The 1st Walker Family Pack Trip

Justin grew up with two parents who were teachers and so spent a lot of time in the summers going camping and on pack trips. He had a dream of taking his own family on one since I found out I was pregnant with Hunter. Justin, his dad, and I went on a pack trip when Hunter was about 1 year old, but his dream was to take his kids and do something he had grown up doing and come to love.

Now since Hunter is almost 4 and Natalie is almost 2, we figured that it was time for the 1st Walker family pack trip. We planned for weeks and picked a place that was close enough that we could get to the camp site with only about 1 hour of riding. Grandpa Walker came along and brought a pack horse so we could take plenty of stuff. We soon realized how difficult it was going to be with two kids who are not old enough to ride alone. Hunter has been riding on his own horse with a lead rope and Natalie rides with me. But with three adults and a total of 6 horses it was a little bit of a challenge to get everyone loaded and up the trail. To make things more complicated, the two pack horses had never been packed before and Justin was riding a horse who had been gone for the last 9 months. But we made it in with no big problems.

We camped, we fished, we played and ate...then the rain started. Camping is great, but keeping two kids inside the tent to stay warm and dry is NOT very fun. Justin and Grandpa got horses ready for us and as soon as the rain let up for a bit Justin, the kids and I rode out. We made it out without getting wet, but Hunter had a little tumble. The horse Justin was riding got spooked by something and backed into the horse that Hunter was riding and his little hands and legs couldn't keep him on, so he bailed and jumped at the last second. He cried and cried and I was afraid that he was really hurt even though he landed on his feet and bum. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "I'm not a REAL cowboy, because cowboys stay on!" We had to laugh. We told him that real cowboys just get back on when they fall, so he did and rode the rest of the way out. Then Justin went back to help Grandpa take down camp and bring the rest out. It was a great trip, we had lots of fun, but I think that we'll wait until the kids are a little bit older to try it again!

Grandpa watching the fire

The family and I, of course, couldn't put down my plate

The horses tied up for the night

The two cutest kids ever

On the way out, ready for more rain