Hiking with toddlers

[The Adam Blaster]

I'm curious about the hiking solutions that other parents have found that work.
My boy will be 2 this summer, and I'd like to start taking him to some wilderness areas for light hikes. When we go for walks around our home, he seems to get tired of walking after about the distance of 2 blocks and I will pick him up and carry him for a bit, then he wants to get back on the ground and walk himself.
I think he weighs about 30 pounds now, and will probably be a couple pounds heavier by this summer.
Are there any good quality kid-carrying packs out there for a child his size?

I have seen some decent strollers with bicycle-sized wheels, but they all seem to be $300+++ and I know it will be a low-use item so I've been very reluctant to buy one. And they seem to be quite bulky also, and I don't look forward to packing it in the back of the vehicle and taking up a large amount of cargo space.

The other alternative that I've thought about is a wagon with largE-ish pneumatic tires that could handle being pulled on a hiking trail, over small logs etc. Haven't actually looked for one yet...


EDIT: I will also work on his stamina by taking him out for more walks, that's tough in our winter when it's -30 C though. lol

 

[kjp1969]

We did a lot of hiking with our kids when they were toddlers. I would pick a jogging stroller over a wagon because it will be a lot more stable- the wagon's I'm thinking of would tend to tip on a rough trail. Joggers usually have space for extra stuff that you'll need with a 2 year old, diaper bag, etc.

Our typical hike involved using the stroller until the trail got too rough, then we'd bike-lock it to a tree and continue on foot or with a carrier backpack.

In our experience, our kids got bored a lot quicker than they tired out. On one Yosemite trip, we went up the mist trail to Vernal Falls when our kids were 3, 6 and 8, and even the 3 year old made the whole trip on foot because it was basically climbing one rock after another and no one had the chance to get bored. On a flat trail with nothing to keep their attention, its like a death march.

Oh, and carrying a lot of stuff in your vehicle, welcome to parenthood. Its like travelling with the Russian Army.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Oh, and carrying a lot of stuff in your vehicle, welcome to parenthood. Its like travelling with the Russian Army.

No kidding...
You should have seen the back of my Durango for last summer's cross country trip, ughh....
I really wanted a minivan, but my wife wasn't ready for that "stigma". We got a Torent instead, and it's ok, but definitely does not have enough cargo volume, and certainly won't when #2 shows up in the future.

I started searching for a wagon, and it led me to pirate4x4.com and an old thread. If you widen the axles and make the thing 4-wheel steer, it would be pretty stable, and cool looking to boot! :victory:

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I have one of these:

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...older_id=2534374302699667&bmUID=1268334953405

It's pricey, but really nice. I guess a wheeled conveyance would be ok on a really easy trail, but I don't like hiking easy trails anyway. Using these carriers is a fair amount of work, but nothing an experienced hiker can't handle. You just can't go on multi-day trips if somebody is saddled with one of these.

I also checked out these ones:

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...T<>prd_id=845524441776409&bmUID=1268330469328

and they're not bad for the price. Check them out. But the extra comfort of the Deuter was attractive, and we've actually used it a fair amount so it was worth it.

But once our boy was 2, he liked to get down and run, and we're surprised how far he can go. We've done 5km hikes where he's run half the way on his own. The trick to to make it an adventure... but keep him out of the poison ivy!

 

[The Adam Blaster]

We've got a national park within 30 minutes of our house, and it has some pretty easy trails, so I am curious to see how he does out there when it's warm enough.
I can imagine it's pretty boring for him to walk on the sidewalk around our house/neighbourhood...

 

[6Pins]

We have a Sherpa (?) kid's carrier that we picked up @ REI. We had a crappy one that I suffered through the first kid with, but when kid #2 & #3 came along I upgraded to a real one.

I've hiked lots of the AT with him on my back as well as just in crowds, etc. Much better than a stroller.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Introduce the child to Diego and Dora, and then work off that when you go hiking. That's what worked for us.

Now, I have to figure out what to do with 1 4 year old (30 lbs) and a newborn. Dunno if we get another pack and the wife takes the baby, or Phil has to walk, or what. We have a Baby Bjorn, but I think that might be hard on the back during a hike.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Introduce the child to Diego and Dora, and then work off that when you go hiking. That's what worked for us.

Now, I have to figure out what to do with 1 4 year old (30 lbs) and a newborn. Dunno if we get another pack and the wife takes the baby, or Phil has to walk, or what. We have a Baby Bjorn, but I think that might be hard on the back during a hike.

I don't like the Baby Bjorn, it might be my lack of physical fitness, but my back gets sore in about 5 minutes from that thing...
Or I'm carrying him too high?
He's too big for it anyway.

 

[pcgb34]

Check out consignment sales. A quick google search revealed
kidsconsignmentsales.com/ab.htm shows they have one in Sherwook Park, AB.

there's almost always a few nearly new "jogging strollers" there the never got used anywhere but the neighborhood sidewalks.

we got an old "baby jogger" for $75 and we've used it maybe 10 times in three years. when we tried to resell it for $45 last year, we got no takers!

 

[dport]

I have son that's almost 6 months and we have a Kelty child carrier. I have only used it 3 times so far, but I'm happy with it. We had him in it for 3 hrs the other day and never heard a word from him. I'm realy happy that I bought it off C/L for $40, instead of $160 in the store. We also just picked up a jogging stroller from Baby's R Us for $150. So far I'm happy with it as well. It is an Expedition brand and is def. better than the JUNK Jeep throws their name on. I have also worn the Baby Bjorn, in the front and it does sound like you may be wearing the little one too high. I've worn it for 4hrs and it seemed OK.

 

[SilverBullet]

We borrowed a kid carrier, well worth it. I can't buy one due to finances, but I would look into CL for one.

 

[viatierra]

This may not be what you are looking for and he may still be too young, but a system that really worked wonders for me was this scheme:

Pick a trail and go. We would walk as far as Samantha wanted or until she got tired and wanted to be carried. I would just put her on my shoulders. The key to the deal is that as soon as I picked her up, we were turning around and heading back.

This way if she wanted to keep exploring, she had to push herself to go further. We turned around without leaving me deep up the creek with an unmanagable amount of work to get back to the truck. And I got a bit of a workout too. When she was 3 or 4 it was perfect. We wouldn't go very far, but we got out and had some adventure together. The shoulders program worked good because I could still wear a day simple daypack with all the needed goodies.

Kid gear can be such a slippery-slope, so when you can try to keep it simple.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

This may not be what you are looking for and he may still be too young, but a system that really worked wonders for me was this scheme:

Pick a trail and go. We would walk as far as Samantha wanted or until she got tired and wanted to be carried. I would just put her on my shoulders. The key to the deal is that as soon as I picked her up, we were turning around and heading back.

This way if she wanted to keep exploring, she had to push herself to go further. We turned around without leaving me deep up the creek with an unmanagable amount of work to get back to the truck. And I got a bit of a workout too. When she was 3 or 4 it was perfect. We wouldn't go very far, but we got out and had some adventure together. The shoulders program worked good because I could still wear a day simple daypack with all the needed goodies.

Kid gear can be such a slippery-slope, so when you can try to keep it simple.

That is sort of what we do on our walks around the neighbourhood, he gets bored or tired and doesn't want to walk any more, so I pick him up and head back. I've only got one good arm, so I have to carry him by the "on the hip" method. I don't feel comfortable putting him on my shoulders and trying to keep him up there. Actually, I don't think I could put him up there by myself anyways! lol
I would prefer to do it your way though!

We have a crappy little wagon that has plastic wheels right now, it's barely good enough to take on flat sidewalk, but he likes it, and we got it for free from some friends. It's the kind with the front sterring wheels that are basically castors, and spin freely of each other. What a PITA!!! lol

And I hear you about the slippery slope part... I'm trying to focus on items that will not only be useful, but that I (and my my wife) will actually use.
When I get a better wagon, I'll be able to ditch the plastic one, so it will be a replacement as opposed to a new item to take up more space in my garage. lol

 

[R_Lefebvre]

FYI, I have seen Off-Road Radio Flyers.

Something like the one here:

http://www.uchimurawagons.com/wagons/index.htm

I just think it would suck to try pulling that on anything but a flat and level wood-chipped trail.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

There would definitely have to be some thought-out plans for this thing, and purposely built for a specific level of rough terrain.

AI think I'm really leaning toward the wagon above the kid carrier packs, and a jogging stroller. It seems like it would be easier for me to pull, and more versatile as well, we could even strap folding chairs to the sides. :victory:
Or, I could build a mini roof-rack, and make a mini RTT to mount up there. lol
It could be my son's personal Expedition Vehicle. hahaha