Wakazoo Trail | Backpacking in Allegan County, Michigan
We went impromptu backpacking! We didn’t want to go too far, and we knew it couldn’t be too long. Our first anniversary trip had kicked us in the butt so we knew this trail had to be short and sweet. Charlie found Wakazoo Trail on his All Trails app, was 15 miles long, and there was a campsite in the middle - perfect! Let’s get packing.
This was a two day trip from October 28th 2020 - October 29th 2020, so just at the end of peak fall colors in southwest Michigan. This was only our second backpacking trip, but we knew what to do this time. We spend a few weekends earlier practicing at our local parks to build our endurance. We figured out that it was best if Charlie carried the main equipment while I packed the food and clothes in our Osprey Child Carrier. We also learned we couldn’t go nearly as far as we thought we could… So we dropped the tent off at the campsite ahead of time and parked near the trailhead at the DNR headquarters and headed on our small, 15 mile, backpacking trip.
Day 1
We love stocking up on backpacking meals, making our own, and having snacks handy. A growing toddler and a breastfeeding mama means we need to have a lot of calories while we exercise! Having a variety of snacks handy is also a good way to keep a toddler entertained in the pack, just have a carabiner and a kids snack cup clipped to the pack for easy snacking.
She always had to bring Elmo with her everywhere, so of course he came with us on this trip. He kept her entertained back there for a while too, or she’d hand him up to be to pretend play. I would pretend to tell Elmo everything I was seeing while hiking, this helps build language skills!
Temperatures started to drop as we got closer to nightfall, so we had to stop for a diaper change and layer swap. we had her dressed in long sleeves and pants underneath this fleece suit, but then we added her snowsuit and used my fuzzy socks to keep her feet warm. The fuzzy socks were supposed to be my bed socks, but I’ll share!
We finally arrived at camp around 8pm, where we could move our sleepy hiker into the comfort of a sleeping bag. This trip was before we invested in our backpacking sleeping bags (one of the reasons we dropped the tent & gear off first). So if you are new to backpacking and don’t have all the ‘proper’ gear yet, there are ways to still get out! The night was chilly after we relaxed from our hike. But we enjoyed a fire and some dinner (chicken curry with spinach, pineapple, and coconut) before joining her in the tent.
Day 2
Time to head back to the car! We were all out of the tent by 8:30 am. While Charlie makes breakfast, I break down camp to be packed back away in the backpack. After our first trip, we learned that we didn’t need to each have a meal. So we all shared a hearty bag of buttermilk biscuits and gravy. I made myself a coffee and enjoyed sipping that while we began our hike. Since our coffee cups just clip onto our bags, it’s super easy to clip it up when I’m done! But having that cup of coffee to warm you up on a chilly October morning was bliss.
Our hike back wasn’t too long, but the trail did become less clear and not well marked. Much of the time we ended up following the equestrian trial back to the car. We arrived at the car a little after 1 and snacked on a fruit bowl while unwinding and loading the car. Afterwards, we have a little tradition of finding the nearest drive-in (preferably a local business) and indulging after burning all those calories! We stopped at Corky’s Drive-In and enjoyed a grilled cheese, corn dog, cheese fries, hot dogs, and a big bowl of dessert. I think Evelyn’s face explains how excited we all were!
What’s your favorite post-trip tradition?