I realize this post is pretty far removed from the original question, but I have a few ideas to offer. Two years ago my wife, myself, and my 6 year old son (almost 7) hiked into the scapegoat wilderness near the Bob. This was the first hike for any of us into the area, so I researched as much as I could about what to expect from our son. My BIGGEST concern is the presence of grizzlies in that country, and the general sense I got from online research about taking young children into grizzly country. Needless to say, we prepared as best as we could and went anyway.

As far as the age goes, we went 7 miles that first day, and it was a fairly relaxed pace - that is, a family pace. Our son hiked as expected- complaining at first, enjoying for a while, wanting a break every 10 minutes. We kept setting goals for a break and pushing on, and he would fade in and out of outdoor excitement and longing for the TV. But he kept up. He wasn't carrying much that year (a light pack, water, raingear, a stuffed animal, and a book; probably about 6 lbs). Those 7 miles took us a good part of the day due to rest breaks, but we reached our destination. At this point in his backpacking life, I think 7 miles is about the extent we would have attempted, and it required lots of stops to look at butterflies in horse manure, take pictures, and take in calories. NOTE that our hike (Hobnail Tom Trail) was pretty flat for the duration, and there is no way we could have attempted that mileage with altitude gain.

To date, I still haven't made an "official" trip into the Bob. This is not from lack of desire, but because most trips I've read about seem outside the ability of my son. Most trips into the Bob that have any particular goal in mind are very long trips (with kids), and we haven't been able to plan more than a three-nighter so far. Again, judge for yourself the risks of taking children into grizzly country, and take appropriate precautions if you do (we would clap loudly as a group every few minutes if we couldn't see far ahead; a good learning opportunity for kids about bear safety).

Last year we made a trip into the Jewel Basin (again, just outside the Bob). Awesome trip!!! Only a couple of miles or so per day, but with an elevation gain this time. Our son responded to this trip about the same as the the year before, which was fine (he was almost 8 at this point). We only added a little more to his pack, and he did well (considering my wife and I were carrying all of his gear). He had some conditioning before this, with some harder day hikes prior to the trip. But each hike received the same response (grumble, grumble, grumble, bug!, play, rest!, food, grumble, flower, grumble, rest! water, scat!, etc.). My best recommend is to take a light digital camera and have the kids take pictures along the way. It's a fun diversion, a way to impress upon children the importance of looking at their surroundings, and often the best pictures from the trip are the ones the children take.

I've been looking at various hikes into the Bob this year, and I'm not sure it's going to happen. Personally, I'm all about death marches, but not with kids. Nobody wins when the kids aren't having fun. I like to use the limited vacation time I have to hike places I've never been, and with FEW exceptions there aren't a lot of trips into the Bob that I would take my son that wouldn't be a death march at his age, or take more time than I have available. Even close to 9, I don't think he's ready. Instead, I'm just going to add weight to his pack (he's carrying his own sleeping bag from now on). Right now, I would rather see him carry more weight (about 10 lbs +) and hike shorter trips than push him to walk farther.

Each child is different, so plan around their temperament. I am starting to know how far I can push/coax my son and still make it family fun. Personally, I don't think short trips make it automatically better because my son gets his second wind at about 3 miles, so why not take advantage of it. Ten miles a day for a ten year old might be OK. Ten miles in one day for a seven year old might be reasonable, but consider the terrain. I would not advise consecutive days of hiking like this unless the child insists (even then, parents have to assess what their kids are capable of, and be willing to set up camp a few miles short of any goal on a map).