This is a beautiful April Friday afternoon in the
Garden State, I decided to take a few hours off from work and go for a 5
mile hike in the woods. This is
the exact same hike I did last weekend with my kids, but this solo trek took
only half the time. That’s right
no surprise, hiking with kids takes longer.
Sometimes a lot longer.
The thing is if you want your children to grow up to love hiking, you’ve got
to start sometime. Besides, I
like to be out in the wilderness with my kids.
It used to me harder, but now that my children are a bit older (10
and 7 years old) they enjoy hiking.
There are a few tricks I’ve learn that make it much easier.
The first thing is that the children must feel like they are part of
the adventure, not being dragged along.
I find one of the ways to do this is the have them help in deciding
where to hike, let them help plan it out.
When we actually get in the woods, let one of them lead (or at least
appear to be leading by being in the front).
Whether the kids are in the front or the back, it is very important
to let the smallest child set the pace.
Forget about making good time, high mileage is out.
The emphasis has to be on the
good in making good time. If the
kids get worn out because daddy is pushing too hard, all you will have are
tired cranky kids (and an even harder time getting them to go on the next
hike).
Let the kids have fun. That’s
right you don’t have to make them
have fun, Let them have fun.
A little preparation and forethought is helpful, but you really don’t
have to have a hundred ideas on how to entertain the children ready to go.
It is more important to stay alert and sensitive to what the kids are
experiencing. Pickup on their
ideas and turn their ideas into fun.
I’ll give you a couple of examples; Part of last weekend’s hike –
about ½ mile into it included a short easy scramble up some boulders.
There was a well trodden path around the boulders, but I had hiked
this same route several times alone before and was in the habit of just
scrambling up the boulders – maybe 15 feet, without even thinking about it.
I did this and my 7 year old son followed right behind – absolutely
delighted by this small climb!
Bingo! From now on I’ll keep my eye out for routes that involve these types
of small scrambles. I short time
later the two kids start playing a game of ‘who am I’.
At first I found this a bit annoying (generally preferring some
quiet) but I didn’t say anything.
I found a mile later they were happily still walking along playing
‘who am I’ (fairly quietly).
Keep an eye out for things kids are going to find interesting.
Alongside a lake in this hike we found several trees that beavers had
been using to sharpen their teeth. So
we stopped for a bit and let the kids investigate.
Be flexible, just allow things to happen.
I will say though it is wise if
possible to scout out the route solo first.
It’s important to know how long it is so the kids don’t get too
tired. It’s also helpful to know
in advance what is up ahead – like beaver eaten trees (spontaneity is works
much better when planned in advance).
