Ava’s First Backpacking Trip

All spring, I had been promising Ava that I’d take her camping. But each weekend, there was always a reason for us not to head out. Either we had a birthday party to attend, a soccer game, or the weather was horrendous. Not until June did we finally find a good weekend. But in Oklahoma, June is not usually the time of year to head out for pleasant camping weather. It’s usually sticky and hot, but we lucked out this weekend and got some half-way decent temps.

A friend of mine had given me GPS coordinates to a great place to camp in theOuachita National Forest without having to pay a campsite fee. We traveled along with my buddy Daniel, a good friend who loves my kids and loves to camp.

We pulled off the highway and found a spot to park the car. I had checked out a map that indicated several good camping sites along the Kiamichi river, if we just hiked into the forest a few miles. We headed North towards the river and were immediately given a water crossing. I’ve heard stories about people slipping on water crossings with large backpacks, so we took it slow. Ava was pretty nervous and was getting pushed around pretty good by the fast water flow, but we made it across just fine.

 I was a little concerned as we were packing up at home that Ava might struggle with carrying too much weight. She only had her school backpack, but I wanted her to carry a little more than just her teddy bear. I wanted to give her the feeling of contributing, even if it meant a little more weight (and a little bit of whining). She carried her blanket, teddy bear, water bottle, and snacks in her backpack. I also placed a small Thermarest on the outside. There was definitely some whining here and there, but I was proud of her to see her push through it.

Our hike up the river took us 2 or 3 hours. We made another water crossing to our campsite. The crossing looked easy enough, so I decided to carry Ava across. Unfortunately, I slipped on the very last rock and dropped her. We came crashing down on the bank of the river, but thankfully her head came down with the Thermarest on her backpack breaking her fall. I still managed to smack my forehead into her lip which caused quite a few tears. Lesson learned: don’t try to carry small children across slippery rocks.

The campsite we found was amazing. It was on a small bluff overlooking the river. Daniel set up his hammock and Ava helped me set up our tent. During the entire 3 day trip, we only saw 2 other people pass by us. It was awesome.

After a Saturday spent wandering around, looking for mushrooms and trying to avoid bears, we made the hike back Sunday morning. We only had one incident on the way back. Ava and Daniel were hiking in front of me. They successfully crossed a small rocky clearing, but as I approached it, I jumped back (and probably up a few feet!). There was a large black snake coiled up in the middle of the path, getting some sun. I have no idea how the other two passed him without him making any noise. I tried to snap a picture, but he hissed at me and slithered off.

All in all, it was a pretty successful trip. Ava did great on her first backpacking trip. She learned lots about the forest, hiking, how to play 20 Questions around the campfire, and how to dig a hole to poop in. 

I’m very excited for all our adventures to come!