new here

Hey, Jade- Your post doesn't indicate where you live, so we can't advise you as to whether or not there are trails close to you.   I personally would probably not take a 2 and 6 YO backpacking any distance by myself.  It was hard enough to take children that young camping and sightseeing.  I am picturing my niece and nephew close to that age, each trying to go in different directions as we looked over a rather nice viewpoint somewhere in California.  My then younger than middle-school youngest son was with me for that trip.  With a second adult, MAYBE I'd go for a short backpack in a familar area.  One hears of too many lost kids who wandered away when the parents were distracted for a few minutes. I'm also guessing that you are female by your E-mail address.  There are some women-specific lists where you can find more ideas and guidance.  Let me know if you are interested. Cheers! Rosaleen new here
    Posted by: "starryeyedsophia" [email protected] starryeyedsophia
    Date: Fri Aug 3, 2012 9:13 am ((PDT))
 
Hi all, I'm new to the group and new to backpacking as well.  I grew up camping and hiking just not really together. I've been slowly getting gear and really want to go backpacking but now that I'm looking at sites, there seems to be NOTHING around me. The closest I've seen is several hours and I'm not sure if there's much there to even see. So, I was wondering, on average, how long and how often are your trips? How far do you have to travel to get there? 
 
I'm starting school in a few weeks (as is my daughter) so I'd really only have the weekends to go right, but it seems a long way to drive for just a night or two. 
 
Also, if you have kids at what age did you start taking them backpacking. (I have an almost 2 year old and a 6 year old). I've read alot of varying things online but would love some personal experiences/opinions on that.
 
Thanks for any input I appreciate it. I'm having a hard time meeting anyone in my area interested in backpacking to discuss it with.
 
Jade