Re: [at-l] Children?

["Thomas McGinnis" <tmcginnis@ucclan.state.in.us>]

>>> "Glenn Briggs" <4glenn@home.com> 04/09/00 08:30PM >>>
    What age is to young too backpack on the trail? What have been your
experiences? We don't have kids yet but we do have plans for the trail in
the future. Glenn

###
Glenn,
I agree with ALL the answers I saw posted in reply to your question.
1) WHEN: By way of generalizing, it's obviously not the chronological age of the child, but the experiencial age. It's a question of what they've grown up with. 
2) HOW?: My own boys, age six in two weeks, grew up wanting to hike from their kiddie-backpacks — a great invention! You hike with them "up" till *they*ask* to get let down to hike on their own, which they do till their tired, then they say "'Up' Mommy! 'Up' Daddy!" and "plop" they're back in!
3) HOW FAR? At two and a half, my kids did a gentle five downhill miles in the Smokies, with the Kiddiepack's going empty. By three and a half, they carried their own snacks, flashlights, toys, water, whistle, windbreakers, in a neoprene/sternum strap modified mini-knapsack (cosmetic bag: perfect! and $5!) 1500 feet, 3.5 miles up into the Smokies. The next day, including a two hour nap in the Mt. Cammerer firetower, they hiked a total of seven miles. At four, they carried about the same amount, but farther, including up Mt. Sterling, a 4000+ foot, 5 mile, climb. We were out for 4 days, and included time for a two hour nap each day. At four and a half, they hiked the 36 miles from Davenport Gap to Hot Springs, without naps (M&M's now appeared in the GORP to compensate — a little chocolate/caffiene go a long way in 45lb bodies). They were ready, in fall of '99, to hike the AT this year. Previously, 5 and 6 year olds (girls/boys) have completed the AT, with neither child OR PARENTS having long distance backpacking exposure. Remember, most of this country was settled by families with young children who walked barefoot across the wilderness. Without M&M's. Not in a wagon.
4) HOW LONG? Others have commented: their little furnaces don't hold much and burn very quick; luckily, their minds work much the same way. Frequent, short rests are the order of the day; don't expect the smallpersons to be more wowed by the tremendous view than at the cool feather they found on the tree stump. At times, goals are 100', around the corner, top of the near hill, "*You* find the next, PERFECT rest stop." Bismark said "You can do anything with children, if you only make it play." He was right.
5) BRING CRAYONS AND PAPER. And something to read.
6) AVOID SHELTERS LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!! Between the floor/"cellar", the fire pit, the privy, and the water source, shelter sites become nothing short of an attractive nuisance for kids, luring them to disaster. Teach them LNT and go stealth; they'll love it.
7) BRING EXTRA FLASHLIGHT BATTERIES, and give them their own flashlight. Hike at night. Explain "nocturnal". Listen — lights out — and explain all that you can about what they're hearing.
8) MAKE 'TIRED' AN EXPECTED, ACCEPTABLE, STATE OF AFFAIRS. Let them know that Mommy and Daddy are tired, too, and that it's OK. That eating, rest, water, great views, cool stumps, shy animals, etc, are the reward hard earned. And groan in the morning. Loud. The kids love it. Cringe at the mountain. Promise them they're gonna pull YOU up.
9) As bizarre as this might sound, KEEP THE ROUTINE OF THE HOMEFRONT in one shape or another. In diet, order of sleep, having a naptime, favorite toys, hygiene, favorite clothes — the more you keep the routine established at home, the more at peace the child will be, and thus more willing to accept the newness that awaits. (Less important, say, from age 5 or 6 on...)
10) Use a "LITTLE BOY MOUNTIAN-CLIMBING PULLING THING* — or even a branch in the woods — to offer your small ones an opportunity to be pulled up the mountain via a ski-rope idea. Your Leki would work just fine: point it backwards and let them grab onto the end of the shaft/basket, while you walk forward (up the hill) at *their* speed, towing them along. They can let go at any time — and usually do on the flat — and can negotiate rocks/sticks with enough separation, and can also still enjoy the view around you. And they can save a *significant* amount of calories, while you expend hardly any towing them. I know about this, having towed twins. The LBMCPT we used was about 12 of parachute cord, 18 inches of high pressure hose cut into three pieces, and knotted to look like a double ended waterskiing tow rope. Fits right in the side pocket of the pack, deploys and stows in seconds, AND it works great on winter sledding hills with two kids in metal saucers. Very cool.
11) OVERSTOCK THE FIRST AID. Nothing is worse than an injured smallperson without the ability to fix the hurt, and in the woods, inexperience will produce the worst from prickers, rock slabs, sunburn, stings, splinters, skinned knees, maybe burned fingies, if you do that fire thing. YOU may only need a tube of antibiotic and some duct tape, but the smallperson will utilize *everything* in the kit.
12) NOBODY SKIPS DINNER. May work at home, to say "Well, if you don't eat this, then there's no dessert, and you'll go hungry!" They might be so tired that at dinner, they truly don't WANT to eat, and maybe niether do you! What might be acceptable at home, though, will ruin ALL of the following day when you're on the trail. EVERYONE must eat, if tomorrow is not going to be blown. Stoke those little bellies full. Yours, too, 'cause if you're running low, you're not going to be at your best as a parent, let alone as a hiker, and your smallperson deserves EXTRA parenting attention, just be virtue of being there, deep in the boonies. Eat up. Drink up. Everyone.
13) BUY NETTLE PANTS: From just about anywhere, Target/Wall/K/Mart, a pair of lite nylon pants which can be slipped on quickly for trail-bouts of poison ivy or (WORSE) stinging nettles, will save them boatloads of grief. What is protected by your gaitors comes up to their waists or higher. You'll thank me a thousand times.

BTW, I mentioned to my kids last weekend that we could spend a long day hiking next weekend, if it doesn't rain. They turned and looked at me with furrowed brows, and simultaneously chimed together "But Daddyyyy, we LIKE hiking in the rainnnnn!" True enough, true enough. So we're going next week, rain or shine, hell or high water.

Cindy Ross' book/book chapter has much of this and more, and I recall 100% agreement with it — rare to see in a parenting book.

Happy happy happy trails,
Sloetoe

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