I know… the Boys and their antics can sometimes emulate immature, role bound guy shenanigans. … but, wait. They, do demonstrate glimmers of maturity and they do have a contemporary value for family backpacking. They've hike and backpacked with their children a number of times! They cook, they clean, they parent, they bandage bruised knees and even have learned to tolerate those occasions when children return to camp covered in pond-muck from head to toe and there's not a stitch of dry clothes to be found… but, hike with woman? Yes. Now… with woman. High Altitude Joe would be accompanied by his sons… and wife.

Always pushing the guy-envelope, a family backpacking trip was scheduled for early September. Family number #1 included High Altitude Joe, his wife (I'll Go If You Carry A Cot For Me To Sleep On Stephanie), and his two adolescent sons (Z and N). The couple tag-teamed the responsibility for cooking Saturday night's dinner as a trial run for dehydrated meals High Altitude might prepare for the Boys in the future. As all Chef DeBoot Wanna-Bes learn… the successful trail for backcountry gourmet dining is most often fraught with hazardous detours.

The learning curve to emulate Chef DeBoot Blister is both large and difficult to train for. Preparing at home and then cooking dehydrated backcountry cuisine in the field is some-part-skill, some-part-intuition and some-part-luck. The chef must be clever and witty to overcome and compensate for that inevitable variable(s) who's only mission is to challenge the steadfastness of the chef's ability to maintain control over his meal. For the cooking duo of JoeZeppy and StephZeppy, they were immediately indoctrinated into Chef DeBoot Blister's Institute of Dehydrated Gourmet Backcountry Meals the moment they threw out their first batch of cooked and then dehydrated Curried Chicken - it passed the "Would We Get Sick If We Ate This Meal While Camping" test.

Family number #2 consisted of Who's Got the Dog Dewallis, his son (It Wasn't My Fault I Fell In the Pond Muck Neil) and their puffy, little, white cotton ball dog (Spot the Dog #2). Trying to recapture his youthful hiking experiences with "Spot the Dog #1" while in graduate school, DeWallis was excited to again be hiking-with-dog… accompanied by his son jettisoned his trip from great to fantastic!

Family number #3 included "g" (vacationing from culinary responsibility on this trip) and his two daughters (Did the Mesopotaian's Hike Like Us Abbe and I Bet I Can Prevent Spot-the-Dog's Feet From Ever Touching the Ground On This 2-Day Trip Sarah). "g's" family was decked-out for backpacking. New packs, sleeping bags the size of quarters, Cliff Bars, 6-pounds of sour gummy worms for the girls, and camp stools for all (1-lb./2-oz. each) made them the quintessential backpacking family… at least in theory.

With weather forecasting that predicted a 40% chance of thunderstorms all weekend, the Boys agreed to consult by phone at 0600 on Saturday. Lengthy and mostly groggy dialogue between Joe and "g" resulted in a mutual decision to cancel the trip due to anticipated thunderstorms all weekend. However, when "g" called DeWallis about their decision, he was confronted with DeWallis' Optimism, "Weather.com is forecasting only a 40% chance of thunderstorms every hour for the next 24 hours! That's barely a chance of rain at all!"

So… first Joe and "g" were not going. Then "g" and DeWallis were going but not Joe. Then Joe's son N decided to go with Dewallis, his son and Spot the Dog #2. Finally, Joe and Cot Woman decided to go if N was going. By 0615 it was as originally planned. They were all going - maybe. (Whew.)

Obviously, nothing is easy for the Boys. DeWallis would be coaching his son's soccer team until 1100 hours and would not be able to begin the 1-hr./45-min drive to the High Peak Region until about 1130 hours. A new plan was hatched. High Altitude and his family, and "g" and his daughters, would caravan to Keene and meet DeWallis at 1345 hours by the Noon-Mark Diner. While in Keene, "g" would sample the Mountaineer's selection of ultra-light, down sleeping bags for which he was prepared to purchase one on the spot. They would have lunch and later be joined by DeWallis. Collectively they'd drive to the trailhead at the ADK LOJ.

As with all adventures underwritten by the Boys…this trip was spectacular. Although "g" did not purchase a new ultra-light sleeping bag, he did order one from the Mountaineer in Keene two days later. JoeZeppy and StephZeppy's dehydrated Curried Chicken dinner was a meal that even Chef DeBoot would have been proud to call his own. The Ranger making his rounds did allow the 9 of them to remain a group at one campsite - despite the fact that their party was one hiker over the limit. The rain did come, but for only 45-minutes at 1700 hours - they barely stayed dry because DeWallis's tarp had about 25 holes in it. Ultimately, the trip was another success. Full of surprises, laughs, no bears, and the kids all had a blast. (There was even a woman onboard and it went really, really well!)