20 Tips: Backpacking, Hiking, and Outdoors with Children
Tahoe World posted a great review of the book “Monsters in the Woods: Backpacking with Children” (this link to Amazon.com) by Tim Hauserman. Though the book focuses on taking children backpacking and outdoors, it has even greater value when you consider that it’s really about getting children away from the TV and getting to spend time with their parents. The reviewer says the book is “an absolute delight” and will “inspire you to think about planning a hike or a short day trip sharing the surroundings with a child.”
I never actually went backpacking with my parents, but they did take me hiking and spent plenty of time with my brother, sister, some friends, and I on fishing trips and cabin-in-the-woods vacations. Those trips helped me be ready to take the next step to camping and backpacking on my own. What I learned on those trips and when backpacking also helped prepare me to survive life once I moved away more comfortably - when I arrived at college I was one of few students who could cook (on a stove or a hotplate) and knew what I didn’t need well enough to not burn through the credit cards buying “home living” accessories for my dorm room.
Invaluable whether you buy the book or not, the Tahoe World review includes the book’s list of “Twenty Quick Tips for Backpacking with Kids”. Whether you’re camping with children or friends remember tips #1, #6, and #11:
1. Don’t go too far, take it slow, enjoy the journey.
2. Explore, play, have fun —how far and where you go are secondary.
3. Sometimes it is the little things that can mess up a trip, so be sure everyone puts on sunscreen and reapplies it on a regular basis. Then keep children fed and hydrated.
4. Keep talking or play games while hiking to distract children from their potential misery.
5. Bring cards and a good lightweight paperback for a rainy day in the tent.
6. Quit the lesson while it is still fun.
7. Take a layover day at a nice lake.
8. Bring a friend. Our children love you but might have more fun with a friend.
9. Learn enough about backpacking and hiking to feel comfortable in the woods.
10. Don’t be discouraged after a tough sleepless night or when you cannot get things to work. Focus on joy.
11. Love the ones you are with, or at least learn from them. Watch experienced backpackers—copy them, as ideas are free.
12. Always leave an itinerary with a responsible party, and follow it.
13. Go on the Internet and find a star/satellite chart for the area you are visiting.
14. Be a parent, not a wimp. Be positive and supportive of your child. Deal with the situation and move on. Kids look to you for strength and fortitude, so fake it.
15. Tell bad puns and scary stories.
16. Understand that dirt is o.k. and it is part of the fun.
17. Do your part to protect the areas you backpack in.
18. When you put your bear canister away for the night, make sure to put it a good distance from your tent.
19. If you venture into high-altitude terrain and you live at low elevation, try to spend a day or two acclimating to the altitude before starting you trip. Take it easy the first day.
20. Laugh, giggle, guffaw, whoop, titter, and chuckle as much as possible.
via Two Heel Drive