We are not far away from our first major family hiking trip (Yuraygir Coastal Track) and I just realised that if you see us on the trail you may indeed think we are 'those people'. You know the ones that do crazy things like hike with shopping bags, or in jeans.
I am taking 3 adults, 4 kids (3,5,7,9), and a breastfeeding mother (albeit, she is the car support) on a 10-day hiking trip.
Add to this, my husband and I, when deciding on a hiking tent upgrade, decided that, since I am pregnant again, overnight hikes are really off the agenda for another couple of years. So we opted for a cheaper car tent - a great little Coleman's pop up tent. That thing goes up in 4 seconds, and takes an entire 15seconds to pack up again.... but it is circular when packed, and about 90cm in diameter.
Not a problem except I realised that our first night is going to be an overnight hike! So that will be us on the trail, walking in with a 3year old, and a circular dome tent tied to the OUTSIDE of my pack

. I can already hear the thoughts as hikers walk past us, thinking we are attempting the entire track like that!!
It is not as crazy as it sounds I am sure.... I hope. (For the record, we are doing the track over 10-days instead of 4-days, and spending every other night in a caravan park with car support).