Hiking with toddlers

[The Adam Blaster]

UPDATE:

I still hate that stupid plastic wagon with plastic wheels that we got for free.
I actually tipped it over on the weekend when I was pulling my son in it, coming back from the park.
All it took was for me to pull the wagon diagonally across a raised part in the road surface (about 3/4" higher than the cement) coming down from the sidewalk, and she tipped over.
It was a super slow motion thing because I could feel it going, so, I held the handle to prevent it from tipping right over on my boy, and he was now 1/2 out of the wagon at this point, both hands bracing himself, and one leg free. His other leg was sort of caught in the wagon so he couldn't just crawl out.
It took me a few seconds to realize there's no way I was able to turn the wagon back on it's wheels, and keep Spencer inside.
I let it down slowly and he hopped out and said "Uh-oh" with both hands raised by his shoulders and palms up. lololol
My reply "This wagon is going to have an uh-oh and end up in the pond!"

I was at a hardware super store kind of place (Princess Auto) later in the weekend looking at rubber tires for dollies etc. They also had a big wagon with pneumtic tires on sale for $120.00. The floor and sides was made from expanded steel, not ideal, but you could easily put something waterproof on the floor to keep the water/mud from hitting the bottoms of the kids sitting in there.
It was pretty large though, I think body was about 42" long, and probably about 24" tall. I'm not sure I would want something quite that large...

Before I settle on the parts and design of the wagon, I have started to look around for a baby carrier, and there's one for sale on the board here, one of those Deuters that several of you have commented on.
The only negative to the baby carrier is that I wouldn't be able to lift it onto, or off of my shoulders by myself.
Putting a back pack on with one good arm, and one that is less than cooperative is a bit... tricky... lol

 

[Pskhaat]

Baby backpacks. Keltys are great and we have put many hundreds of miles (thousands it seems on my old back) on the two Keltys we own, but for quick treks and treks through airports where the Kelty requires a large wake abaft, I recommend the Snugli:

It folds to next to nothing without strap adjustments, it is more comfortable for the smaller kiddos and most situations save the longest hikes requiring carrying capacity &c. Just my opinion from carrying kids on back for the last 7 years...

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Adam, I think you'd have a hard time putting one on. I have enough trouble as it is. Though maybe you'd be more creative. A well placed table would help a lot.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Adam, I think you'd have a hard time putting one on. I have enough trouble as it is. Though maybe you'd be more creative. A well placed table would help a lot.

Yup, I would certainly not have the easiest time doing it, especially with a little boy inside wiggling around. lol
It was a 2-person job when I wore the Baby Bjorn for neighbourhood walks.

My wife veto'ed the idea of the carrier pack saying "We won't use it that much."
That wasn't a comment I was hoping for...
But, if/when I get a wagon made or end up just buying one, I won't need to have any help loading and pulling him around in it as opposed to the baby carrier.
So, the wagon plan is probably the best direction.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

My wife said the same thing. She wasn't sure about spending $300 on it, but now she's glad we did.

For you, what about more like a 2 wheeled cart? You could even start with a bicycle trailer, and just make to arms that would come up and fasten to either side of a special belt you wear. Then your arms are free.

If a 4 wheeled wagon, you need 1 axle that can articulate.

 

[Black09JK]

I just did a short hike with some friends who recived a Deuter brand baby carrier. ..... It is better padded, better constructed and just flat out a nicer bit of kit. Too bad it's double the price. I would check one out if you have some serious cash to burn. It was pretty cool.....

Can't agree more. Our Deuter is amazing. We intended to get the Kelty when we went to the store, but after trying them all on the Deuter was much more comfortable. Highly recommend them.

 

[Beachboyy]

I am a little late to the convo but thought I would chime in. We purchased a Kelty Pathfinder http://www.amazon.com/Kelty-Pathfinder-Carrier-Cobalt-Silver/dp/B000PI5P4I and it works awesome. One thing I really like about it is when you stop for a break or lunch etc., you can set it down on all 4 legs and it acts as a seat for the little one. We really didnt want to pay $200 + for a carrier so we hit up the REI "garage sale" and got this one that is in perfect condition for $14.95. For those of you who dont know what the REI garage sale is. Its a sale each REI store has twice a year where they sell off all their returns. Since rei has a 100% no questions asked return policy a lot of the stuff is perfectly new, but they cant sell it as new. They dont advertise this sale you have to ask your local store when it is going to happen. Get their early because they only let a certain amount of people in at a time and the good stuff goes quick.

 

[GroupSe7en]

Father of 4...

Forget the carrier - your 2 yr old is too big to fit comfortably.
They want to walk at that age until they get to tired to stand.

Get a jogging stroller with the 16" wheels. We have a 'Baby Jogger'. It's got suspension, 5 point harness, front brake, cover, bug netting - the works.

The single front wheel lets you lift the back and wheelbarrow it between rocks and things.

Remember that an adventure for them might be 50 yards down the trail and then an hour looking at moss. They don't care about 'getting there' - neither should we, for that matter.

Hope you find something that works for you.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Alright, I have a legitimate update finally!
(I promise I won't complain about my crappy free plastic wagon any more.)

I just bought him a nice sturdy steel wagon:
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...ardworks%2BGarden%2BMesh%2BCart.jsp?locale=en

It was on sale, out the door after taxes for $95.00.
I have been looking online sporadically, I saw a lot of nice wagons with pneumatic tires, decent sizes, some cool features like a built-in rack to hold a cooler! lol
But, they were all WAY north of 100 bucks, and I really didn't want to spend much more than that on this thing.
I would have built mine own and made it really cool instead.

I really like this one I bought because it has a high weight capacity, is a bit heavy, but that's a good way to keep it from tipping over. The sides fold down as well, so if I need to move something large and heavy around the garage, I can use it for that purpose.
It also has a connection to hook it up to a riding lawnmower - if I ever get one, I can take him for rides.
It's large enough I think 2 kids would be relatively comfortable in it, so when we have our 2nd, I'm all set.

We've taken walks a lot since the wether has gotten nicer, and there is NO issue with his stamina. :xxrotflma
If he wants to go somewhere, he will walk, or run himself the whole way. We walk around the outside of our condo complex and down a multi-use path behind our house, he always wants to walk to the highway for some reason... :clueless: ????
And in total, it's probably about 1.5 km each way. The only time he wants me to pick him up is when we get close to the house on the way back because he doesn't want to go home yet. lol

So, I will assemble the wagon, probably this weekend and see if I can test it out with him, possibly on some dirt paths.