502
There is a wealth of knowledge here. I have learned so much by reading old threads on different subjects. All of the advice given in this thread is very sound in my limited experience. GBG mentioned starting out with short trips, I think you echoed that also in a previous post and I tried to say the same in my previous post. Trying to equip your family with the best gear will be like trying to hit a moving target and very expensive. Only you guys will know what works BEST for you and In my view that means finding out what didn’t work and replacing those items over time. We still use a Colman two burner white gas stove because it works for us.
I assume the 502 is an area code. If so, LBL is not that far of a drive and is a perfect place to work out gear issues. You could car camp as your base and take an “overnighter” across the other side of the cove. Our needs have changed so much since we started and there was no way to see it coming. It just happens.
Well, we did it
First trip was a success
We fit all four of us, our dog, and all of of gear pretty comfortably into our 18.5' canoe before shoving off at Land Between the Lakes for a two day bunny trip. It's a 3.5hr trip for us, and with the backcountry camping and paddling options there it worked well for a first trip (thanks for the tip, Kyed -- we ended up doing basically what you outlined above)
I took the advice here and focused on making the kids haul their own gear.
We got them legitimate internal frame packs that fit them well and place the load on their hips (Deuter fox 30 and fox 40 if anyone is interested) --- each of their packs carry their sleep pads, bags, and clothes.
I think we did things fairly correctly judging by how the trip went.
We had whatever we needed whenever we needed it, and really didn't have much in the way of extras. Mostly we had the essentials and not too much in the way of luxuries. We packed a few too many pieces of clothing (well, I didn't) and a little too much food but all in all everything worked out and we still had room to spare, both in our packs and on the boat.
We had a lightweight 4p tent, legitimate pads, bags, and packs, a food bag and line for hanging, a fairly comprehensive first aid kit that we assembled, a couple of pocket stoves and a full compact kitchen setup, and of course water filtration (that we didn't use because we packed a large Kelty bladder full of water) --- aside from paddles, pfds, and wet shoes, everything fit into our four packs. Everybody was comfortable, well fed, and happy for the duration of the trip. I think a pack for 5-7 days is totally within reason.
Thanks for all of the advice everyone!
We are all geared up and looking forward to many more trips in the future
Most important
Did the kids have fun?
Great!
Kids usually love carrying their own packs. Congratulations on a job well done and here’s to many more successful family trips.