Kieran,

A hearty O - H ! from the opposite side of the "Heart of it all".

You're in a tough situation, and I don't envy you. But I'm glad you and your wife have decided to push through it rather than just live with it.

You said you're a former backpacker - I know what that's like! I have a son 6-1/2 and a daughter 3-1/2, so I'm feeling my way back into it, too.

That said, have you and your wife done any previous backpacking together? If I read between the lines, your wife's MS is classified benign or relapsing. Either way, you are going to have to put her health and safety first and foremost, irregardless of "best intentions" and your (joint) dedication towards spending time with your son outdoors.

From a practical standpoint, I'd start lots of dayhikes with overnight campouts at the local state parks - and there are lots in your area:

Ohio State Parks

Some of your local parks - Punderson, for example - will offer a good length of day-hiking, but will also allow you to establish a "home base" to return to. Obviously you won't be able to squat and camp alongside the trail. But unless you're planning to hike in southern Ohio, there really isn't anywhere nearby to do that. I don't know about PA.

If you haven't visited or joined the Buckeye Trail association here they have detailed section maps of your area, but not much of an on-line presence.

I'm hesitant about your load distribution, but you and your wife know her capabilities better than anyone else. I'd be more focused on the bulk she is carrying. Two sleeping pads may be light, but are going to be a bulky load in a daypack with the additional food and toiletries, etc. That's going to add up pretty quickly, and my experience with daypacks is that they are heavy on shoulder weight and not too good about transferring weight to the hips.

As far as pack size, most posts I've seen here state to buy all of your gear first, then the pack. I'll add this: check sprawl-mart for those big, plastic containers with a lid. Buy a couple of sizes and stuff all of your gear inside. The volume on the label of the container is listed in dry quarts...multiply by 67.2. The answer is the total cubic inches you will need...with consideration for larger objects (ie tent roll with poles, etc).

I have a thread just down a few posts considering water quality in Ohio. A UV purifier is not going to adequately address the amount of pesticides and herbicides present in the water supply of the Ohio watershed.

As to your family situation, you'll need to feel your way through this, I suspect. Obviously, I'm not trying to suggest that she is completely decrepid and you are flogging her up the trail! But I tend to err on the side of caution - hence the extra pounds I never can seem to shed from my pack (tent repair kit - who else carries those things, anyway?). But if it were my wife, and she had never been backpacking before, I wouldn't want her to carry anything other than a pocket first-aid kit and a Camelbak.

Good luck,

Andy

ps - if you have to list "clothes" in your gear list, you're carrying too many. lol