Photo by Charles Graham

Backpacking with Kids

by Roger Meyer

Your kids are growing up, and maybe you're thinking it's time for them to join you on your hiking and backpacking adventures. There are good reasons to take your children. As backpackers, children learn to enjoy the outdoors and to be self-sufficient. There also is a subtle and different parent-child bonding that takes place while backpacking.

Family backpacking can be a wonderful experience, but you can ruin it for everyone by pushing too hard. Here are some guidelines for backpacking with children.

Don't rush out to plan a long hike. Start much slower. Hike at least one short weekend trip before making other plans. Some children aren't ready for it. Others will never like it. You had better be aware of either situation before dragging them along on a lengthy backpack.

Judge a child's capacity during short walks around the neighborhood. If a child is able to walk three miles without resting, then he or she should be capable of covering the same distance on an easy trail, with rest breaks, and a reasonably loaded pack.

Infants, old enough to hold their heads erect, adjust well to a baby pack. They seem to find the gentle motion soothing, and often fall asleep, but protect them from sunburn. When awake, infants enjoy looking around or playing with your ears.

There are other considerations with infants. You must carry the child plus a heavy load of special food, diapers, and extra clothing. Diapers are the biggest concern; they're bulky and troublesome. Disposable diapers decompose very slowly, so pack them out. Soiled diapers are lighter if you hang them (away from camp) to dry. Some feel that washing cloth diapers reduces the load. It does, but washing diapers on the trail isn't very sanitary for the baby or the environment.

As long as your infant is still in diapers, you may want to restrict your activities to day-hikes.

Kids between two and four years old can be tough hikers, but they need frequent breaks. Stop every 15 minutes to rest or sightsee, and walk slow because their legs are a lot shorter than yours. Don't expect them to carry anything, but if they want to help, give them a small pack with lunch, snack food, or a canteen; then their load lightens quickly. Some two-to-four-year old children will surprise you with their hiking ability, but don't expect more than about three miles a day.

Children five-to-seven-years old are less demanding on their adult companions, but at this age they are still unable to carry all their own gear. Try giving them a day pack loaded with just their own clothing. Plan to hike up to four miles a day. This age group has limited endurance and a short attention span.

Older children, ages eight-to-ten, can hike up to about six miles a day on easy trails. Work up to this distance. Let them carry their own clothes and their sleeping bags. Give them a trail map, and allow them to track your progress. Stop to rest often.

From 11 to 13, an adolescent with a little conditioning can hike up to about nine miles a day. Again work up to this level. Adolescents should be able to carry all of their own gear, plus a little extra.

With sufficient rest stops, conditioned teen-agers can cover the same distances as adults and with nearly the same loads. However, during their rapid growth spurts, teen-agers lose some endurance and may be unable to hike as far or carry as much as they did a year ago. Be aware of this and allow for longer rest breaks if you see unexpected fatigue.

Hikes with children should be planned to allow for free time at the end of the day. Kids may want to fish, swim, play games, toss a Frisbee, or just sit and read.

Don't push past these guidelines unless you know your children can handle it. If you push pass their limits, they will not want to hike next time.

Experts argue about the proper load for backpackers. Most agree that you should not carry more than one-third of your body weight. Even so, this is too much for pleasant hiking. Don't turn yourself into a pack mule. Carry less than 25 percent of your body weight and try to reduce it even more. As you hike, watch your kids; if you see fatigue, offer to carry some of their load. Don't force a heavy load on your youngster.

It should be a family effort from the beginning. Let everyone share in the plans. Allow your children to select some of the food and let everyone take a turn preparing the food or cleaning up after meals. One of my sons is a fabulous cook. I suspect the seeds were planted on our early backpacking trips.

Let children pack their own gear, but inspect it; kids have unusual ideas about what is essential. On his first backpacking trip, one of my youngsters filled his pack with books and managed to find room for only one extra pair of socks. Another son wanted to pack a huge mound of clothes and then thoughtfully tossed in two boxes of Band-Aids.

Allow a small child to bring a favorite toy, perhaps a stuffed animal, a doll, or a toy car. We also bring lightweight family games for evening activities and assign the game selection to a child. Don't let your child pack a game with many small pieces, like Monopoly. One of my kids selected a game in which individual scores are tabulated on paper. Of course, we could share one pen among the four players. Instead, my 8-year-old son asked, "What color pen do you want?" In his pack, he had 16 ballpoint pens. Each of us had a choice of four different colors to keep our score.

Some backpacking gear is available in small sizes. That's fine, but high-quality gear for children usually is a waste of money; kids grow too fast. Consider modifying adult backpacking equipment. One youngster was too small for an adult-sized pack, but could carry a heavier load than would fit in a day pack. We moved the hip belt of an adult pack so the belt went around the outside of the pack frame. It worked fine. We were careful not to overload him. Another family in the same situation loaded a day pack with heavier items rather than try to use a larger pack. In both cases, the child volunteered to carry a heavier load.

Photo by Charles Graham

Allow children to carry food and other supplies. As these items are consumed, their packs become lighter. Adults should carry the permanent gear, such as the stove and tent.

Be sure to pack warm garments for children. They have lower tolerance for cold temperatures. Include an extra set of dry clothing - kids like to get wet.

Young children tend to wander off, so constant awareness is required. Warn children not to roam, and then tell them to sit and wait if they find themselves lost. Hang a whistle around their neck and tell them to blow it every few minutes. Fortunately, children usually do the correct thing when they're lost; they stop and sit.

Point out animal tracks, wildflowers, and bird nests. Help children to identify birds, trees, and stars. You might not know enough to teach your children, but then you can learn together. A backpack trip can be a marvelous educational experience for the entire family.

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