Thru-Hiking the Long Trail with the Krebs Family: Q&A

Dad Matt Krebs and kids Charlie (16), Ruth (14), and Joe (8) thru-hiked the Long Trail over 27 days in July and August, 2021. The family recounted their adventure — from planning meals and food drops to suffering through mud to memorable summits and accomplishments — in a virtual presentation to a GMC audience on January 20, 2022. Thru-hiking with family, especially kids of varying abilities and ages, is no joke. So here Matt and crew answer some of your pressing questions about thru-hiking as a family.

Questions about Thru-Hiking with Family

1. Question: Did you all share one tent? Did you ever have trouble sleeping? 
   1. Yes, the Krebs spent most nights all sharing one tent, a four-person Tarptent model that weighs about four pounds. Matt and wife Alyssa bought it many years ago when Charlie and Ruth were very young. They stayed in shelters occasionally, but only if other hikers weren’t around. “Covid was still a concern, since at that time Joe wasn’t old enough to be vaccinated,” said Matt. And as four people, they were aware of how much space they might take up in a shelter. The kids rarely had trouble sleeping though. “I think we were just so exhausted from hiking every day, we slept really well,” says Ruth. Matt adds, “They had no trouble falling asleep. I was sitting awake with achy feet and ankles and knees, as I’m getting older, watching them sleep soundly.”

1. Question: How bad were the bugs? Did all the rain you experienced make them worse?
   1. “It really wasn’t that bad. We timed our trip to avoid the spring black flies, and bugs weren’t really a factor,” says Charlie. “We did have quite a few bee stings!” adds Joe. Black flies in Vermont are typically quite bad in June, but by late July and August, bugs become more background nuisances. Hikers should expect mosquitos and ticks on any hike, and take proper precautions.

1. Question: It rained a lot this summer, especially in the first half of the Krebs’ hike. What rain gear and rain precautions did you use that worked well?
   1. “The trail was so muddy that our feet became saturated to the point that the mud penetrated through our shoes and socks. It acted like sandpaper on our feet, especially on Joe’s. So I texted my wife and she suggested putting Joe’s feet in plastic bags to keep them on away,” explains Matt. This turned out to be a sound solution. “In fact, we all wore plastic bags on our feet at some point along the trail,” says Charlie.

      

      Our other strategy was not to hike in anything when it was raining, to try to keep things dry. “Usually we didn’t hike in our raincoats because you sweat and then it would get wet on inside and that kind of defeats the point,” said Ruth. So they’d hike in minimal hiking clothes, shoes, and socks. “Then when we got to camp we’d lay everything out to dry,” said Charlie. This strategy, in addition to waterproof pack covers and storing sleeping bags in plastic trash bags, did a decent job keeping things dry during the rain.
      For more inside tips from End-to-Enders, check out the End-to-Ender Q&A Part 1 and Part 2.

2. Question: While thru-hiking with family, did the kids (or dad!) ever squabble on the trail?
   1. Of course, is the answer. “We’d occasionally get in arguments, like a normal family,” explains Ruth. “It was usually pretty nice because we could walk ahead or walk behind, take a break from that person, and it would usually blow over pretty quickly.”
      “As a parent, I especially noticed, the kids would, if they got frustrated or something, they would separate out, and then come back together, which was nicer than when you’re kind of trapped at home, like in the wintertime when it’s cold, and you can’t get out. So it really did allow for that. And when we did argue or have disagreements, you know, it was we were in the middle of the woods. And we sounded like a freight train coming down the trail anyway, just talking. So we sort of think we scared everything away. That was in our path. So that was that was just a, you know, another part of it,” adds Matt.

1. Question: What were some of your favorite meals on trail? Alternatively, was there some trail food that you ate too much of and will  never bring on another hiking trip? 
   1. “SNICKERS, definitely. Love Snickers bars.” — Ruth. “Okay, for some reason, I do not like Snickers.” — Joe. So there were plenty of treats, from M & Ms to Skittles to popsicles and other candy.
      Charlie: “I liked the breakfasts we packed. It was just granola and powdered milk. But that really grew on me. It wasn’t super special, but it was nice to have.” For dinner, the Krebs had mostly pre-packaged freeze-dried meals. Joe wasn’t the biggest fan, but they were warm and satisfying — meals like chicken and dumplings or mac ‘n’ cheese hit the spot after a long day.

1. Question: While thru-hiking as a family, what is something you each learned about yourself on the trip?
   1. Charlie: “It’s a whole month in the woods and you with three other people. So we ended up with a lot of hiking alone time and I figured out that quiet time is really valuable to me. So sometimes, like you’re at home, and you get caught up in everything going on, and especially in a pretty busy house, you don’t really get that all the time.”
   2. Ruth: “I guess I learned just how much you can work out in the woods. Like if you have like arguments in your family, you can have one on one time with them and talk it out, and it’s a little easier [than real life]. And mentally, I’m really proud that I did it. The whole thing is pretty cool back on.”
   3. Joe: “I don’t know!”
   4. Matt: “For me, I tend to be a planner, and I did a lot of planning for this trip. I was much more worried about making sure that everything worked out well for the kids, and I learned that I really can let that go a little bit more then I thought. I can have more patience and flexibility around how it would go for the kids. An example for me was on one of the really pouring rain days. We had hiked in the rain before, but we had purposely tried to avoid super miserable scenarios so the kids wouldn’t have a negative association with hiking. So I was like, ‘Oh boy, this is going to be a nightmare, because it’s pouring and muddy and miserable.’ And as I’m thinking the thoughts, Charlie turned around to me and said, ‘This is awesome.’ And that just totally helped relax me and it really was refreshing from that perspective.”

Matt’s not joking about being a planner. He has generously shared the following resources to help others plan gear, itineraries, and other logistics of a thru-hike. Feel free to download these spreadsheets and modify them for your own purposes.

• Sample Itinerary
• Sample Group and Personal Gear List
• Sample Group Food List and Resupply Plan 

Getting started hiking with kids?

Amy Potter, GMC’s Visitor Center manager, suggests starting small and picking a trail that suits your ability, with lots of kid-friendly distractions. As a brand-new parent, Amy says “The biggest piece of advice I can give is to just hike as long as it’s fun. Sometimes you may have to quit early. Being flexible is important, but the infant stage can be a great time to adventure as most babies under a year aren’t walking and just enjoy being carried around. The caregivers are usually the limiting factor when choosing where and how far to hike, so take advantage of this moment to enjoy time with your baby out on the trails.”

Toddlers can be a handful, of course. Alicia DiCocco says, “if there is a sudden lack of interest on the trail, I try to distract them by asking if they can find the next blaze or ask them what shape leaves they see. Typically, within a few seconds, they have totally forgotten that they were whining, which really was only happening because they are a toddler, not because they were hiking.”

Read more on hiking with babies, toddlers, and kiddos. If you start early and aim to keep hiking fun and flexible, you may find yourself with school-age or teenage children who are excited to tackle an overnight backpacking trip with you. And remember, it’s never too late!