I backpack with youth a lot. Boys and girls. It’s neat to see when the girls stop worrying about makeup and just live with dirt.

I’m making this long story short: Our oldest daughter didn’t want to backpack. Back when she was 16, she found out this cute boy was going on our backpacking trip. She asked some other girls if they wanted to go; and they did. We had 6 adult chaperones and a lengthy trip planned. The cute boy said “Girls are coming? Oh man, they’re going to slow us down!” Daughter heard it. That’s all she needed to get fully invigorated. She made a silent resolve that she will be at the front the whole way. I’m a 2mph hiker but that trip became a 3mph hike (sometimes 4)! Ouch. She led. She had the lead walkie talkie with GPS capability so we could track her. Sometimes she was 1 mile ahead!

Anyway, us adults were sore, not being used to that speed- and other issues that came up.

But my daughter constantly talks about that trip more than any others today. I guess she talks about it at work, because they gave her a ‘hiking’ t-shirt on her birthday.

Good luck. Pray for insight. Nothing wrong with enticements to do good (I don’t call it bribery).I get most my inspiration out in the woods.

-Barry