How to Backpack With Kids

Video Transcript

"So today we're going to talk about backpacking with children and I think a lot of people think when they have kids their outdoor pursuits are over. But that is absolutely not true. Infants, babies and children are great to go out on a trail way. You just have to do it a lot differently than you used to when you didn't have children. First thing you need to consider is that you need to adjust your goals because obviously if you have little people with you, you're going to be going a lot slower; you're not going to be able to go on as intensive train and you're not going to be able to get as far. So you need to evaluate where you want to go and set your family up for success but not planning such a huge trip just knowing that you might hike a half a mile and an hour or so; it might take you that long to get there since you have little people that are either being carried by you or they're walking very slowly. The amount of gear is also obviously a huge factor when children come into your life. You have to have a lot more stuff and so, you know, you're going to be either be carrying the child's gear and the child or just the child's gear. So you're probably going to have to pull out that big old six thousand cubic inch backpack that you haven't use in awhile and bring all that extra gear with you which again, is going to make your pace a lot slower but you want your pace to be a lot slower to enable; if you have a small child to be able to walk along with you. Another thing I like to challenge parents with if they're thinking about going backpacking with their children is to remember that the kids are a lot closer to the ground. I challenge the parents to get down onto the ground just so you can actually have the perspective of what their child has as they're waddling down the trail here. I may have missed these beautiful flowers that I'm seeing or the little ant tail that's on the ground or if I'm by a stream like I am right now, I can pick up some of these nice flat stones and skip rocks and I really just like to emphasize that if the parent can get down on the level of the child, it really helps out and helps them understand all the distractions that their children are, are having and it makes a great, it makes great activities for you as a family to have as you're moving down the trail. Obviously when you're bringing your children out backpacking, they're very helpless and you're going to have to watch them, make sure that you're taking care of them well; allowing them to not get sunburn; protect them from hypothermia or rashes; you know, they're very dependent on you. So just make sure you're communicating as well with the other parents or whoever is out there making sure that someone's always watching the children. And then if you need some examples of fun things to do out there with your kids, of course nature provides such a playground for things to see and learn about; skipping rocks, swimming, stories around the campfire; of course everyone loves smores, just bouldering, running around on rocks; there's endless things to do for you and your kids out there in the wilderness."