Instead, I'm daydreaming about B.F.A. - Big Family Adventures.
Both Shelley and I have worked quite a bit in the outdoors. We've led trips, and done logistics, and worked at camps and outdoors programs. One thing which we have always talked about is having family adventures.
Growing up, my family took extensive and extensively planned vacations. I'm sure the majority of our family trips will be like the Brautigam Family trips growing up: We will visit more than one national park and/or museum per day, and there will be a PLAN for each and every day.
What I'm really excited about, though, is taking trips that are also adventures. Two really stand out to me, because of trips I've done.
We are planning on canoeing the Allagash Wilderness Waterway as a family.
All of my Deerfoot friends who did this trip know that it is awesome. There are sweet rapids:
Waterfalls:
Moose, Osprey, Bald Eagles, and tons of great river paddling. It is an awesome, and pretty chill, as far as backcountry tips go, trip that we really, really want to do as a family. This will probably be our first BFA.
Once our boys (we are having all boys, didn't you know that yet?) have some Deerfoot seasoning, we are going to embark on a slightly more gnarly BFA: A thru-hike of Vermont's Long Trail.
Crap. This is what the thru-hike looks like:
The long trail is a couple of hundred miles long, and follows the ridgeline of the Green Mountains through Vermont. I spent 10 days leading a truly amazing and truly awful hike on the Long Trail the first summer Shelley and I were dating, in which I received a 3 scroll, and I do mean SCROLL letter on my birthday, hiked during seven consecutive days of near continuous rain, and lost 20 lbs.
Hiking the Long Trail is the world's best weight-loss plan.
The Long Trail is kind of awesome: Moose Poop, amazing shelters, some incredible views, and the steepest and least sustainable trails you could possibly imagine. This trail must be commenced before the Ornery Dogs are too old for the activity. This might be one that we do over multiple summers, a week at a time.
What inspired me on my trip was seeing a father out hiking with his 4 year old daughter. They were on a multi-day hike, and they went about 7 miles a day, all at the little girls pace. Daddy carried everything, and they seemed to be having a blast.
Of all the dreams I have for activities with our family, these are two that I really cherish. I know that some of my most formative and memorable experiences have come in the woods, my many summers at Deerfoot, the awesome hiking trip I took with my Dad in the Adirondack High Peaks the summer I turned 16, Thanksgiving Break "Slackpacker" trips with college friends, and awesome winter hiking trips where I almost died and nearly froze.
Writing this to-do list reminds me of why I went to law school, and the real focus of this blog: Living a life that is truly full. Adventure is something that my soul needs. Sharing adventures with my family is something I can't wait to start.
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