Hiking with kids - It is the JOURNEY not the Destination!


 I know this is one of the most over used cliches, but when hiking with children, it could not be more true.  Prior to having children, Shane and I spent all of our free time hiking, biking, camping and backpacking.  We wanted to continue our active lifestyle even after we had children, so we had to devise a way for this to work.  From early on, Shane and I made it a priority to make sure the girls appreciated and had a true DESIRE to be outside and be active. 

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 And you know, we don't mess around.  When we set our minds to something, we mean business!!  Here I am hiking with Alli at 5 days old (yes - I recovered quick!!), and snowshoeing with Jill at 3 months old......

Some of the goals we had in mind

  • Make the outdoors FUN
  • Have them experience how healing nature is
  • Show them the infinite possibilities of outdoor activities
  • Do such a good job that THEY would ask for outdoor adventures
I think we can say we succeeded!  If you remember last year while Alli was doing Vision Therapy, we barely did anything else.  SHE was the one who finally asked to go one a hike because she missed it.   Our trip to Death Valley last year we had an epiphany that THEY could actually hike faster than us! PURE SUCCESS!!  But by far the greatest measure of success comes from this conversation I had with the girls:

Me:  Girls, what would you think if we sold our house and lived out of our car.  We could just spend our time driving around the country camping and seeing all the cool things that there are.

Girls:  YAY!!!!  That would be so fun!!

Ok, so now for the nitty gritty....how do you raise kids to love the outdoors and love hiking?  There are so many things you can do.  I would like to just do a few posts on some of the things that have worked for us over the years. 

 Encourage your children to find interesting things along the hike.
 We started by having the girls hike a half a mile in Upper Park. Over time, they have gotten up to a max of about 5 miles in a day with up to 1500 feet of elevations gain. When Jill was 4 we did a 13 mile backpacking trip around JUNIPER LAKE.  This did not happen overnight!!  We have been "training" them for about 3 years...

 To START....hike only as far as they want.  If they want to hike for 10 minutes and then play in one spot for an hour, then more power to them....let them dilly dally...there IS NO DESTINATION when you are teaching your children to love nature.  You are simply outside and enjoying what you are surrounded by.

Tip #2:  LET THEM GET DIRTY!!!

Tip #3: Go out in all sorts of weather
 Allow them to explore and be curious about EVERYTHING.  Let them ask a million questions, but put the question back on them.  Do they wonder why water is coming right out of the ground....stop and let them investigate the beginnings of the spring....You are not out to get exercise, you are just helping facilitate a LOVE for nature....
Tip #4: Let them be creative....the girls gathered
 inventory for a Quartz shop on a hike in Joshua Tree.
Shane and I read for an hour while they did this....
 When you are first starting out with children in the outdoors, you might need to help them enjoy nature. We do not have a TV, our girls don't play (much) with toys. They are very used to making their own fun. Being set free in the outdoors, they are always quick to find or create something to entertain themselves
The girls built a teepee and kitchen then played
"Indians" for over two hours.

 Another thing you want to make sure you do is ENJOY NATURE YOURSELF!!!  You cannot expect your children to want to be outside getting dirty and bit by bugs if you are bothered by that.  Now, you may have a child who grown up to love the outdoors anyway (I am a perfect example - I was 18 on my first camping trip).  But your children imitate you....remember that!!
Bouldering in Joshua Tree 


 And the final, but maybe most important tip for teaching children to enjoy the outdoors is to go to AMAZING PLACES!!!   Our girls have been to caves, lava beds, slot canyons, behind waterfalls, on suspended bridges, the sequoias, volcanoes, glacier fed lakes, huge sand dunes, cliff dwellings and through amazing land formations.  
Goblin Valley
Joshua Tree



 If we ever want our children to care about the environment then we better get them outside enjoying it!! 

 There is a HUGE difference between talking about the world we live in and being outside EXPERIENCING the world we live in. 

Waterfall by Mt. Hood

Delicate Arch

Sometimes I have to stop and remember that I created these crazy children who love the outdoors!!  The other day we were riding home from a LONG day.  We left at 8:50 to see a show at Laxson, then 2 hours at Caper Acres Playground, then 2 hours visiting with friends at their house (did I mention how much I love homeschooling!!).  It was 3 o 'clock, we had not had any food since 11am and there was a 20 mph headwind we had to ride home in.  I wanted nothing more than to just get home!!!  We were about a mile from home, passing by Lindo Channel which just happened to have water in it from the latest rain.  The girls just about jumped OFF the bike as I rode through, saying, "Cant we stay and play, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE????"  I was so hungry, tired and ready to be home, but there was no way I was going to deny these girls a chance to be one with NATURE....even if it was only Lindo Channel and underneath the noisy freeway.  It was 64 degrees out...can you see Alli diving into the water....I guess Shane and I were successful in creating children who APPRECIATE NATURE!!!