Thanks, Polly and Strike

 

I have been camping with my daughter since she was born, well ok 3mos old. I have been backpacking with her since before she could walk, and I am also lucky enough to have a little over an acre of woods behind my house as a training ground. I enjoy as much time as I can as close to nature as possible.

 

It was not always easy to do some of the things that my wife and I did, but lots of people are way more extreme. I had to be very keen on what my daughter needed, I learned that if she was crying or crabby then something was wrong. Who could cry or be upset in such a beautiful setting. Nutrition is extremely important, constant snacking of proteins and carbahydrates helps a lot. Hydration is extremely important, monitor body temprature often and if they are sweating or have rosey checks then they need water fast. It is not always easy to get children to eat or drink, so I was creative in my methods; I found things she liked, like fruits and nuts or granola bars. For hydration issues she loved to drink from a hydration bladder (like a camel back), and on hot days I would squirt her down with water so she would not have to sweat as much. She loved that.

 

Once she was able to walk, I would start her out with her own tiny backback, with very little in it. As we hiked and she got tired, I would take her backpack off and she had another burst of energy. Then once she got tired of that, I would carry her in the backpack carrier.

 

Nowadays we camp in the pod, she is just about 4yrs old. This make things so much easier. It's climate controlled, she can get cleaned up, and is a lot easier for her to fall asleep because she is comfortable. It gives me more time to relax around the camp, because it is just so much less to do in setup and take down.

 

I started her very young and she loves being outside.

 

One product I truly recommend is a Sherpani backpack carrier, without it I could not have done some of the hikes we did.  It is so comfortable for her she would just fall asleep for hours at a time. Around the house when she did not feel good and wanted me to hold her, I could just put her in that, and do work around the house, she was just super happy.

 

When we go hiking, I learned how important it was to never put her in sandals. Unless you like stopping every minute to dislodge rocks, a simple running type shoe is great, they are lightweight and dry very fast. I also make her carry a backpack, she likes that a whole lot.

 

I love to camp, when I first had my daughter I was scared of everything because I knew nothing. There is not a whole lot of stuff out there for new parents in the way of camping, I guess most people just figure it out as they go and then kind of forget about it. I gained a lot of inspiration from my local camping store, they brought their son on the whole appalacian trail (georgia to maine) when he was 3yrs old, then hopped on bicycles and rode back. After talking with them, I knew I could do some simple camping with my daughter without much worries.

 

Don't be afraid.......Be adventurous.......