River & Trail Talk

This is written from the perspective of a mom with 2 kids under 4.

Ever since I found out I was expecting, I dreamt of taking my kids on all kinds of adventures: big and small. One passion of mine is backpacking and it was something I knew, without a doubt, that I would want to share with my kids. Even with my previous experience, I’d be lying if I wasn’t intimidated. This past summer, the timing finally felt right to take my 4 year old for his first overnight trip.

As with anything with little kids, the objective is not about the distance, duration or elevation. It’s all about fun! While I was confident in his ability, I needed to be confident that, above all, it would be fun for him.

That’s exactly what it was!

And, it was also challenging. My 4 year old learned he was more capable than he realized, and stronger than he thought. Here’s a breakdown of how it went, how I prepared, and how we responded to nervous feelings, grumbling bellies, meltdowns, and crazy weather along the way.

Choosing the Trail

When choosing a trail, it’s important to know your child’s abilities and comfort level. I think no matter how ‘easy’ the trail is, there will be a certain level of encouragement and continued motivation that will need to happen. You must decide what that means for you and your child(ren).

My personal criteria for choosing a trail was:

• ~3km or less
• Moderate Hike
• Easy access to water
• Beautiful campsite

With all of this in mind, I chose the Foster Brook Trail at Fundy National Park so we could spend a September night at the Foster Brook campsite. September in New Brunswick has the potential for anything between hot and humid days to heavy rain and cool temperatures. We aren’t a fair weather family, (which is good considering what happened - more on this later in the blog), so I knew that we would be going no matter the weather. This may not be true for you. Perhaps you’ll need a plan B or you can plan for a spontaneous trip when the weather appears reliable. For me, the trail and campsite was top priority. Since the Foster Brook campsite is popular, I had to book in advance and simply hope for the best.

The Gear

I anticipated a heavy pack for this trip. I’ve never been a light hiker as I often hike with my dog, (as I have discussed in previous blogs), and have yet to invest in ultralight gear.  It was important that my 4 year old carried some gear, but it needed to be light.

This is what he carried in his backpack:

• Our pillows
• His bug head net
• A small notebook and 3 markers
• A couple light books and toys
• 500ml water in a soft flask
• Z-seat (This was an unexpected favourite for the hike. He loved having his own seat everywhere he went.)

Thanks to a great recommendation from my coworker, Sandi, I made him a scavenger hunt to clip on to his backpack. This was a big hit!

And I carried everything else. Here’s what I packed:

• MSR Hubba Hubba NXT 2-person Tent
• Big Agnes Divide Insulated Double Sleeping Pad
• My sleeping bag
• His sleeping bag
• Our clothes (one set of spare clothes, plus warm layers and accessories for overnight)
• 2 Headlamps
• Rain gear (jacket for me, jacket and pants for him)
• Water shoes for both of us
• MSR Pocket Rocket Stove, Matches and Fuel
• 1 Pot, 2 Bowls and 2 Sporks
• Food (see below)
• My Head Bug Net
• Toiletries
• Bugspray
• First Aid Kit
• 2L of water
• Water Filter
• Garbage bag
• Rope
• Pack Raincover
• Trail Magik Hiking Carrier* (*I did not tell him I had this and fortunately, I didn't need to use it - but if I had to carry him on the trail for any reason, this was how I would have done it)
• My phone

I borrowed my husband’s 70L pack to fit it all. There are some things I could have done to make my pack lighter, but I kept the objective in mind to do what was necessary to make it a positive experience - and that ultimately led to some bulkier gear. It was heavy, but it was definitely worth it! Particularly, the double sleeping pad. It took up most of the space in the pack - but it was the main reason we woke up dry and comfortable after an outrageous amount of rain overnight.

Food

Planning backpacking meals can feel like solving a math formula. You want nutrient and calorie dense food that packs small, is lightweight - and hopefully, enjoyable. The enjoyable part was particularly important with my son.

Here’s what we ate:

• Lunch: Peanut Butter and Hemp Hearts on Whole Wheat Protein wraps
• Supper: Happy Yak Freeze-Dried Spaghetti with Neopolitan Sauce
• Breakfast: Croissants and Chia Squeezes
• Snacks:
• Made with Local Protein Bars
• Extra Snack Bars (Fig Bar for him, Protein bar for me)
• Apple Sauce Squeezes
• Veggie Straws
• Tempura Seaweed Snack
• Protein Pretzel Crackers
• Trail Mix
• Dried Mango
• Fruit gummies (and Energy Chews for me)

The Itinerary

After checking in at the Visitor Centre, we arrived at the trailhead at 11am. I planned for it to take us around 3 hours to get to the campsite. This trail would likely take me 1 to 1.5 hours on my own but I was not hiking at my pace. The big key to keeping hiking positive with little ones is going at their pace, and lowering your own expectations. Yes, there are times to push - but it’s important to allow for lots of breaks for snacks, observing rocks or playtime on the side of the trail. Do your best to lean into the mantra of “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” We moved slowly and stopped every 30 minutes, or after a steep ascent. About 20 minutes into the hike, he told me it was ‘too long’ and he couldn’t make it the full 3km. I knew he could so I let him feel his feelings, and then we continued on thanks to a snack and a renewed motivation to find his scavenger hunt items. When we made it to the campsite, around 2pm, he was so proud of himself, and even said he could have kept going!

Rain was incoming so my focus was getting our tent set up, and then prepping supper before an early bedtime. This summer, it has been particularly dry so we had to walk quite a ways before we found running water to collect. This was an adventure on its own!

After hanging up our food bag, we settled into the tent for the night around 7pm. This was earlier than our usual routine but we were both tired, it was starting to get dark and I wanted to make sure we were inside before the rain started. Since we didn’t have a clear night, I brought a piece of card stock with holes so we could “look at the stars” in our tent, with the help of a headlamp. This was another winning recommendation from Sandi.

My son slept like a rock all night long while I laid awake most of the night listening to the rain pounding on our tent. I made a gameplan for how we would stay as dry as possible while packing up in the morning.

He woke around 6am. At this point, I peeked outside to discover we were surrounded by groundwater. It had seeped into our tent which is why I’m extra grateful for the double sleeping pad as it is the reason we remained dry, despite sleeping in a puddle. With some careful balancing and strategic movement, we got ourselves dressed. I packed everything up inside the tent as best I could - and then we stepped outside in the dark, equipped with headlamps and rain gear. Once I packed up the tent, we moved everything to the outhouse for a little shelter so we could eat a quick breakfast and I could finish packing up our gear. For future trips, I plan to purchase a lightweight tarp to have shelter without relying on the backcountry outhouse. I’m grateful we had the option though!

It was not a classy breakfast by any means - but, in my opinion, these are the moments that make adventures fun. When there is just enough scrappiness and problem solving required, a trip becomes much more memorable. This is also a case where knowing how my son handles bad weather was important. I knew he wouldn't be botherd by heavy rain as we’ve done many day adventures in variable weather. Often, he’s the one encouraging me to get outside in “bad weather”. If he felt differently, I would have rescheduled the trip.

We began our hike out around 8:30am. The rain slowed which was a mood booster. With the significant rain, we had a couple of water crossings on the way out. I put on my crocs and brought my pack across first and then went back to carry him across the water. The hike out was similar to the hike in with lots of snack breaks. With about 20 minutes remaining, he was tired and anxious to be done. Any hiker can relate to that feeling! After a few minutes of big feelings, and promises of the post-hike ice cream we’d previously discussed, we kept moving to find another good rest spot. This was for him to decide but soon, our car came into view and we ran to the end. We made it back to our car around 11:00 am.

In Summary

Backpacking with kids isn't much different than backpacking with adults. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard when it comes to kids is: “Let them surprise you.” Be prepared for things to go wrong, but give them a chance to prove to you, and themselves, just how capable they are. Backpacking with kids provides an excellent opportunity for this practice. It might be intimidating, but with experience and practice, you can trust in yourself and your kids that you can do it - and it will be (mostly) great!