Pushing Through Parental Fears: Hiking with Kids Edition

I know what you're thinking... once you have kids your life is OVER. At least, your life is not what it once was. Guess what? THAT STATEMENT IS CORRECT. Your life will never be the same. How could it? You went from solo adulting to being in charge of an incapable human overnight. And I say that from a very loving but factual place. You don't simply do things anymore. Everything takes more planning, more time, more gear and more SNACKS. Many snacks.

But I am here to tell you, even though things aren't the same, they are beautifully different. I can promise you that the hike you planned will take twice as long but I can also tell you that your kids will bring the best out of the experience. They notice things you don't. They force you to slow down and enjoy things more. They laugh, you laugh. They fall, they get back up. You're building resilience and appreciation without even realizing it. And here's the thing- you don't need to summit a mountain to get outside with your kids. If you're worried about how a hike is going to go then start small. Find a 1 mile or less well-trekked path and just go.

We took our kids out last week hiking for the first time. We just absolutely went for it. We packed one bag with a change of clothes, snacks, water of course and made sure they were wearing their hiking boots. No toys, games or devices (other than our smartphones). We ended up doing a 5 mile loop! There were up and downhills and they both did just fine. At times my 3 year old had some assistance so we carried him on our shoulders a bit which wasn't ideal, but we learned that we need to bring our toddler backpack no matter what next time. No one was injuried and all personalities remained positive and joyful! Near the last mile my 6 year old started to get a bit tired but she pushed through and felt so proud of herself once we got back to our vehicle. We're already planning our next hike!

Something else to consider when thinking about hiking with littles/kids is to ask yourself how exposed to nature are they? How often are you taking them outside? I don't mean the local park or around the neighborhood. I mean, taking them IN NATURE. That doesn't have to be hiking friends. We love taking our kids fishing- and they LOVE it. They get to spend the day on a lake or river while being exposed to the outdoors and all that encompasses. My 6 year old isn't grossed out by dirt, peeing in the woods or bugs landing on her. This is just something to think about. If your kids aren't really ready to full send into nature, then I'd probably start with an outdoor activity that's close or next to your vehicle in case it's a bust. You certainly don't want to get miles away from your car and then find yourselves in an emotional situation where it can basically ruin the potential for your kids. Not all kids are going to love being outside, especially on the first go. But I'll tell you this piece of handing wisdom- kids go where parents want to go, not the other way around. I know when I was growing up, I didn't get to make the calls on our weekly activities! And that's not saying that you need to force your kids to do things that they don't want to. But not doing something just because you think they won't like it leads to missed memories. I've never met a kid that didn't like playing in the dirt in one form or another.

Do test runs. Camp in your yard. Go to the local lake or river. Plan short excursions before you dive into larger, all day events. Here are a few tips on how I plan day outings as a family of 4:

1. What is my activity? Am I hiking? Fishing? Picnicking?

2. How long am I planning on being out?

3. What supplies will I need? Do I need maps downloaded?

4. Set out all clothing and supplies the night before. Pack bags the morning of. I almost always forget something but am reminded as I'm packing. If I pack the night before and we just grab and go in the morning, I'm less likely to notice anything forgotten.

5. Start mentally preparing the kids a day or two beforehand. Get them on board with the activity on hand.

6. Make sure you bring enough snacks. Snacks are the new outdoor currency.

So lets run through a hiking scenario:

1. I've decided I'm hiking.

2. I'd like to be outside 4-5 hours with one-way drivetime 1 hr or less. So now I'm going to research local hikes that are 3-5 miles in length; within a hour of our house. Pro-Tip: Loop trails are the easiest for kids- they just walk until we 're magically back at the truck. Out & Backs are okay, but once you get to the end and have to turn around, they could start complaining because they're seeing the same things and now realize the exact distance back to your vehicle. Loops FTW.

3. Now I need to figure out supplies. I have little backpacks for the kids. They each carry their own snacks, change of clothes and water. I keep it minimum but practical. My 3 year old carries his own, but his pack can easily be thrown into our larger one and he can be stowed into our toddler back pack. My husband carries that, I carry our regular daypack. I like to have wicking layers for everyone, a rain jacket just in case and a small first aid kit and headlamp. It's better to have a few things you don't use than to need them and not have them. I can make a more detailed list of what we bring on another blog post too. Let me know if you're interested in that. I love using ALLTRAILS to plan hikes. I will find the hike I intend to do, memorize what I can and download the map so I don't need service to access the info. Very handy app to have.

4. I lay everything out the day before and basically stare at it for 12 hours. Sounds silly but lots of times I forget things or I decide I'm overpacking and remove things. I always keep in mind my hike length and the pack weight. I don't want my kids carrying heavy things but I also don't want the adults carrying anything unnecessary.

5. I talk to the kids about the hike. I tell them what to expect, I don't shine them. If it's going to be a longer (for them) hike then I tell them. I try to pick hikes that have a reward in them like water features or wildflowers. We talk about the reward and we make fun games to play along the way. Last time we made a rainbow game by finding a flower from each color of the rainbow. It was a race to see who could find the next color. They walked 2 miles this way and didn't even realize it!

6. I pack a snack per kid per 30 mins of being outdoors. That way I'm not underpacking snacks. I try to focus on things that are not messy or sticky. Protein bars are a good one. Bonus points if its a pack of something like beef sticks that doesn't have a ton of trash to deal with. My favorite beef sticks are the LINEAGE PROVISIONS.

Remember- Start Small. Do something that everyone can mentally and physically handle. It is absolutely possible to do outdoor things with kids. You just have to take baby steps.. see what I did there?

Life is most definitely not over when you have kids. In fact, it just starts. You get to relive the world for the first time through their lens. You get to experience life a second time with them. You get to enjoy their enjoyment. It's wonderful. We're working our way back to more backpacking and camping experiences but for now, we've conquered hiking which is a lot more than we did last summer. In fact, we now feel silly that we let the thought of kids outdoors overwhelm us into not taking on larger excursions. If it wasn't roadside, we didn't really do it. But now we know that something is only as difficult as you allow it to be. Trust me parents- talk those kids on the trails. It'll change your lives for the better.