Hiking in the Middle of Nowhere.

Last night I thought of hiking when I was a teenager living in Australia.  My father had heard about this cool hike just a few miles inland.  We didn't have much money so my dad made our backpacks out of wood, canvas and cup hooks. 

The backpack was heavy to start with so with all the gear, it ended up weighing quite a bit and was not comfortable at all.  I don't think it had much built in padding so we used bits of clothing here and there to make it more comfortable to wear.

It was a beautiful hike but at 16 I did not appreciate everything.  I was kind of lazy so I complained about the backpack and how heavy it was.  You know the usual things a teenager complains about.  I will say, it was easier on me than my siblings because I didn't need to fix my hair every morning so it was perfect.

That was the same trip we took an old fashioned canvas tent that was heavy and a pain.  It was no where as nice as the ones today.  If I remember, my dad carried the tent, my mom got hers and his sleeping bags and each kid had to carry their own.  We also spread the canned food around (dried food was harder to get) so people carried about the same amount of weight. 

Its kind of funny but if I took that trip today, I think I would enjoy it a lot more.  Another time, I'll tell you about the kangaroos and the emeralds.