Thank you all for your feedback and thoughts. I really appreciate how generous you've been with your time in replying to me, with your feedback and suggestions.
I take on board that it's not everyone's cup of tea, hiking with a baby. And that it's going to be tough.
I am doing training towards it, overnight and multi-day hikes with my daughter in Victoria. I am not planning on going from nothing to a 6 day hike.
My daughter actually loves being in the WE Wildchild backpack. She sits up high in it, the view is above my head, and she claps her hands and enjoys it. I talk to her while she's in the backpack about the different sights and point out things to her. We sing songs. She can get stroppy on occasion, and I am sensitive to her and can stop to give her a run around and a break.
Of course she's not going to "remember" it.
But unlike some of you, given my experiences of cancer, and deaths in my family from cancer, I don't count on being able to do it with her when she's older, as I don't know for sure whether I'll be around. I've had a melanoma cancer scare with a 95% chance of 5 year survivorship, and that melanoma was only taken out on my insistence as doctors thought it was a normal mole. If my melanoma cancer had grown further down into my blood and lymph system, I'd have a very slim rate of 5 year survivorship.
This changes one's philosophy, to more of a "carpe diem" - seize the day. I don't know if I'll be around in 8 years for sure. So I don't look at this hike as something I can just put back 8 years until when my daughter's older.
That may be hard for some of you to understand, but when you've lost your father, aunts, uncles, grandparents to cancer, and had a close shave yourself, one feels differently about mortality and fitting things into life that one wants to do.
However I am not planning to take any risks with my daughter - in respect of I will train hard for this, I will take the right equipment. I'm not afraid to cancel or adjust my plans if the weather forecast isn't looking good. I'm also taking in equipment for bad weather in case it changes to something other than forecast.
Regards weight concerns, I am concerned myself about this and doing everything I can to reduce weight, hence my post.
Cuban fibre is actually one of the most durable materials possible for tents. So with regards to the concern on lightweight tents and durability, if I splurge and get the Cuban fibre (Dyneema Composite) tent - such as Zpacks Duplex - it's actually MORE durable a material than other tents, and ultra-lightweight. For those of you interested in Cuban fibre (Dyneema Composite) - there's a Youtube clip from Darwin on the Trail here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GG4_SCupkY&t=245s So the ZPacks Duplex tent for example is 600 grams in Cuban fibre, and uses trekking poles. So I think this is going to be a good option, but it's US $600, so I'll have to swallow that cost.
With food, there's a really good site here showing how to do nutritious meals at 400 grams a day for 1 man with freezer bags and adding boiling water.
http://www.theyummylife.com/Backpacking_FoodI'm looking at porridge for breakfast with addition of dehydrated fruit, milk powder etc. (Baby loves porridge, that's pretty normal breakfast for us anyway.) Dinners of couscous mixed with lemon-infused olive oil, dried onion, garlic powder, chopped dates, sliced almonds, into a freezer bag and add boiling water. A variation of the meal on bottom of this page from Backpacking North:
http://www.backpackingnorth.com/ultrali ... -the-menu/I imagine that if I do this very smart and organized, and I try everything out first, several times before we go to Tas, both at home and on trails in Victoria, I *think* we can get away with about 600 grams for us both, 375 grams for me, and 225 for baby.
So I end up with something like:
FOOD - Taking guidance from
http://www.theyummylife.com/Backpacking_Food and using porridge portions, dinners of add boiling water carbs and dehydrated adds into freezer bag, plus lunches / snacks etc.
600 grams x 6 days = 3.6 kg. Add extra weight for spare food in case, so an extra day's food = 4.2 kg
TENT - 600 grams Zpacks Duplex
SLEEPING BAG - 640 grams Enlightened Equipment 20 F Down Quilt, Extra Wide.
MATS: Approx 1 kg for both of us. (May be able to shave off 200-300 grams if I upgrade mats)
And then I'll have to be really smart on clothing, and have enough dry clothes for multiple days, as contingency planning.
I've got an Exped First Aid drybag, and then a vast medical kit which I can pick from as to which pieces I want to take with me and I'll weigh them all.
I have a Space blanket, and an Emergency blanket.
For my daughter, I have a really good Macpac onesie, and I'll probably get a second of these, and I'll invest in lots of fine merino layers, and waterproof outer layer. I'll be layering the merino layers with the poly long-sleeved with the insuloft and then rain layer. I've also got a rain hood on the carrier, and I've got a hiking rain umbrella as an option although I think I'll want my hands free for walking poles.
I'll need a number of ultralight Cuban fibre waterproof dry bags, for lining pack.
So I don't think I'm being crazy about the way I'm planning to do this. I get that it's not everyone's idea of fun.
My father was a champion marathon runner, and I think I've inherited something of the psychological toughness for endurance. And I need to pair that with fitness and hiking skills to match, ensure I've got the right equipment, ensure I've got my daughter the right clothing. And remain smart, savvy to weather reports, willing and ready to amend or change plans if the forecast isn't amenable to the hike when I get there.