Backpacking with little kids. Please help.

[dannypiper]

I have a 2.5 year old and a six month old. I really want to do some backpacking with the family this summer but am not quite sure how to do it with both kids and carry the gear. My wife will be there to help but it is still a challenge. Any suggestions on how to make this work? I don;t want to only be a car camper for the next 10 years.

[uintahiker]

You have a few options.
1. Leave the wife and kids.

2. Do very short trips. Hopefully you have good gear that is light and packs up small. I've gone backpacking with 1 kid. We'll see about how 2 works. A friend has a jogging stroller that he piles high with stuff.

[Scott Card]

diapers = car camping.

Signed,

Father of 4

[pudgy_groundhog]

With two kids that age, personally, I would probably just stick to car camping for a few years until the 2.5 year old can hike on his/her own. We only have one kid and even then we haven't done a lot of backpacking because it's a lot of work (so only did it when it was really worth it - like on vacation in the Wind River Range).

Maybe you can find a campsite that is only a mile or so hike in from the parking area and you can make several trips if you need to for all the gear. Where do you live?

And don't despair - it won't be that long before you older child can cover some miles on his/her own - certainly less than ten years! It'll go very quickly!

[Scott P]

Just do it.

A 2.5 year old and a six month old is hardly a viable excuse not to go. We did many, many backpacks when our kids were that age. Be patient and don't listen to the (lazy) naysayers.

Start them early and start them now.

A few albums (ages 0-3):

http://www.summitpost.org/kessler-s-climbing-album-age-0-to-2/286264

http://www.summitpost.org/kessler-s-climbing-album-age-3/286259

http://www.summitpost.org/shaylee-s-climbing-and-hiking-album/254709

The last time I carried my son up a mountain was when he was 20 month old. We had to do 7250 feet elevation gain on day 1 and I let him know that it was the last mountain he would ever be carried up. Ever since then he walked. Our daughter was only slightly older when she walked up all mountains as well.

After much practice, my three year old could do a 22 mile backpack in two days:

http://www.summitpost.org/a-great-trip-and-breaking-a-new-record/171487

Our three year old daugher hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back:

http://www.summitpost.org/grand-canyon-christmas-2007/371515

We were also attempting some of the highest mountains in the lower 48:

http://www.summitpost.org/kessler-s-first-14-er-attempt/170276

By age 4, our son was tackling some of Colorado's hardest 14,000 foot peaks and some of the toughest trails in the Grand Canyon:

http://www.summitpost.org/three-generations-on-windom/208495

http://www.summitpost.org/a-grand-and-challenging-trip-in-the-canyon/253033

By age 5, my son was climbing the Andes and our daughter was climbing difficult mountains.

Now at ages 7 & 9 each of them walked ~2000 miles last year. My son can often outclimb me now. Most parents that didn't have good luck either didn't have the patience and were lazy or didn't start early enough.

Some of what we have done: when the kids were very young:

http://www.summitpost.org/2008-trip-log/375607

http://www.summitpost.org/2009-trip-log/477971

http://www.summitpost.org/2010-trip-log/590857

http://www.summitpost.org/2011-trip-log/690759

http://www.summitpost.org/2012-trip-log/770043

Go when weather conditions don't require that much gear. If you are in shape, it is possible to carry the gear for your family while your wife carries the youngest child. 2.5 years old (for a healthy child at least) is plenty old enough to walk for 4-6 miles after practice.

One thing that helped us is an almost total ban from driving within city limits (of course if you live in a huge city, this would be hard). We try to do all our shopping, trips to church, park, etc. on foot. It really helps.

[DOSS]

You may also look into building a single wheel trailer to haul your entire groups gear with and carry the six month old let the wife carry/ walk with the 2.5 year old, limit your mileage and you are golden :)

[Shan]

I read a book about a couple that took their toddler on the Continental Divide. They had detailed instructions on how they washed diapers in a bucket too. They did use a llama. So there's an idea!

I cannot find the name right now.

Maybe wait until the 2.5 year old can walk the trails himself? Then you have a spare back for the gear/food.