Backpacking with Kids of All Ages

Backpacking with Kids of All Ages

After reading “How to Backpack with Toddlers,” an article posed by Thermarest, and a similar-themed article by Backpack Magazine, we were inspired to take it a step further, building upon some of the points they discussed.  Below are some of our insights, gained through trial and error that would have been good to know from the get-go.

1. The Gear List: Space is just as important as weight when picking out gear for yourself and a youngster, if not more so.  This is because space tends to be more constraining than one’s capacity to carry weight.  For example, if you only have 60 liter backpack, you can only really comfortably carry 60 liters (plus whatever crap you can lash or dangle off of the back of your pack).  There is no real tradeoff you can make to change the situation (other than buying a bigger pack).  On the other hand, if you normally do 8 miles in a day with a 40 lb. pack and now it is looking like your pack will be 65 lbs. due to the child’s extra clothes and gear, you can opt to reduce your mileage to only 4 miles.  Your pack is 75 lbs.? Just pack in two miles.  

For example, before kids our go-to eating utensils were ultralight plasticware.  However, now that we must get the peoples’ gear into one backpack, we found that heavier-yet-more-compact eating utensils are more beneficial than our ultralight plasticware.  Similarly, the weight-space tradeoff is apparent in backpack selection as well.   Light packs do not have large carrying capacity and tend to be not as comfortable.  On the other hand, a 110 liter pack may weigh several pounds on its own, but will feel surprisingly comfortable lugging 70 plus pounds up a mountain.  

2. The Journey: Encourage your toddler to walk as much as they can, and resist the urge to simply put him or her the pack.  Accept the fact that hiking 2 miles might take as long as when you hiked 8 miles as newlyweds.  Build in enough time to complete the shortened distance so the toddler gets used to hiking, without the frustrations from any time pressure.  If finding a campsite might be an issue, the person with the heavier pack can run ahead to nail down a camp site and set up camp, while the person with the kid can take it as easy as necessary. 

Let your child go into the pack and back down as he or she requests, but also encourage him or her with positive words and excitement. You may be sacrificing time at camp because it takes longer to get there, but you’re better off in the long run because your kid will enjoy hiking along with you and more quickly build strength and endurance.  This means that you may be able to wean your child off of the kid-carrying backpack much earlier.  The key to this strategy is keeping your toddler engaged while hiking so it’s not just a slog up the hill. For example, point out cool things along the trail, like toad stools, caterpillars or cool rocks.  Toddlers are easily amused, and focusing them on what the next cool thing to see will keep their minds off of the distance and fatigue.

3. The Threads: In general, we find that we pack more for our kid than us, since they will inevitably have an accident. Enough on that subject.

4. The Camp: If in a group, you don’t want the camp fire crowd to wake up the little ones while they are asleep, but you need the tent close enough to hear them if they need you. You also want to be courteous of other campers, whether they are with our group or not. We try to find sites away from other people, or set up our tent away from others in our group, given the natural alpine start of all toddlers. 

5. The Garbage: Accept that you have to ‘pack it out’ regardless of where you go. When at home, we primarily use cloth diapers, but we always backpacked carrying disposable diapers when in the backcountry because of the space, weight, and olfactory issues with cloth.

6. We are toying with the idea of making dehydrated homemade baby food this next time around, but we don’t have much to add to the topic of food at this time.

7. Comfort:  A hammock is a must-have for backpacking with a toddler. They work great for toddlers to play in, as well as a place for family naps, but of course, toddlers should not be left unsupervised playing in them.  A hammock will probably be your only option to not sit on a log or on the ground, so it adds significantly to comfort and morale. By day 3 on a multiday trip, you’re going to wish you brought a hammock (we opted for a 2 person parachute hammock).

8. The Sleeping Pad:  Kids don’t need a full-length sleeping pad.  A ¾ length pad is perfectly-sized for a toddler, it weighs less, and takes up less space.

9. The Sleeping Bag:  Although synthetic is cheaper, known to last longer, and is more durable, the space and weight that comes with synthetic will make it nearly impossible to fit everything into all but perhaps expedition-sized backpacks.  

Also, when selecting a bag, conventional wisdom dictates that you don’t want to get too nice of a bag because manufacturers don’t make technical kids’ stuff.  It turns out that you can find quality lightweight gear for toddlers if you look hard enough.  As discussed in No. 1 above, space and packability is the key to backpacking with a child.  With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise you that there is a huge correlation between how much you spend on a bag, and how much it condenses and weighs.

Tip:  If you are concerned that your toddler is still too small for even a child-sized bag, just use the cinch cord from the stuff sack to tie-off the extra space around the bottom portion of the bag.  This will decrease the amount of space in the sleeping bag that the toddler will have to heat up to stay warm.  

10. Packing:  Get the toddler a separate dry sack for their clothes (even if it adds weight, see #1 above), rather than trying to fit it all in to your clothes sack. It is easier to pack a few smaller bags into a backpack than it is to stuff two big bags into your pack, and is more convenient when getting cloths out for bed time. 

11. Entertainment:  Books on a Kindle app or device are great for entertaining your toddler for bedtime stories or when you are tent-bound due to rain. We the Kindle for our own reading, and you can download an entire children’s library for them without adding any weight or space. 

12. Parting Advice: It is never too early to get out there. The younger your children are when they are introduced to the wilderness, the more comfortable backpacking will be for them.  Introducing your children to the outdoors early and often will hopefully increase the odds that they willl enjoy the backcoutry, and even thrive in it. 

Atlas was only 4 months old on our first (2 night) backpacking trip, and that’s only because the weather wasn’t warm enough to safely get out sooner! He did great back then, but we question if we had never taken him out until now (3.5 years old) whether he would love it as much as he does. 

Want to read more about taking your toddler backpacking? Check out THIS article by Backpacker Magazine for more info.