[mbravenboer]

We did our first backpacking trip of the summer this weekend. Until now, we backpacked with our son (now 2 years old) only once. He was only 7 months at the time ( https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8018413 ), so essentially this was his first backpacking trip. We considered going car camping first, but we also wanted to test how far we can carry all our gear into the wilderness, so we decided to go to Lake Dorothy and Bear Lake (and Saturday we noticed that evidently everybody with kids goes there!). There are many good campsites along the route to Bear Lake, so we could easily change our destination based on how it's going. We ended up making it all the way to Bear Lake (about 5.5 miles one-way) and enjoyed a great night alone at the lake. It was definitely heavy though, so we'll need to see how much more elevation gain we can handle for later backpacking trips this summer. Notes on trail conditions etc: - Blowdowns: The trail to Lake Dorothy is entirely clear thanks to a WTA group that was doing work in the area. Between the Dorothy inlet and Lake Bear that are a few (towards 10) sizable blowdowns that you need to go under or over. The ones you have to go under are always the hardest for me (tall and with toddler on back), but managed to do all without much difficultly. - The ford at the inlet can perhaps be crossed using the rocks, but you'd need long legs. We used sandals, and most other people did this as well. We met a guy hiking with his two young daughters who rock hopped 5x across the inlet to carry his daughters across . I took some photos, just comment with contact info if you read this and would like them. - Snow: Snowfields start at around 3600ft, with some more significant snow around the pass (3800ft). There are some nasty holes there in drainage around the trail. The descend into Bear Lake initially had no snow, but the area between Bear and Deer Lake has various snowfields. - Flowers: Bunchberries and Queen-cups are out along most of the trail. The section from the trailhead to Lake Dorothy was quite pretty thanks to the flowers. At the pass to Bear Lake there is still fresh Trillum. - Bugs were annoying at Lake Dorothy, and mostly okay at Bear Lake. - Busy: Friday it was fairly quiet and campsites were mostly free around Lake Dorothy. We proceeded to Bear Lake and were lucky to get the only snow-free campsite there. At Deer Lake there was less snow and campsites were used. We ran into some people coming up from Snoqualmie Lake who said there were several parties camped there. Saturday it was a zoo at Dorothy. Many families with kids heading up to camp and many campsites already taken. Also at least a handful of parties heading up to Bear Lake. Some things that worked well for us: - There is virtually no space in a child carrier, so we knew we would have a space problem with our backpacks. Initially my intuition was that the gear would be heaver than the kid in a carrier, but that was not the case. Because of this, we got a large backpack for my wife to fill up with relatively light camp gear, and I carried Jake with water, milk and some heavier items. This worked out very well, and although we needed a 74L pack (Deva 70), the weight (backpack included) was slightly below 30lb. - We brought 1L of milk in a bottle with an OR Water Bottle Parka. This worked surprisingly well. The milk staid fairly cold the whole day. We put in the snow during the night, and the next day it also staid cold in the OR sleeve. I haven't compared with other products, but really liked this one! - We used to cook on our own backpacking trips, but to make things a bit easier we just bought dehydrated backpacking food. I was surprised that it actually was very tasty. Cooking may be fun, but I loved the convenience and reduced weight ... - We put up the tent in the backyard a few days before the trip to get him excited about it. We considered sleeping in it one night, but decided later it may do more harm than good due to city noise that you can't hear inside the house. - Jake is obsessed with snow, so we tried to find a spot close to the snow (that's why we continued to Bear Lake). These low elevation lakes are not that great to play in (too much yukkie organic material) and too cold anyway this time of the year. The snow was great for Jake's entertainment. All photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/albums/72157683147316311

Shan Shan at the trailhead with her new Gregory Deva 70 so that we can carry all our gear!

Queen-cup

Trillium

Jake was pretty excited and walked almost to the Camp Robber bridge

An impression of the Lake Dorothy trail from the point-of-view of a 2 year old

Looking downstream from the Camp Robber bridge to the confluence of the Miller River and the Camp Robber Creek

Camp Robber Creek

Martin & Jake at the Lake Dorothy outlet

Lake Dorothy and Big Snow in the background

Fording the Lake Dorothy inlet

Jake crossing a pretty high bridge by himself (see next photo for the return trip)

Jake crossing a log bridge

Jake at our campsite at Bear Lake

Jake 'assisting' with setting up the tent by poking his stick in everything

Between Bear and Deer Lake there are still some sizable snowfields

Cooking dinner

Story time

Morning sun on Bear Lake. Photo didn't quite work out, but you can imagine how nice it could have been

Bear Lake

Bear Lake

Bear Lake

Some delicious blueberries in progress

Reflections in Bear Lake

Reflections in Bear Lake

Reflections in Bear Lake

Campsite at Bear Lake

Spring hazard: sunk pretty deep, but wasn't carrying Jake at the time

Lake Dorothy inlet area from the trail to Bear Lake

[RichP]

Glad it worked out for you. Jake is negotiating that blowdown and using those poles like a pro.

[Backpacker Joe]

Wonderful trip and report. I started taking my nephew hiking when he was 5. We've been hiking together the last 11 years.

[raising3hikers]

that little guy gets around well! keep on getting him out

[Hiker Mama]

Love this!!!

[HermitThrush]

Was Deer Lake reachable?

[zephyr]

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Your little guy is growing up fast! He's going to have all kinds of adventures under his belt at the rate he's going. Looks like a fun family outing.

[mbravenboer]

[Foist]

Well done. I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old. I didn't backpack with the 5 year old until last year. Basically, I drew the line at dealing with packing out poopy diapers, plus the other gear that comes with the really little ones. You make it sound doable though! Great job!

[iron]

good stuff!

[Mosquito Food]

Great report and good job getting the little one out.

[kenbee]

Trip report of the year so far! Bravo, and hats off to Jake!

[MartinK]

Awesome! Hats off for going out with the little one! What do you use for his sleeping pad and bag?

[MartinK]

Awesome! Hats off for going out with the little one! What do you use for his sleeping pad and bag?