They all looked at us like we were crazy. Their jaws dropped to the ground and then they asked the same questions we got all summer. “Your not car camping? Zoe is hiking? What does she do? There’s no cooler for food?”  We answered those questions the same way we did all summer. We tried car camping at the beginning of the summer for one night. We ended up in the car at 3 a.m. Zoe was cold, angry, and uninterested in camping. Recently we have been taking her on small day hikes here and there, but only for a few hours each time.

And then it came. Our big camping trip. We hiked deep into the wilderness and slept in a tent. Between mosquitoes bites, sunburns, and melt downs every 2 hrs during the hikes we had our first Houseman backpacking trip. You never know how strong your child is until you put them in a situation where there is no turning back.

The first day was 4.5 miles. The second day was also 4.5 miles. Zoe was mostly entertained by the fish guts, horses, and other hikers. All of the hikers we ran into were so impressed by Zoe, in all cases she was the youngest person they had ever seen in the backcountry. She made s’mores and played in dirt loving every minute of it. When she decided she was no longer interested in camping we explained to her that there were two options: hike out like we did coming in, or hike 9 miles the last day… She chose to hike 9 miles the last day.

Zoe is amazing. I envy her strength. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all peachy the last day, but its a trip we will never forget. Here is our life camping via iPhone.

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