This blog has been hiatus for the last year and a lot has happened in that time- Chloe and Kurt went off to travel the world (last seen somewhere in Hungary?) and Courtney and I have a little one to haul around now!

We were hesitant about getting back into backcountry camping with an infant- we did a few experiments with some easier trips first (including a stay at the Elk Island oTENTiks) before taking the leap back in.

For our first trip out we wanted something easy and familiar, so we went back to Kinney Lake on the Berg Lake trail. It’s a short and relatively flat hike in (7km with only 130m gain) with a trail wide enough for the hiking stroller, with a beautiful little campsite and lake at the end.

The way in was easy, mainly because of the secondhand hiking stroller that we were lucky enough to be gifted- a Thule Chariot 2 with the jogging kit front wheel attachment for getting over rocks and roots on the trail. Our son, Jamie, rode comfortably and happily even though we’d overloaded his stroller with everything our new-parent-paranoia made us think we could ever need… (we’d joked about bringing a cast-iron pan in the stroller to cook breakfast on and I’m glad we didn’t- there were still a few hills and switchbacks to push that thing up.)

Dinner was a pretty simple variation on a backpacker.com recipe- we just swapped angel hair pasta for the faster cooking time, and added bits of dried tomatoes and jerky for additional flavour and protein. It’s quick and easy, and the homemade pesto is better than any prepackaged stuff you might pick up at the store!

We couldn’t have asked for a better first trip and introduction to family backcountry camping.. we’re planning our next trip!

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Angel Hair Pasta & Pesto

Adapted from Backpacker.com’s Rustic Pesto and Bowtie Pasta

Meal: Dinner

Serves: 2

Home Prep Time: 5 minutes

Camp Cook Time: 5 minutes

Calories Total: 688 (+200 if you add jerky)

Calories Per Serving: 344 (+100 with jerky)

Weight Total: 280g  (+50 for jerky)

Weight Per Serving: 140g

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tb. dried basil
• 2 tb. pine nuts, finely chopped
• 2 tb. sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tb. olive oil
• 1/4 package angel hair pasta
• 2 garlic cloves (optional)
• Shredded jerky (optional)

Gear:

• 1 pot

At Home:

Mix all dried ingredients and pour olive oil into a small travel bottle.

At Camp:

Place pasta in a pot, add water and bring to a boil. Cook until al dente. Drain off all but 1/2 cup of water. If using, mash garlic cloves with a fork. Add all ingredients to pasta and stir with reserved cooking water.