Sunshine at Cast Lake
The boys had a day off from school, so we headed out for a one night backpacking trip to Cast Lake (near Mt Hood, Oregon). My brother and his daughter joined us.
The kids (7, 9, and 10) did great, but this trip was tough. Over 6 miles one way, with 2,570 ft of elevation gain. Additionally, we ran into snow on the trail around mile 5 (~4,000 ft), which made us wonder if everything at the lake was going to be covered. There was at least one area which could have served as an emergency campsite a little lower, but it would have required clearing and there was no water. The previous day, on the phone, a Forest Service ranger was positive there was no snow at the lake. We pressed on.
In the lead, I saw quite a few decent sized animal tracks (paws), but no shoe prints. Did not point the tracks out to the kids. After almost 6 hours of hiking, with many breaks and snacks along the way, we arrived at Cast Lake, at 4 PM. The first campsite we found was mostly clear of snow and had a fair amount sunshine! There were no other campers at the lake.
We busted out our folding saws, fire starters, and dry bundle of sticks my brother had hauled up and quickly made a fire. There was plenty of dry wood to burn. The folding saws were extremely useful.
Tips / insights for future backpacking trips with kids:
1. Waterproof shoes / boots for everyone.
2. Hand warmers. (These were a hit with all the kids.)
3. More sweet snacks.
4. Salami and crackers were well received.
5. chocolate!
6. Kids enjoyed using the saws – practice at home before you go.
7. Burning the home made fire starters was fun. (Egg carton, paper/cardboard bits, and wax.)
8. Walkie talkies were fun (likely annoying to other campers, if any had been present).
9. Take time to involve the kids in reading the map (I had paper maps, but never used them, because I tracked the hike using the Gaia app).
10. Have the kids set up the tent by themselves.
After putting up our tents, we cooked hot dogs over the fire for dinner, and the kids enjoyed some hot chocolate for dessert. John and I enjoyed some red wine.
The next morning, after breakfast, we explored the trail around the lake. There are at least five campsites, most with enough space to accommodate at least two tents. The sites are spread out nicely, with none immediately adjacent to another. Two of the sites are very close to the lake – one is on the peninsula. The non-peninsula lakeside site has an awesome fire pit, between two large boulders. The other three sites sit higher. We counted four inlet streams and one outlet. Did not see any signs of fish.