Camping With Kids
The first hike our oldest daughter experienced was at four months old
. She was strapped to my wife's chest covered in layers of Down and Gore Tex. The hike lasted somewhere in the range of 3 hours and it snowed the entire time. In fact, it was a Colorado blizzard complete with howling winds and zero visibility.Fast forward nine years later and my two daughters, ages nine and six - join us in the backcountry every chance we get. They are content to sleep in a tent night after night with torrential storms engulfing our camp. They are able to start a fire, filter water, know where and how to go to the "restroom". They know what plants to watch out for, they can sneak up on grazing deer. They will hike literally miles as they do not realize that not hiking all day could be an option. When staring down a hundred foot cliff, they will both rappel off without a second take. Our two precious little daughters are likely more seasoned and better acclimatized to the wilderness experience than most adults.
You might ask how they got that way? They certainly are regular elementary school aged girls. They like all the things their friends do and spend much of their time riding bikes and scooters around our neighborhood. Yet, given the chance they'll go camping, hiking or backpacking any chance they get. I believe the reason they are the way they are is due to our insistence, very early in their lives, that they join us on each and every outing. We haven't let cranky kids, colds, sore muscles or tired feet stop us.
Pre-kids, my wife and I both worked in the outdoor industry. We spent every available day away from work backpacking, hiking, climbing. We enjoyed a very active Colorado life. We were both determined that when our children finally arrived our lifestyle would not change. Our family and friends insisted otherwise. We were told that reality would smack us in the face and we would soon conform to a more sedentary existence. Well, our first child eventually came and to some degree people were right. We were no longer able to go out as much as we did. That is reality. However, while we slowed down a bit, we really didn't slow down all that much.
We have continued through two kids, multiple jobs, houses and experiences - to get outside. Weather never stopped us and it still doesn't. We're just as happy to winter camp (yes - in tents) as we are to enjoy summer nights under the stars. Walking long distances hasn't stopped us either. Our kids are accustomed to walking all day. Whether that be in the late Spring heat of the desert or gaining and losing elevation throughout the day in the Rockies - they're in. Granted, walking that far occasionally takes bribery, candy and trail games to take their minds off the drudgery, but we don't cater our trips to them. Rather, we have our kids adjust to the trip.
Canyoning is an activity we really enjoy. Rather than put our trips on hold until the kids were older or curtail our planned excursion for something simpler, we have included them from a very early age. Before they were even able to walk. We have fond memories of their first canyon. Both of them were strapped into kids-backpacks and they were shuttled down each canyon obstacle, by hand or rope. Today, both of the girls enjoy canyons and really they are fearless.
I believe both our girls are quickly developing an intense love of the outdoors. Rather than wanting to play video games or watch T.V. - they would prefer we take hike, ride a trail or look for animal tracks. I can only hope their love affair with our natural world continues to grow. The bonding our family has experienced on our many trips is nothing short of magical.
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