FINALLY got my 17 year old daughter to come!!

[Lnj]

YAY!!! My husband and I had planned to start at Amicalola on Friday, 9/2 and just get as far as we could get by that Monday, but as it turns out, he has a herniated disk and is scheduled for back surgery at the end of September. No hiking for him for the rest of this year, very likely. But we had planned and bought new fun gear and looked forward and... I just couldn't imagine dropping it and he will not physically let me go alone. He would drag himself out there with me if I even tried it, and likely kill himself. SO..... I began begging and pleading and using all the mom-guilt I could muster to talk my baby girl (17, today actually) into PLEASE going with me and she has agreed! I am so excited. It will be so good for us personally. We already have a wonderful close relationship, but this is something much different that will make us closer still. Plus, it will be so good for her. She does like to do day hikes, but she doesn't like sleeping outside, however she has never done it so she really just doesn't like the idea of it. She can't stand the idea of not showering for a few days. I think this will be so good for her in so many ways. She has a little but of a self-esteem issue. Not huge, but she truly doesn't know what she is capable of and I can't wait for her to surprise herself and impress herself. It will be life changing. She rolls her eyes when I mention it, but then she grins and asks silly fun questions and I can tell she is kind of excited about it. I did concede and let her go to the football game Friday night, so we won't leave until early Saturday morning now. We are less than an hour away from Amicalola.


Concerns: I have a pack and gear all ready for a man, not a 17 year old girl. I also have no spare change to go outfit her between now and this weekend. We do have smaller regular backpacks, but not a REAL pack for her. I can carry the bulk of the weight, but she will need to carry her own clothes and water and sleeping bag, snacks, etc. Any advice on what all I need to make sure SHE has? I will have everything I need and I already carry a 2 man tent and 2 sleeping pads, and I carry the Ursack for our food and deodorant and such.

[DuneElliot]

See if you can rent a pack for the weekend for her, or see if a friend has one you could borrow. I'd ask on local Facebook groups too...someone may be able to help.

[Scrum]

Make sure she has boots/shoes that fit (should not be a problem since she already day hikes). Beg, barrow or rent a pack that fits her. Beyond that, it will not be about the stuff, it will be the experience and the time with you.

[Hikingjim]

just make sure she has enough dry stuff to be warm at night and good footwear. If you have shelter, cooking, etc, then you don't need that much for her
Make sure she doesn't overpack bulky clothes
If you can borrow or rent a pack, it doesn't have to be exactly the perfect pack if you keep her pack weight down. As long as it's a decent fit

you won't have much food for that length of time, and not the coldest time of year, so you'll be ok with any serviceable pack if she doesn't bring 10 lbs of clothes

[Hikingjim]

I also agree with above that blisters will ruin the trip. If her current shoes have been used for extensive up and down and she doesn't get blisters, it should be fine
But bring some stuff just in case. I personally prefer gauze and 3m sports tape because it NEVER comes off, but dozens of methods

[Scrum]

If you go light, maybe just strap the sleeping bag and pad to her day pack. You carry the tent.

[JC13]

You don't need deodorant. Weight-savings right off the bat!

[Suzy Q]

You don't need deodorant. Weight-savings right off the bat!

I would LOVE to see you say that to a seventeen year old girl... especially one who dislikes the thought of not being able to shower for a few days!!! 😊

[JC13]

I would LOVE to see you say that to a seventeen year old girl... especially one who dislikes the thought of not being able to shower for a few days!!! 

I understand, I have a 11 year old daughter. I did tell the above to my wife before our 10-day section, she didn't believe me at first but after I showed her a couple Female perspective AT videos she decided to ditch the deodorant.

Dixie from '15 has a video on this specifically I believe.

[Lnj]

I would LOVE to see you say that to a seventeen year old girl... especially one who dislikes the thought of not being able to shower for a few days!!! 

Also, I DO need deodorant, but not especially for the deodorizing qualities as much as for the Body Glide qualities. The deodorizing is a very minimal bonus.

[futureatwalker]

Funny, my 13-year-old daughter puts up a fuss about hiking, but enjoys it when we are out...

A couple of thoughts for you daughter:

1) bring a blue sponge (a tip from the Trail Show podcast). It doesn't have to be blue, of course, but you can use it to sponge off at the end of the day with some water. It's not a shower, but it does feel refreshing.

2) bring some warm socks for sleeping. This can really help if it gets a little chilly at night.

[linus72]

Very timely - my 17 year old daughter is doing her first backpacking trip with us this weekend and i am so excited. (she's done a few day hikes with me before and car camping) and yeah, first thing my wife said to her (who has done a few hundred miles of the trail backpacking with me) was bring deodorant... i definitely had to go through the clothes with her and pair those down to what's needed and not a bunch of extra stuff... we're just doing an overnight but i hope it will give her the same love for it that we do. i think the experience will serve her well in college. she did insist on a change of clothes for the hike out but its still late summer so won't be too bulky. she laughed at the idea of using a sleeping bag bag stuffed with clothes for a pillow. and we will be making smores over a camp stove since no fires allowed in this section. i can't wait to get home and finish packing! I hope you and your daughter enjoy your hike too!

[Lnj]

Thanks all!!! I am crazy excited. She is moderately so. Her boots and cheap pack came in yesterday so I am leaving the office in about 30 minutes to go home and pack us up! I will say that the $50 pack I found on Amazon (WASING) APPEARS to be super cool. It's very light weight (~5oz. I think) and has more zipper pockets and straps for outside carrying than I have ever seen! If it fares well, I may put my Osprey Ariel down for a trip and give it a test drive. I do have to Permithrin everything as soon as I get home and pray its all dry by the morning.

I will report our experience back on Tuesday!

[DuneElliot]

Have fun...sounds like a good trip. While I love going solo with my dog(s) I would like to go with someone else on occasion, mostly for the evening boredom!!!

[Lnj]

My daughter will make this trip so much fun. She makes everything fun. I believe she complained on a recent day hike that her spleen was falling out. She said she doesn't what a spleen is or where it is, but she was sure it was falling out.... if that gives you any indication of the non-sense that this trip will entail. I CANNOT WAIT!

[JC13]

I hope you two have a great time! Heading out with the wife and my three kids for the kids first backpacking overnight Sunday.

[Bubbabuzz]

I'm so jealous! We had an event come up, and my 11 y.o.'s pack didn't make it in, so no time to go 8 hours away & hit the A.T. We may set up camp on our farm and then hike it and our neighbors. Hope all have a great and safe Labor Day weekend!

[skater]

...spleen was falling out..

I am going to be using this line, I just know it