Cause I Love My Son!

“And a darn proud one too ;-)
Ford is about to turn 8 this month..and it has been an intresting ride to say the least. I am very fortunate that Ford does enjoy being in the outdoors-and thrives on it.
I never thought when he was 4 we'd have gone so many places, been on so many summits, cross as mnay passes as we have :-)
Or gone as many miles as we have-he averages about 350 miles a year :-)
We always seem to meet people on the trail who have a lot of questions for him - many kids don't backpack these days.

Snowshoeing Rampart Ridge at Mt. Rainier this spring:


Ford going down the slope, at Paradise at Rainier...getting ready to go up the chute to the right:


A very small Ford, 5 years old, hiking the Hannegan Pass Trail in the North Cascades:


Ford backpacking on the Olympic Coast last summer:


Ford sitting below Fortune Creek Pass in the Teanaways in E. WA this summer....looking towards where we will hike in the morning:


I can only hope his 8th year is as good as the past 4 years :-)”

“Very cool Sarbar. You should be proud of not only Ford but yourself too! =)”

“WOW!!! :D”

“I forgot:
A bunch more photos at:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a308/NWHikergirl/Ford/?”

“that is soooo cool...i can't wait for that...i have no kids now but hopefully soon...i can't wait for that...i've already been cruising ebay looking for a backpack to carry him/her in...i'm very green right now ;)”

“DAMN! What a cool kid!

I wish I was that cool at age 8. Hell, I am still a dork at 32!”

“Cute pics, thanks for sharing”

“You said it WK! but there is still hope that your dorkiness wasnt possed on LOL!”

“That's great that you guys get out and see so many beautiful things. One of our kids just introduced his girlfriend to backpacking. We took him on his first trip in utero, his second at three years old. You two are building something that will last a lifetime.”

“I too am a dork at 32 ;-) And yeah, my kid is a dork also...lol! Dorkiest trip ever: After the hike, we stop at this drive-in joint and a certain Posse member fed the jukebox..and SirDorksALot proceded to cut a rug (lets just say Ford is certainly white and has NO natural groove ;-)
But, ah, there isn't much better than getting into my tent at night and being there with Ford-the world is right-all that matters is us two in the long run-when I look at it, he is my buddy.
I am not an overly "mothery" person, and it is my chance to be with him one on one :-)



Of course if you heard me barking orders at him on the trail you'd be running away ;-)”

“What… you can’t afford Nintendo or something? ;)




Thanks for sharing.”

“Nah, the way to get them outside is let them take their Gameboy along ;-) When we backpack, and he is getting on my nerves..somehow it becomes bedtime at 7 pm...and out comes the Gameboy ;-)”

“I hope to be able to do this with my daughter. We are going to try sleeping outside in the backyard soon with her. She just turned 6 months old.”

“What a hiker, I sure hope when I have kids they end up with his love for the outdoors.”

“I am so damn jealous now!”

“What type of pack does he have? My son will be 6 in Feb. I'm hoping to get him out a couple of times this fall and it's getting time for him to take some weight.”

“Very Kewl!”

“On a typical weekend trip Sarbar, how much does your son's pack weigh?”

“Great photos. Having a common hobby will keep you both close as he moves toward adulthood. Way to go!”

“Sarbar, Ford is getting to experience a life that very few kids will ever experience. He is getting the best education possible, IMHO. You are lucky to have him for your hiking buddy :-)”

“i was just telling my wife the other day i can't wait when we have kids i want to take them out in the woods, photograph plants and animals, and then go back home and research what species they are”

“Fordy is the best!
XOXO Happy Birthday Ford!”

“Ford uses a Deuter Fox 30 pack-which is designed for kids :-)
He has a North Face tigger sleeping bag, and a ladies Insul-Mat pad.
I try to keep his weight under 11 lbs for all trips-he carries all of his gear (clothes, pack cover, toys, Thermarest pillow, etc...) Plus 2 12 oz containers of water.
I carry the tent, food and other communal gear for us :-)
Now if he'd get a bit bigger I could saddle him with half the food..lol! That little skinny boy eats around 2 lbs a day on the trail!!”

“Anybody else find it ironic that you have an outdoors kid named after a vehicle manufacturer? Lol. Just teasing. I think it's wonderful. He looks very well decked out gear wise. So many parents don't outfit their children as well as they do themselves, and wonder why the kids don't enjoy it. Good on you, I'm sure he's going to be a fine man when he grows up because of you. :)”

“Nice pics. You should be very proud. I started taking my son backpacking when he was 5. At 9 he did a 17 mile hike with a 19 pound pack. Now he is 21 and does 25 mile days back to back and I can't keep up.”

“Yeah, I was er, um, full of pregancy fumes or something when I picked out the name. Though there a number of guys named Ford in the past 100 years that were famous ;-)Like back in 19aught10 or somethin'....
And fer the record I named him after a "ford"..ie, crossing water, a diversion in my life. Think Fjord...I am half Norwegian after all ;-)That's my story and I am sticking to it ;-)

Ah, the gear thing. It burns my buns when I see kids in ill fitting gear, and their parents in nice stuff! Dang! I'd be much wealthier if I didn't cotton to that little weasel ;-) He has nicer gear than me sometimes.....I believe that if he has good socks, good shoes, a pack as nice as mine....then he can do the long miles :-)
Relay...I already cannot keep up with him...wahhhhhhhhh He does long days and yeah, he whines a lot, but once to camp he recovers instantly and runs around for the next 3-4 hours. Wish I had 1/4 of that!

Ford says "I will smite my enemies"!
”

“enjoyed the pictures, my son is 19 and we went to trail days together this past spring. we are still active in our scout troop and will be doing some things with them as a team this year. he is planning on doing the AT in 2 years with another leader-friend. i have suggested he may want to go on some tt trips. it's hard for him to get away on week-ends because of work.”

“very cool sarbar!”

“Cyndee....the day I got a job with no weekends was whn I knew I had arrived ;-) I feel for your son!”

“Ahhh... El Senior Grabby Hands!! I miss my little buddy. :)

That pic of him with the stick over his head is classic! LOL.

I'll be hitting you up for kiddy ideas in oh... about a year Sar! ;)”

“You better see him soon, Di! He is past my armpits...he is going to be taller than me by 10..wahhhhh!!!!!”

“He has grown! When I saw him the other week! Woo!

I'm glad he's still cuddly tho. hee hee. I love hugs from Ford. He'll grow out of that soon, I'm sure. : (”

“Well if you'd come to one of the get togethers...!!!”

“Ain't my fault you live in North Seattle and I live in SE King County ;-)
Ya gots to rember:weekends mean hiking ..hehheh!!”

“Nice, Sarbar! :-)”

“Yeah... but I ain't driving 2 hours to go hiking when I can drive 1/2 an hour! Bah! :p”

“Pfffftttt....we SE Kinger's get to hike at Rainier ;-) You don't! ;-)”

“LOL at SirDorksALot!!

(did you know the real SirMixaLot lives near there?)”

“Yep, I got champagne thrown at me (ie...full bottles!) years ago in downtown Seattle on New Years Eve...he was in a big ol limo!”

“posse's on Broadway!”