By Joel Sattgast
Cover photo courtesy Joel Sattgast
Since returning to the Northwest three years ago, I’ve been gently preparing my daughters physically, mentally, and emotionally to ensure they were ready to handle their first overnight backpacking trip. Recently, our family has tackled family camping trips in primitive areas, countless hikes, bike rides, runs, and even rehearsed an at home mantra of “We’re made to do tough things.”
At 8 and 10 years old, it seemed my daughters were finally ready to embark on their inaugural backpacking expedition. Remaining flexible with dates and selecting a location less than two hours from Spokane allowed us to take full advantage of an ideal weather window in early June.
After narrowing our inaugural dad-daughter backpacking trip to a few alpine lakes in North Idaho, we settled on one a short drive off I-90 in the Bitterroot Mountains. Having explored some of this area within the Idaho Panhandle National Forest in the fall of 2023 via day hikes, it would afford a sense of familiarity and, hopefully, ease some of the girls’ trepidation with backpacking into a remote area and spending the night. However, with the lake sitting at an elevation of around 5,500 feet, the tradeoff would be an increased potential for snow and higher runoff through the creek. All things considered, our destination was set.
We planned to arrive at the trailhead early in the morning to allow ample time to hike the 2.5 miles to the lake and navigate 1,600 feet of elevation gain prior to a lunchtime arrival at our destination. Upon departure, the excitement quickly wore off, giving way to achy shoulders and backs, tired legs, and questions of “how much longer!?!” I knew this was going to happen—but so soon into the hike? Really!?
Dipping into the chocolate stash helped, along with mental distractions of “Would you rather…” (e.g. would you rather wear high heels or ballet slippers for the rest of your life?) These strategies, combined with alternating 10-minute intervals of dad carrying their packs suitcase-style (farmer carry marches for the win) offered just enough reprieve, encouragement, and distraction to forge ahead.
Lesson 1: Plan to Mitigate Mental and Physical Fatigue
About one hour into the hike, we encountered the first major obstacle—the creek had swollen due to higher runoff and the usual easy log bridge crossing was now a tricky, and slick, rapid water crossing. After ferrying all the packs to the other side of the creek, the last challenge was helping the girls safely across. The packs had made it on my back, so naturally a piggy-back made the most sense—until it didn’t!
Halfway across, my foot slipped, and into the water I went along with my passenger-daughter. Halting my fall, my knee and shin made immediate contact with a submerged rock. As my daughter would say, “Biscuits!!!” Thankfully, the water was only 2-3 feet deep, and socks and boots will dry, but falling into a creek with my daughter on my back on our first backpacking trip was not on the agenda.
After recovering and offering thanksgiving no serious injuries were incurred, we identified a better plan to help my other daughter across without further incident. Had we taken just a bit more time initially, perhaps we would have come to a similar conclusion that would have kept us all dry and minimized our safety risk.
Lesson 2: Take Time to Analyze All Available Options
A short triage and assessment ensured nothing was broken or sprained post-creek fall (an added benefit of training as an orthopedic physical therapist), and we were quickly on our way to tackle the remaining climb toward the lake. Surprisingly, this moment of adversity renewed our spirits, and suddenly achy shoulders/backs and tired legs were replaced with thanks and optimism for the adventure ahead. What seemed like a major negative in my mind had brought out a greater strength and determination in the girls. Turns out, “We’re made to do tough things” was more than just a nice platitude – here we were turning words into actions!
Lesson 3: Adversity Can Build Character and Perseverance
Tackling the last remaining climbs and areas of snowpack proved beneficial as we were rewarded with picturesque views of the lake upon our arrival. After setting up camp, collecting dry branches and pinecones for an evening fire, and identifying the best locations for water filtration and answering nature’s call, we settled into our afternoon and evening by exploring the lake shore and the surrounding terrain. Despite significant surface ice on the water, the girls managed to endure the cold and do some knee-deep wading along the shoreline in the afternoon sun. A cool reward for enduring the strenuous hike to camp!
That evening and into the next morning provided ample opportunity for adventure, campfire discussions about the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ of backpacking, a few life-lesson applications, and even some surprise treats. (Pro Tip: s’mores would’ve been hard to pack, but individually wrapped Rice Krispies roasted over the campfire were a major “win.”)
Lesson 4: Keep It Short
While it would have been easy to prolong our trip, the next morning we packed up camp and began the trek back to the trailhead. By targeting a 36-hour window for our first backpacking trip, the goal was to ensure spirits remained high and energy did not wane too much.
If I’m honest, I’ve been imagining this trip for almost a decade. After our children were born, tempered with not wanting to wish away their younger years, I began looking forward to sharing my love for the outdoors via camping/backpacking, fishing and hunting, hiking, cycling, running and the list goes on. And while I do not expect they will immediately fall in love with every experience or adventure we undertake, I do hope that with an element of intentional planning, combined with varying yet frequent exposures, I can impart just a bit of the sense of excitement I have for outdoor adventures. In doing so, maybe I’ll gain a few adventure partners … and they’ll look forward to some one-on-one time with dad.
Joel Sattgast is an outdoor enthusiast who loves sharing in adventures with his family. When not exploring, he’s a physical therapist, performance coach, and EWU faculty.
