Me and my son's 1st AT trip

[bigben]

Me and Trevor, my almost 9 year old son, will be doing our first(hopefully of many) AT backpacking trip next month. We are going to start at the Free State Hiker Hostel in Maryland and hike SOBO back to the Harper's Ferry Hikers Hostel. We'll be leaving July 6th, hitting the trail the 7th, hopefully making Harpers Ferry on the 10th, but I factored in an extra day, the 11th, in case the boy is having a hard time making miles. We are going to go at HIS pace, because I want this to be totally enjoyable for him. Pretty much will be going shelter to shelter, unless we decide to hike more/less, Free State to Pine Knob, to Rocky Run, to Ed Garvey, to Harpers Ferry. When we finish, we're going to do the tourist thing at Harpers Ferry, then drive to Antietam and check the battlefield out, probably stay another night in Harpers Ferry and then drive 8 hours to Emerald Isle, NC in the Outer Banks to meet up with a bunch of family for our "official" family vacation.
I'll be carrying most of the gear, but have started outfitting Trevor. Got him some footwear, a rainshell, he'll carry my Kelty Arrowhead 2500 daypack, and I got the rest. Going to keep his pack weight to 10-15 lbs. He'll be 9 in August, but he's a BIG 9 y/o, 4'10" 112 lbs. Still gotta get him some suitable clothes, but otherwise we're about good to go.

Hostel and shuttle reservations have been made. Other than the fact that it's going to be hot and buggy, does anything have anything to add about this section of trail? We plan on seeing Annapolis rocks, Washington Monument, Gathland SP/South Mtn battlefield, & Weverton Cliffs.

Bigben

[gravityman]

Bring some change for the coke machine at the Washington Monument!

[PapaSmurf]

Doing the almost the same trip, Wolfsville Road to Harpers Ferry on July 15-19.
Be sure to post back your experience.

[full conditions]

You'll be traversing three Civil War Battlefields - Turner' Gap, Fox's Gap, and Cramptons Gap (collectively known as the Battle of South Mountain). Since you've got the time, why not check out a good book about the battle and perhaps stop and read a few passages at the appropriate spots. The Reno Mounument in Fox's Gap is an especially poignient spot as is the North Carolina Monument nearby. In fact, your whole trip is through a section ripe with historical significance.

[Cookerhiker]

I think it's wonderful that you're taking your son on this trip; I wish I had done the same when my daughters were that age. You've planned this hike very well. I hope it's not too awfully hot.

2 suggestions:

1. Slip some kind of treat and surprise your son with it at evening meal. Does he have a favorite homeade cookie? You and your wife know best what he likes - just allow for storage in a hot pack, i.e. probably no chocolate.

2. After leaving Garvey Shelter as you approach the end of the ridge, the AT takes a right turn to start its descent while a blue-blaze trail leads straight to Weverton Cliffs. It's well worth taking that short side trail; Weverton Cliffs are neat for kids of all ages to scramble around and you enjoy the view of the Potomac straight down with Harpers Ferry up to your right. You'll see the gaps formed by the 2 rivers - Potomac and Shenandoah.

Oh and don't forget the Dahlgren campground with its free hot shower just after Turner's Gap/Alt. 40.

Happy hiking!

[Skidsteer]

Me and Trevor, my almost 9 year old son, will be doing our first(hopefully of many) AT backpacking trip next month. We are going to start at the Free State Hiker Hostel in Maryland and hike SOBO back to the Harper's Ferry Hikers Hostel. We'll be leaving July 6th, hitting the trail the 7th, hopefully making Harpers Ferry on the 10th, but I factored in an extra day, the 11th, in case the boy is having a hard time making miles. We are going to go at HIS pace, because I want this to be totally enjoyable for him. Pretty much will be going shelter to shelter, unless we decide to hike more/less, Free State to Pine Knob, to Rocky Run, to Ed Garvey, to Harpers Ferry. When we finish, we're going to do the tourist thing at Harpers Ferry, then drive to Antietam and check the battlefield out, probably stay another night in Harpers Ferry and then drive 8 hours to Emerald Isle, NC in the Outer Banks to meet up with a bunch of family for our "official" family vacation.
I'll be carrying most of the gear, but have started outfitting Trevor. Got him some footwear, a rainshell, he'll carry my Kelty Arrowhead 2500 daypack, and I got the rest. Going to keep his pack weight to 10-15 lbs. He'll be 9 in August, but he's a BIG 9 y/o, 4'10" 112 lbs. Still gotta get him some suitable clothes, but otherwise we're about good to go.

Hostel and shuttle reservations have been made. Other than the fact that it's going to be hot and buggy, does anything have anything to add about this section of trail? We plan on seeing Annapolis rocks, Washington Monument, Gathland SP/South Mtn battlefield, & Weverton Cliffs.

Bigben

That sounds like a lot of fun. I envy the boy.

[LIhikers]

At least one night make a campfire if there's any downed wood to use as fuel. I know my boys loved fires when they were around that age.

Also, give him some free time each day to "play". While you and I might consider a hiking trip play time, I doubt a 9 year old will after the first couple of hours of hiking. It may well be work for him.

Have a bail out plan just in case things are not going well. You don't want to turn the trip into a forced march just because you have to get back to your car. At least not if youever want him to do another hiking trip. You may want to hold that plan as a secret so he doesn't think you'll implement it as soon as it gets too hot, too humid, too rainy, too hard, too boring...you get my drift I'm sure.

Laugh a lot at all sorts of things. Even act a little foolish if it will make the 2 of you smile + laugh. And laugh at the things that he does to make you laugh.

Let him carry a camera and take photos of what interests him. You could have one too and then compare photos at the end.

Enjoy each others company. Find time to talk about all those things you never get around to talking about at home. Find out his favorite color, school subject, pet, sports teams, and more. Get to know each other without trying too hard.

Those are some of the things I learned from taking week long bicycle camping trips with my boys while they were growing up.

[BigHodag]

Bring some change for the coke machine at the Washington Monument!

No soda machines at Washington Monument. They were taken out just before Memorial Day.

A few days earlier the two machines at Gathland SP were not working either.

[BigHodag]

There's a new shelter at Rocky Run and the blue blaze trail is confusing if one is tired. There are two trails at the sign post. The right-hand (north) trail leads to the new shelter. The left trail (southside) leads to the spring and old shelter.

When I went through a few weeks ago, I mistakenly followed the left trail to the old shelter and had the place to myself as everyone else was across the way. BTW, the water was just gushing out of the piped spring beside the old shelter. There's also an existing bear cable just in front of the old shelter and a great deck with a big cooking ledge beside the shelter also.

[Gray Blazer]

My son is 29 and we still go out for a week or more on the AT every summer. We'll prolly be out there near the end of July.

His big highlight so far was meeting Ron Haven and Skids and the guys last summer. Hard to top that.

[sbhikes]

My family took me backpacking when I was that young. I remember complaining a lot. They didn't make shoes that fit kids well back then and they didn't make sleeping bags that were warm, either. But we kids still had a great time. The best thing was for some strange reason my mom brought a cookie sheet and we kids used it as a sled on the snow. What fun! Also, we had fresh fish for dinner and my dad, who was a nutcase, would bring a volleyball, net and even a restaurant pancake maker. Good stories I'll never forget. Your son is lucky and will remember this fondly even if he does complain.

[Blissful]

Bring some change for the coke machine at the Washington Monument!


Hope it works, it didn't in '07 and ate my money. :( I was not a happy hiker.


Anyway, have a great hike!

[gruntledpainter]

Also, we had fresh fish for dinner and my dad, who was a nutcase, would bring a volleyball, net and even a restaurant pancake maker.

That's awesome, sounds like a pretty good dad and crazy hiker to take all that stuff!

[GooseMan]

Sounds like you guys will have fun. I recently took my 11 year old on his first hike (and my 2nd on the AT). And although the weather was horrible, we made the best of it and had fun. He really liked the adventure part of it all. See the trip report here (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=63102) I posted. Enjoy.

[Appalachian Tater]

I factored in an extra day, the 11th, in case the boy is having a hard time making miles.Way to go, middle-aged dad, blame it on the kid! :D