It's been a long time since I've gone backpacking with any of the kids, and this fall it's Nick's turn to enjoy the great outdoors with his grizzly dad. We're headed to a new hike for me out in Sequoia National Park. We drove out early in hopes of getting a permit for one of the nicer areas. We decided on the Lakes Trail route out to Alta Peak for the first night, then over to Pear Lakes for the second night. It was a dusty hike with a good amount of climbing, up through Panther Gap and on to Mehrten Meadow. Unfortunately I didn't anticipate that Nick might get hit with altitude issues, so we took it easy and setup camp in the Meadow. It was a tough night for him getting up every hour or so.