about 100 calories a piece. Meaning my husband alone will eat 3-4 of them…

Dinner 2: 1 package dry gravy mix (no milk needed), 1 package instant mashed potatoes, 1 package Stove Top Stuffing (with a little Parkay margarine to make it), 2 12 oz. cans of chicken.

We made the gravy separately. But combined the potatoes,stuffing and chicken into one pot. Then poured the gravy over the top. It was totally delicious!

Dessert: 1 bag of Keebler cookies and one (borrowed) package of pudding. If you use powdered milk and really cold water, it actually sets pretty well. We also set it in the pile of snow we collected to chill our beer. Another variation on pudding is to add peanut butter into the chocolate pudding. Very good.

Breakfast 2: Quaker instant oatmeal (approx 7 servings) with 1/4 cup of chopped walnut/dried blueberry mixed. A spoon full of dry milk/per person.

Snacks: 2 cups trail mix, 3 cups dried pineapple, 1.5 cups almonds, 3 Snicker bars, 2 packages of Skittles for “trail bait”, 3 granola bars

We were a little lean on the snack side of things and my husband was left hungry after a few of the meals. It turned out fine, as he finished most of the kid’s meals. Also, like I mentioned, we shared a lot of snacks with another family. Here is a list of the notable ones (ie. I’ll bring next time!)

• Ritz Crackers and Easy Cheese
• Dried Mango
• Pringles

You know, the one that has left the faintest sliver of a thorn lodged somewhere in the threads of your sock. You stop. You remove your shoe and feel around on the outside of the sock.  Nothing. You take the sock off. Wipe free your foot. Put it back on. All seems fine…and then five steps down the trail there it is again! That pricker you cannot find. That pricker that is causing a whole world of hurt when you finally get moving once again.

I am feeling that way about my body this week. A pesky lower back pain that seems all fine and dandy, then strikes at the worse moment. Like climbing last night. Oh, I’d stop and rest. Try to remove the “thorn” and then continue on. In the end, it didn’t ruin the night, well at least the part of the night when we were climbing. Sleeping was another story. But really?! I have plans. I have backpacking trips to train for. I have a triathlon to train for. I don’t want this pricker in my back.

I am feeling this way about being a mom this week. Cruising along all happy and thinking, we’ve finally got this, when bam! A thorn in my shoe. A kid in tears. A kid yelling harsh words, felt from harsh emotions directed at me.  A kid refusing my well placed intentions. A thorn. And I think, “Really?!” I have plans. I have errands to run, and cleaning to do, and fun stuff too. Like pools and parks and projects. I don’t want this pricker in my parenting.

The mountains bring great joy to me. Just their existence. The towering white in the distance, edged with blue sky and green forest. But they come with bee stings and harsh storms, brutal winds and crumbling rock. You endure the unlovely for the glorious experience of the truly lovely.

And it is the same with my body.

And it is the same with being a parent

 But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.-Anne Bronte

1. Synthetic/quick dry clothing. No cotton.
2. Layer as much as possible. Duplicate important layers in case they get wet/overly soiled.
3. Bring light weight items, that pack small, but are also warm. Think fleece and down for nights…
4. Forego anything that isn’t necessary or can be “made” out of other items (like pillows )

• Trip details:

• Location: Wasatch Front or High Uintas
• Weather: 70s during day, lows in 30s at night
• Clothing:

2  synthetic pants
1 long johns (long underwear)
1 long sleeve shirt
1 short sleeve shirt
1 fleece jacket/shirt

2 underwear
1 rain shell
1 (down jacket possibly)
2 hiking socks
1 hiking boots
1 kick-around shoes

winter hat/fleece mittens
sunhat
sunscreen
sunglasses incase of bright snowfields, etc.

• Gear:

backpack (Deuter Climber for 6 yr-old, REI Sprig for 5-yr old or Deuter Junior)
head lamp
sleeping pad (Love the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core)
sleeping bag (We are bring our Big Agnes Little Red and Big Agnes Haybro for our girls as the temps will be frigid at night and the Deuter Starlight EXP for our son)

• Eating utensils:

bowl
spork
small cup

toothbrush/paste
a few small toys:)

For our full list of adult items here is a link: Backpacking gear list. See ya on the other side!

So we turned to the brand we’ve all known and trusted since our kids were riding on our backs in Deuter Kid carriers, to see if they had an awesome solution to the next-step in our outdoor family adventures.

This pack will be available Fall of 2013!

Youth Climber Backpack

Yays!

Padded waist belt/shoulder straps and sternum strap help with a slightly heavier than usual load.

Comfortable and wicking suspension system, just like on an adult pack.

Fabric sheds water and is super rugged.

Velcro tab/sleeve for hydration bladder.

The pack is still light and simple. The large main compartment is easy to pack.

The top “essentials” pocket is  large enough for a hat, headlamp, snacks, small camera, etc.

Straps and “D-ring” attachments on top for lightweight bulky items.

Mesh pockets on the side are deep, so water bottles or whatever you want to stow will not easily fall out. Added straps to secure longer items like tent poles, etc that you might want to stow for overnight trips.

Gear loops on waist belts just like on a climbing harness. We haven’t used these yet but I figure they will come in handy when we take it climbing in the future!

Interior security pocket in the hood – always a good thing.

Nays

I wish there was a small pocket on the outside front for added organization.

Overall?

I am not sure I’ve been this happy with any kid pack! It is perfect for hiking and backpacking for kids ages 6-12. I would highly recommend this pack.

Not on purpose, I got three different brands of kid shoes on my kid’s feet and mid-hike realized this was a great opportunity to test out and compare the traction on these bad boys.

The shoes that were tested:

Stride Rite (Toddler) Dallas Sneaker | Hi-Tec Omaha Low | Keen Newport H2

Location Tested: Dirt trail, rocky scrambling and bouldering.

Feature tested: Traction

Duration: 3 miles of hiking, 7oo” vert.

Results:

Get ready to be surprised. The Stride Rite sneakers (also 1 yr older with more wear than the other two) out performed the Hi-Tec and KEEN shoes in our traction tests, with Hi-Tec coming in a close second. My husband (without knowing I was thinking of writing this review) commented on how much better the Stride Rites were gripping the rock than the KEENs.

Now we love each of these brands. And would still highly suggest them to any parent. But this challenges our notion that kids need a hiking specific shoe to hit the trail. We have often used simple sneakers (brands like Stride Rite or Nike) and had great results. Not only is traction good, the foot bed tends to be a little more flexible, allowing more natural movement of the foot. We’ve found our kids are more agile and coordinated in a more “natural” shoe.

Now we love KEEN. Their Newport H2 sandals are awesome for hiking and adventuring in watery locations. But last summer I noticed my son was always “eating it” or in other words slipping and falling when he wore his KEENs.

My word to KEEN – we love you guys. We love that your shoes are hard-core and last through several children.  But please put some work in to your rubber compound!

Over my short time being one of those moms, I’ve grown a thick skin about the jokes made at our expense, and so chuckled along with the audience. I get it. Maybe. See, I know a whole host of people who were homeschooled, and now are well-adjusted, confident, focused, highly successful adults having families of their own. I don’t know any “mal-adjusted” homeschoolers, but I know they exist. Just like mal-adjusted public schoolers exist.

This post is not a debate. But we are often asked what homeschooling is like, why we like it, how we do it. So in celebration of the end of the year, I figured I’d let you into our daily world a little bit. It isn’t nearly so hard or overwhelming or weird as some might think…

But first

Know this: By sharing how we do things as a family, I am not condemning your way of doing things. I don’t think homeschooling is a silver bullet for good parenting. I don’t think it is right for every family. And I certainly know some parents cannot stay home with their kids cause of work or finances or school. I don’t home school because I think teachers are inept – far from it. And I won’t even say homeschooling will always be what we do. I am not one of those moms who wants to keep her babies home with her as long as possible. Goodness knows there are days I wish I could escape from the tedious task of mommyhood. But ultimately I believe that this is a journey for me, as well as my kids, and I have as much to learn and gain as they do.

But I do think families should contemplate it…if even for an instance.

Homeschooling Means for Us:

Unrushed breakfasts followed by a few chores.

Math lessons happen at the kitchen table. Sometimes together, sometimes not.

And sometimes we are learning to read with a headlamp on…

Science experiments can happen in our garden.

Or our learning happens in the car…on the way to Moab on a climbing trip.

There is plenty of time for me to coach them on character areas: patience, sharing, kind words, a love for learning, humility, perseverance, loving your family, forgiveness… these things are of infinite importance.

We have field trips every month with a whole host of our friends!

And lots of recess!

And recess on the ski hill.

And recess on the rock.

I love the extra time I get to invest in the character of my kids. I love that I know what and how they are learning and can bring it along on every hike, grocery trip or bike ride. I love the infinite flexibility as we are almost always on-the-go. That is why I love home schooling.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! What does and doesn’t work for your family?