Reasons not to take your kids camping

“You know, once you have kids you can’t backpack anymore.”

“Say goodbye to traveling.”

“How are you going to camp?”

These are comments we heard when we decided to become parents.

Those comments seemed crazy back then and they are still crazy today.

Female hiker carrying infant in backpack carrier descends a rocky section of the Siphon Draw trail in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, Arizona.

Bret nor I began to really love the outdoors until we were in our late teens/early twenties. Bret spent a lot of his time backpacking the Grand Canyon and rock climbing in Queen Creek, Arizona. My love affair with the outdoors began when I started hiking, backpacking and mountain biking in the Rocky Mountains outside of Denver. It became a lifestyle for us, and the thought of giving it up after having J-Man was not an option. Heck, we had a 4-month honeymoon road tripping around the western U.S., visiting national parks, mountain biking, rock climbing, canyoneering and hiking miles and miles of trails. We were going to share this adventurous life with our son, and we didn’t think twice about it.

J-with-Deuter-pack-AT-1024x768

We didn’t know how to hike or camp with an infant, but we found a way. We didn’t know how to backpack with a toddler, but we found a way. We didn’t know how to mountain bike with a young child, but we found a way. Where there is a will there is a way. Seven years ago when J-Man was born, the outdoor gear for infants and kids was sparse, but fast-forward to today and you can find pretty much any type of gear to help you get outdoors with your kids.

So what’s happening after seven years of sharing our outdoor adventures with J-Man?

J-crossing-creek

He’s backpacking 12+ miles with his Fox 30, shredding intermediate single track, asking to go hiking after school and sharing his love of the outdoors with Mom and Dad.

This is his childhood. It’s all he knows because he has nothing else to compare it to. So if you want to solidify a love of the outdoors with your child start them young and don’t let anyone tell you your adventures have to stop. The choice is yours.

Back to Blog