Family Backpacking Adventure at Cole Mountain and Mount Pleasant in Virginia.
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In August 2020, we did something epic. We took our first family backpacking trip to Cole Mountain and Mount Pleasant in the Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area of the George Washington National Forest.
Our three children were 9, 7, and 6 years old. We spent two nights on the trail. This article and YouTube video are meant to give the details of how we did it. You and your family can do it, too!
Timeline of Events
I expand on this timeline in the Vlog on YouTube.
- Day 1: We arrived at the parking spot (Lat/Long: 37.7597/-79.19606) at 2:30 on Wednesday, August 26. Hiked 3.5 miles first afternoon to Cow Camp Shelter. We used the tent site, but you could stay in the shelter. We refilled our water from the stream near Cow Camp Shelter.
- Day 2: We continued on Cole Mountain Loop. Had an early lunch at the summit. Arrived at our car (the center of the “figure 8”) early afternoon. We ditched our trash and picked up food for the second half of the trip. We also refilled our water with gallon jugs we had in our car. MUCH faster than our filter. I also moved our car about 1/4 mile to the parking spots at the start of Mount Pleasant trail. We arrived at our tent site about 5:30. Listen to video for more about the shortage of good camp sites on Mount Pleasant trail. We had to hike a long way for water from a very small stream.
- Day 3: We had a quick snack as soon as we awoke and went straight up to the summit. We were the only ones there. I highly recommend this plan. We explored up there for quite a while, then came back to camp and had a heartier breakfast and broke camp. We got back to our car about noon and ate some lunch at our car. We started driving towards Luray, VA and found a hotel that took dogs in Harrisonburg, VA. Showers and dinner out near JMU.
- Day 4: Drove about 45 more minutes to Luray Caverns. We arrived at about 10:30 and there was already a line. Saturday is likely their busiest day, so keep that in mind. You can ask them to kennel your dog (for free!). After the caverns we visited the Shenandoah Heritage Village that is a part of your admission fee. I highly recommend visiting the blacksmith if he is open! Then we headed back to Hampton Roads and got home in time to unpack and throw together something for an easy dinner.
Tips for backpacking with young children
- Try to eat frequently. If they are cranky from hunger, it is hard to recover good attitudes.
- Go mid week when it is less busy.
- Cut down on gear needs by ensuring that there is no rain in the forecast and that the temperatures are warm so you don’t have to bring heavy sleeping bags or rain gear or warm clothes.
- The Cole Mountain/Mount Pleasant “figure 8” double loop was perfect for a first attempt because if things go terribly, you can easily just stop after one night.
- It was very valuable to have our 9 year old who was capable of carrying some gear. We did invest in a proper backpack for him (see supply list below). We tried to give him lighter but bulkier things. He mostly carried sleeping bags and sleeping pads.
- Pants. We were so very glad that we had purchased proper hiking pants for the kids. They all had zip off pants that were made of technical fabric (see the supply list below for what we bought).
- We are big on audio books, so we did have our current family audio book downloaded on a phone to listen to around the campfire at night.
Gear/Supply List
- Sleeping bags x 5 -My husband and I already had 3 high quality (and mostly compact) bags. We borrowed on other small one and then bought this very cheap summer-weight one.
- Sleeping pads x – We borrowed one. We had 2 that were somewhat bulky because they are quite old. And we have 2 of these and they are so compact and still thick! We will probably get 3 more at Christmas time so we complete the family set.
- Backpacks x 3 – My husband had large one. I had a medium one. And we purchased this small child’s Gregory Icarus 30 liter pack for our 9 year old. We would not have been able to do the tip if he hadn’t helped carry gear.
- We borrowed this Jet Boil camping stove. And now I know what to get my husband for Christmas!
- Our little two kids each carried small camel backs backpacks. We have had ours for ages, but they are like these. We did not have them carry water, though. They little two carried our lunch/snacks. My husband and I carried all of the water because 1) it is heavy, and 2) so we could ration the water instead of them just sucking on it constantly.
- Each of our kids had real camping pants with zip-off bottoms. Backpacking 101 is “no cotton”.
- Our dog carried his own food and water. We’ve had his pack for 10 years, but it is similar to this one. We only had one collapsible bowl. I wished he had two like in this 2-pack because he is not the type of dog to eat quickly, so we had to weigh keeping his food out for him vs filling his bowl. This is a combo two pack.
- Each kid was required to wear a whistle.
I was so proud of our kids. We are by NO MEANS a super hard core or overly athletic family. Please don’t get the wrong impression. They pushed themselves hard. There were some tears for the younger two, but they were few and far between. And we all said we would do it again. That was the only goal!
If any wishful backpacking families find this article and have any questions, please reach out!