Help me with a Trip to Grandaddy and Highline trail

A

Altote

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I am new to this site but i have really enjoyed reading reports from this site over the last few months, so i thought i would join and see if you can help me.
I am working with a group of scouts and we are looking at doing a 4 night 4.5 day hike in the Uintas August 12-16.
We are looking to start at the Grandview trail head and go up through the Grandaddy basin and camp around Governor Dern lake. we then plan to go to the Highline trail head where we will exchange a few adult leaders, then head towards the 4 lakes basin then back to the Grandview Trail head. This is about 35 miles from what i can guess.

I am concerned about the reality of this as none of us are experienced, I mean some of us have some experience but i wouldn't say any of us are strong hikers and it would be the first full weight pack hikes for the boys.
My question is how many miles a day would you recommend to our group? and second if it is less miles, do you have a better route suggestion.

Thanks!
 
How old are the boys?
I would suggest your first day to be light, like about 5 miles.
Doing a pack check before you leave is a must! Some of these kids/parents send them with crazy crap. Like one boy I knew that had TWO grocery bags full of canned food! Or they won't pack their backpack very well...tons of stuff hanging off their pack vs packing it inside. Or they'll bring a ton of candy and nothing with good calories.
Force them to drink a lot of water too.
 
Thanks Parma for your suggestions, we are definitely doing a pack check, the boys will be ages14-16.

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Why not just hang around Grandaddy Basin and do the loop. I would camp at Besty or Grandaddy the first day, and move to a diffrent lake everyday. No sense killing them as the hike up the first day will likley have some of them pretty beat. Not to mention the Shuttle ride will be pretty long. Parma is right, I would go thru there gear and help them fit there packs. With all the blisters, and issues that come up with backpacking when you first start out I would keep it under 5 miles a day and have plenty of time to help and teach them.
 
With a month left to prepare, I'd also consider giving them a basic fitness program. Especially something that involves some core work and working the legs. Maybe another part would be having them walk up and down a set of stairs with a weighted pack so many times every other day or so?

Assuming you live right here in Utah, you probably have some wilderness only minutes away. See if you can do a short overnighter before the big trip with as many who can so they can get familiar with their gear, get a feel of their packs, etc.

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Thanks for the responses and tips guys, I will see what i can instigate.
 
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