Two things I love are my kids and bikepacking, combining the two is both challenging and rewarding, which sums up parenthood quite succinctly. I know the value that comes from time in the natural world, exploring it and yourself, and I feel the calling to pass that along to my children. I also want to help other parents get their kiddos in the great outdoors and I’ve been hatching a plan to lead a group ride for families in 2022. Before embarking on this trip with a large group we thought it would be a good idea to do a test run first, so I gathered a few friends and we headed out on an exploratory trip.
The Crew
The first challenge of kidpacking is finding other parents with the same interest, gear, and age appropriate children to go adventuring with. I extended an invitation to a few friends who fit the bill, but only one other family was able to make it on this trip.
Vince and Michelle Colvin and their daughter Charlotte, who is 3.5, joined me, Sarah, Lyla 12, and Sloane, 5. I know Vince through CHUMBA, but this would be our first time to get the whole crew together. This would be Charlotte and Lylas first bikepacking trip. Sloane and I were the “veteran kidpackers” in the group because we did a trip last year. I wrote about it in a post titled Kidpacking in the Magical Forest. That trip was a huge success and really opened my eyes to the idea of creating a larger event centered around kids.
I was happy to have this small and capable crew on the first go of this new route.
The Plan
Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway is located West of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, which happens to be exactly 3.5 hours from The Colvin Crew and us, even though we live in different parts of the state. From TPWD, “The Trailway is 20 miles long and 10 feet wide. Two miles of surface from the downtown Mineral Wells trailhead toward the east are asphalt. Finely crushed and screened limestone tops the remaining 18 miles. The 16 bridges have decks and rails for safety. The Trailway’s 500-foot signature bridge allows safe travel over U.S. Highway 180. The bridge, adorned with 104 Lone Stars, meets Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.”
Because the State Park is situated on the route, and not at the end, bikepackers have two options. Park in Weatherford and ride to the Park, 14 miles. Or you can park at the Mineral Wells Trail Head which is a 6 mile ride, but to get to our campsite was actually closer to 8 miles. Because we want this to be super kid friendly we elected to take the shorter route starting in Mineral Wells.
The Park is also well known for being a climbing destination in Texas, which are somewhat few and far between. The Colvin’s are climbers and volunteered to bring the necessary gear to let the kids do some climbing if they wanted to.
The Prep
For our crew the plan was for Lyla and I to ride the tandem and Sarah would pull Sloane on the trailer bike. We intended to make this a proper bikepacking trip and carry all of the gear needed. Although I did plan to drop off a cooler and firewood at camp first because no one should take kidpacking too seriously. However, once it came to actually putting everything needed I quickly discovered one of the first challenges to Kidpacking, getting ALL the gear and your kids on the bikes. My front harness wasn’t the right size to fit the bars of the tandem, there wasn’t enough saddle clearance on either bike, no framebags fit, etc etc. It highlighted how difficult it actually is to take kids bikepacking. I’d like to think I’ve got a healthy supply of bikepacking gear, maybe more than most, and I wasn’t able to make it work with what I had. So when we do this event for real, we will be offering a shuttle for gear and folks will be able to carry their gear or have it shuttled for them. Both are totally awesome!
The kidpacking award on this trip goes to Vince. This was his first time kidpacking and he wanted to challenge himself to see how much gear he could carry. He not only carried all that was needed for camping but he also carried everything we needed to go rock climbing the next day. I wouldn’t be surprised if his whole setup was 100 lbs. Not to be left out, Michelle was also carrying all of her own gear and could have carried more, but Vince wanted to push the limits of what his rig and legs were capable of. I gotta admit, I was impressed!
The Trip
We arrived at the Mineral Wells Trailhead at noon and the weather was a perfect 70º with blue skies and puffy white clouds. Everyone’s spirits were running high with excitement and we were about to hit the trail when a bee stung Charlotte on the hand. You’d barely know it, but for the lone tear that ran down her cheek. She handled it better than a lot of adults I’ve seen. Thanks to Sarah’s preparedness with a safety kit, Charlotte got the antihistamine she needed and we were on our way! The pace was slow and the conversations were made more pleasant by the backdrop of kids chattering and laughing.
The route passes through neighborhoods in Mineral Wells, then behind industrial buildings, before you’re surrounded by a more rural setting. The path was a little rougher in spots than expected, but I still wouldn’t classify it as rough, and we had no problems with the trail conditions. That is until we got about halfway into our ride we across a bridge that was Closed! I had told the park ranger what our plans were earlier that day and they didn’t mention this, but this is why they call it an adventure! We were able to find a work around, but I strongly encourage anyone to call the park office prior to attempting this route and inquiring about trail conditions, especially the bridges!
The rest of the ride went smoothly and was an absolute pleasure. Vinces’ monster kidpacking rig was doing beautifully, the kids were having a great time, and so were the adults. One of the highlights for me was going over a highway on a dedicated bridge for the trailway, which feeds you into a nice descent that’s fast and fun. The ride ends with a somewhat big climb (for this part of Texas) that actually has a few switchbacks, pretty much unheard off here! In the park the views of Mineral Wells Lake are lovely, you actually get to ride across the dam to get to camp, which was a really fun experience on the bikes. We rented a shelter on the lake just in case we got bad weather, but we all elected to sleep outside.
The evening was relaxing, we had nothing planned other than setting up camp, feeding kids, taking kids to the bathroom, teaching the kids about gathering firewood, more potty breaks, and of course hot dogs and smores roasted over a campfire. I’d say we were all feeling so jolly at one point we sang christmas songs, it was great!
The next day Vince and Michelle took us all rock climbing. This was our first time at the park and we didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I think we were all pleasantly surprised by the unique rock formations that were carved out over 250 million years ago. It was the perfect outdoor playground and again, spirits were high. After surveying and discussing several route options Vince and Michelle agreed on a route and they got to work setting up all the gear. This was all about the kids and we started from youngest to oldest. Charlotte was first, this would be her second climb on an outdoor rock wall. She approached the wall with confidence, she showed me her muscles and a big smile. Her parents were careful to get her in all the safety gear and then walk Charlotte through the entire process. She climbed the wall well until she was satisfied and then she worked on repelling back down.
It went like this for Sloane and Lyla as well. Each time Vince and Michelle took care to make sure they were safe and comfortable with the process. Each of them were able to climb and come away with a positive experience. I can tell you from the ride home that both my girls said that rock climbing was their favorite part of the trip. So thank you Vince for carrying all that gear!!
After the kids had their fill, I gave it a go. I was able to climb higher than I expected, but didn’t quite make the top, but it was still a huge adrenaline rush. I can see why people do it! Michelle also did her first sport climb, which was fun to watch. She cleaned it with ease and looked like a total pro.
After climbing we had lunch and then it was time to ride the 8 miles back to our cars and make the drive home.
The weather could not have been better, nor could the company or the route.
Conclusion
Ten out of Ten, would do again tomorrow!
Does this sound like fun? Would you like to join Bikes or Death on a kidpacking adventure next year? Let us know in the comment section below! Also, tell us what your biggest fear or barrier to entry is to go kidpacking!
