Sore.

The Boy and I went backpacking this weekend. Awesome. It was a 10 mile loop with a back country campsite at the half way point. I forgot to take a camera, so the only photos I took were with my cell phone camera. I'll put up a picture of the boy fully loaded once I get it off my camera.

I rented a kids backpack at REI that was so close to small enough for The Boy. I thought about buying it, but figured we should rent it first and see how it went. I'm glad I rented first. He is so skinny that it was really tough to get it to sit properly on his hips. As a result, we were constantly tweaking the adjustments trying to move the load onto his legs, and not his shoulders/back. Plus the padding at the back of the hip belt didn't work right on his short torso. The stay sort of dug into his bum, and really started to bother him after about three miles on the hike back. He needs to grow a bit (maybe an 1" in his torso and 2" around the waist) before this pack will fit him properly. If anybody knows of a rucksack with a proper hip belt that can fit a small child (11.5" torso), let me know.

His pack was 10 lbs. My pack was about 35 lbs. So by pack/body weight ratio, he worked harder than I did by just a bit. We both made it all the way. Go us. The weather couldn't have been better. It was spectacularly dark (no moon), and cool enough to sleep comfortably at night. The tent was really roomy with just the two of us.

So, now we are both home, and my legs are sore. I was surprised at how much effort it took.

In other news, my two week trip to Switzerland/England went well. Going back to Sheffield was a bit strange. Kind of like that feeling you get when you would go home after being at college all year. Sort of a "yeah, this is my other home" feeling. I closed my UK bank account. I think that was my last solid tie of residency. I did some walking in The Peaks and bouldering at The Climbing Works. The Climbing Works rocks, and I wish it were in St. Louis.