Hiking and Kids

“I've got 3 daughters ages 14, 12, 10.
We are in the process of putting together a gear list for thier backpacking needs.
How about some input from ya'll.
I just picked up the REI Morning Star 55 for my oldest, and I figure the other 2 can use thier daypacks that they use for school.
They won't need to carry much. I figure sleeping back, clothing, maybe help out with food or misc items.
I'm looking for advice and trail tested idea's to help make packing enjoyable for them, as much as it is for the parents!”

“don't look for high mileage, keep it simple,”

“bring games, water guns, things for them to do in camp so they don't get bored.”

“yep, make sure the destination was worth the time and effort spent to get there - a lake, a creek to play in - killer views, something.

and bring lots of snacks.

Dinner might need to be a bit more than just "anything dehydrated". Comfort food like mac and cheese. IF you freeze a burger and wrap it in a towel in your pack, it'll be ready to cook when you get to camp. If you can build a fire where your at, you can cook a burger on a rock or in foil and have a pretty darn good dinner.

Kids like to eat.”

“tell em scarry wolf beer stories so none of them will get any sleep :D”

“Advise thinking twice about using school backpacks -- no frame structure and no hipbelt. A few parents in my scout troop, in order to "see if they will like backpacking" send their boys out with school daypacks and the boys end up miserable and not liking backpacking. The shoulders and upper backs take a beating (all the more of a shame since the troop has several backpacks the boys can borrow).

I would either carry the load for the girls or rent if you don't want to buy. But lacking a comfortable pack they are almost certain to not enjoy the trek.

Other thoughts from my experience:
* keep the first trek easy. 4 miles or less and little elevation gain.
* make sure the destination is interesting, water and/or something to climb always seem to be winners.
* if the destination is not all that interesting then plan to start the hike after lunch and minimize the "hangin round" time.
* Have a small campfire and bring a book that you can read aloud to them. I've got 16 year old scouts that will still sit and listen to even the lamest of tales.
* bring plenty of snack foods

Plan it out and have a great time. Steve”

“I have a 14 year old, a 13 year old, and a 9 year old. I bought their packs at Sportsman Guide got them for less than 20.00 each. Two of them are 3200 cubic inches. My 9 year old carrys everything she would need including her own food and water. If you plan well and weigh all then the weight can be keep down. My 9 year olds pack only weighs 15 pounds. My 13 year olds weighs 18 pounds and my 14 year old weighs only 20 pounds. My dog also carrys her own water and food. Incase you are wondering the 9 and 13 year old are girls.”

“Deuter Fox 30 pack is a gem for small framed kids. REI is carrying it finally-though buying thru Kidssource.com is good also.
Go as light as you can go, keep total weight under 13 lbs for kids under 10 years of age.
Buy them good fitting shoes and socks. Let them bring Gameboys!!! Let them pick bad junk food to munch on.
And most of all-start easy...nobody loves doing a death march of 10 miles in 90* weather for their first BP ;-)
(Mom of a 7 year old who has backpacked almost 30 times.)”

“sarbar thanks for joining this thread. I was hoping you'd have a few ideas from your experiences with Ford.
I've spent the evening hours looking at external framed packs for small kids. Both my younger girls are small framed,(not quite petite but close) and couldn't be fitted correctly for a XS internal framed pack. I've looked at Kelty and JanSport, but I'm curious about the packs that stargate has mentioned. More research for dad to complete! Thanks everyone for the ideas thus far, please keep them coming.”

“My son carried a Kelty woman's version external frame(I never told him that) it was made a little more narrowly and fit him well.

I've seen some small build internal frames at REI - mainly "summit pack" style. fairly small, but narrow and would fit a small frame. They were big enough to carry a sleepy bag and eating stuff, along with some purly personal items, like game boys.”

“Yeah, you might have the girls try on the new Kelty light series (the Illusion, etc...there are 3 packs, 2500, 3500 and 4500ci). They come in ladies versions and go down to 12" torso's.
Personally...I hate external frames for kids...they are good I suppose in carrying weight-but on narrow bridges and sketchy areas, they are very bulky and get in the way. And the modern externals are heavy!! I used to get so dern mad that packs for a KID were 4+ lbs!
For a long time, after I retired Ford's old school external, he used a Mtnering daypack by LoweAlpine I rigged up...the Deuter just rocks in that it is designed for a kid, and is a real pack just like mine ;-) I think though that his next pack will be a Kelty...maybe the Illusion, like mine.
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39167190&memberId=12500226

Ford's current pack:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47921309&parent_category_rn=4500578&vcat=REI_SEARCH

I quess I am an indulgent mama...I buy him mini-me versions of almost everything I have
He has a Thermarest pillow, a NorthFace Tigger sleeping bag, a down jacket for down to 10*, enough Smartwool socks for 5 kids, Zamberlain hiking boots, a ladies InsulMat sleeping pad (I ain't shelling out for another Prolite pad for him ;-) ), OR gaiters, OR hat, Sierra Design jacket.....I figure if he is comfy then he won't coming along....then again, I do make him come on trips in January ;-)
And I should admit: I shop sales, REI garage sales and thrift stores so I can save $$.
And lord, lets not even talk about snowshoeing and winter...youch.....he has crampons, snowshoes, a shovel...lol!
I do pamper my little squirrel ;-)
http://www.freewebs.com/nwhikergirl/hikingwithchildren.htm”

“

I had a complete gear list for my daughter here, but the computer burped and I lost it. I'll do it another day”

“BTW, this is what her pack looks like and its barely half loaded. She has plenty of room to grow when she has more gear. http://community.webshots.com/photo/337166095/337306652vienUq

Gregory Z-Pack - 2 lbs. 14 oz
MSR Microzoid tent - 2 lbs. 5 oz
TNF 20degree tigger bag - 2 lbs. 5 oz
thermarest ridgerest short pad - 9 oz
Red Ledge breathable rain jacket - ?

I need to get her new boots and breathable rain pants. She also carries her water, snacks, lunches, clothes, gameboy, book, and any othter personal items.”

“I found, surprisingly, that payless has an awesome assortment of trail runners and hiking shoes and boots for kids. They seem to be of pretty good quality, with plenty of arch support and cushioning. I got Abby a pair of Champion trail runners on sale there for $10, reg $20.”

“The last few pairs of hiking boots I bought her were of teh low price variety and I smeared them with mink oil. That worked pretty good. I'll check out Payless if I can find one .”

“I've never seen goretex boots or shoes in small enough sizes for little kids so I buy pretty much the same thing as I wear for her. Trail runners dry pretty quick if they get wet, fortunately.”

“Sass, I was of the same thought, that shoes dry pretty quick, but you need sunshine and dry air for that to happen. A couple weeks ago, my poor girl's shoes never dried all weekend. She was a trooper hiking across the ridgeline in clouds blowing across us at 50 mph, but with wet shoes and pants I didn't make her camp.”

“You can gte Goretex models if you hunt well enough. On the other hand, you can get really nice boots for kids via LLBean. REI sucks for kids boots though :-(”

“I took my 19 month old daugther out for her first long hike this weekend. We did the 6-mile loop around Tipsaw Lake and had a blast. I think i'll post a report and pics a little later.

Good luck with your kids hike. I'm reading and storing info for later ; )”

“I know you can get goretex for bigger kids, but there's no such boot in a toddler size 10 that I've ever seen.”

“You'd be surprised what you can find when you search hard ;-)
I had boots for Ford at 3 years of age ;-)”

“Goretex ones?! What brand?”

“Merrells
I had a small gear shop I used to shop at over on the Olympic Pennisula that would order and find me whatever I needed.”

“Cool!”