Backpacking with Kids: A Whole New Adventure

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“Mami, are we there yet?”

Right. If you’re a parent you know exactly what that means. And no, we are NOT on a road trip. “Mami, really, we must be there soon, right?” Luka, my 4-year old son echoes the earlier statement from Zala, my 6-year old daughter. We are about two and a half hours into our backpacking trip. It’s been raining on and off, luckily just a drizzle for now, though ominous looking clouds lurk too close for comfort.  It’s the last weekend before school starts and we haven’t backpacked yet this summer. So, sunny or not, we’re going for it.Summertime in the Rockies is simply magical, and we love all things outdoors – be it car camping, short exploratory hikes, biking, floating down the river, or backpacking. The latter takes a bit more preparation and a LOT more patience. Backpacking with kids is a whole new adventure no matter the level of experience in your previous life (remember, that life before kids?). We attempted our first backpacking trip as soon as our kids were big enough to walk with a backpack for about half an hour. Knowing our limitations of low mileage and low carrying capacity made this a fun challenge. But little people mean little impact, so off the trail we went and found wilderness experiences about half a mile away from the car, perfect. Filtering water, finding firewood, looking at stars and waking up to greenness around us was magical. The kids were hooked! Or so I chose to see it…