Backpacking with kids is not for the faint of heart. But in my experience, it elevates the already challenging yet rewarding activity of wilderness adventuring to new levels. Earlier this summer, alongside an exceptional group of buddies (which made all the difference), my son and I hiked into Upper Watson Lake, an accessible yet remote alpine lake in the Mount Baker wilderness of the North Cascades. It was our second year doing this hike, and for the second year in a row, we departed dirty, sore, exhausted, and covered in bug bites. Sounds fun, right? It wasn’t until I was home, clean, horizontal, and bouncing my younger son on my lap that I fully appreciated the feat we’d just taken on. After two days in the woods with a toddler, spending time my two-month-old was the easiest thing I’d done all weekend.
Our home in the woods for the weekend. (Image: Casey Funke)
If it’s been a few years since you’ve broken out the stove and water filtration device, let this serve as your PSA – the woods are calling, and you should go.
A year ago, this same group of friends welcomed my son with open arms into our mid-July backpacking tradition that loosely celebrates another trip around the sun for one of our buddies. I learned a lot that trip on how to successfully bring your toddler backpacking, and came up with eight criteria for a successful trip. Most of these were still applicable a year later. Parenting in the wilderness isn’t all that different than parenting anywhere else. You’ve got to keep your kid fed, rested, and entertained. The backcountry provides a marvelous setting for these requisites.
Taking a break by Upper Watson Lake with my trail buds. (Image: Casey Funke)
On the food front, go easy on yourself, and your kid. Annie’s mac and cheese worked well for dinner. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich was lunch. And we brought plenty of apples, Z bars, and pouches to keep us nourished and energetic. I’m of the mantra that you can eat what you earn, so a sweet trail snack is a must on our family adventures. Peanut Butter M&Ms kept my son excited all weekend. Used sparingly and strategically, they can be a real mood booster.
Being in the wilderness is exhausting, so sleep came fairly easy. Equipped with a double sleeping pad, a two-person tent that we shared with our dog, an insulated sleep sack, and his mandatory sleeping companions, puppy and bunny, we got some good rest on the trip.
Annie’s mac and cheese: the ultimate backcountry crowd-pleaser. (Image: Casey Funke)
And finally, from an entertainment standpoint, there is plenty to do in the mountains. This year’s trip coincided with our ongoing quest to use the potty consistently (I guess I’ve adopted the word potty into my lexicon), so we spent ample time finding trees to pee on. We swam in Upper Watson Lake, explored the surrounding area, and sat around camp fending off bugs with bug nets, kid-friendly bug repellent stickers, and lightweight long sleeves. On our full day at the lake, we hiked around the south end and up the ridge on the other side, finding snow patches to play on and creeks to jump over.
One giant leap for kid-kind. (Image: Casey Funke)
Don’t expect much downtime backpacking with a toddler. If you’re accustomed to reading in a hammock when camping, this is not that. This is digging deep into your patience reserves as your kid asks for a snack for the 100th time of the afternoon. This is taking four unsuccessful trips to the camp toilet, only to have your kid poop his pants on the car ride home. This is adding 30 pounds to your tired legs and climbing tight switchbacks through hemlock and Douglas fir. This is relying on your friends to treat your son with the most patience and care you could ever hope for. This is jumping in an alpine lake after a stiff climb. This is sitting around a camp lantern with your best buddies, sipping whiskey while your nearly three-year-old sleeps deeply in the tent a few feet away. This is bringing your dog along because she was once your number one companion, but now all she does is make your life harder, it seems, but you still love her and want her to be happy, which she is in the woods. This is hanging your food in a tree outside of camp. This is climbing into your sleeping bag next to your sound asleep kid who you are more proud of than ever before. This is getting a crummy night’s sleep because it’s camping, but waking up to a dew-covered tent, a hot cup of coffee, and the sun rising over the mountains.
This is the same ol’ backpacking that I’ve been enjoying since I was my son’s age. I hope it rubs off on him.
Some traditions are worth carrying on — literally. (Image: Casey Funke)
