Thank you all for the advice. I took the plunge earlier today and notified the Mrs. that I intend to take our son for his first overnight backpacking trip (in truth, I did it via email to be safe). Needless to say, she will be less than pleased and her response will be something along the lines of "bring my son home, then you can STAY in the woods"...tempting...

now to find the right location for a short distance, fun/activity filled trip...