A guide on backpacking with children, including how to go lightweight, have fun, and stay safe on the trail. My husband and I have thousands of miles of backpacking experience and have brought our kids along with us for hundreds of those miles. This book is filled with tips, lists, and pictures on how to plan for a trip, gear options, how to deal with obstacles (weather, animals, and crummy attitudes), and more. There’s a whole section on games and rewards that have worked well for our family and have kept us entertained for hours from age two thru teens.
Praise
My name’s [redacted] — I’m a lawyer and dad in Denver, to three boys (4, 2, 2 months). I saw your book on the shelf in Mountain Shire books in Winter Park a few months ago and thought “Hmmm, maybe I could handle this…” I did not grow up outdoorsy, and I’ve never been backpacking. Lawyer that I am, I spent the summer furiously annotating your bank and underlining and margin notes. After extensive preparation and mental prepping, I decided a few weeks ago that I was ready to give it a try. I took my four-year-old backpacking, just one night, this last weekend — and we had the best time ever! (Except for getting caught in a gumball-sized hail on the trail. That part was scary. Otherwise, terrific!). I am so enormously grateful to your book and to you for taking the time to write this! I wish I could share photos of my four-year-old beaming with pride carrying his back (not more than 10-15% body weight!) and setting up his tent. You worked magic in my kiddo’s life — and mine as a parent! — as I had would never have thought that backpacking was in my parenting wheelhouse.