July 19, 2012
I'm not the kind of Mom who's content to stay home all day; which could kind of be a problem for someone whose primary job title is stay-at-home-mom. Instead of hanging around the house, my kids and I venture into the outdoors quite a bit. One of our favorite activities is hiking; it's accessible, affordable and just plain awesome.
I have 3 kids ranging in ages from 0-5. We rarely make it more than a mile or two down the trail, but then again distance isn’t really my primary objective these days. I'm more interested in being outside. I welcome the distractions my kids stumble upon: a rock to climb, a bug to catch, birds to watch, ant hill to observe, a stick that looks like a chainsaw, monsters that need to be taken care of… The goal is just being outside.
In order to make getting three kids out of the house and onto the trail as quick and easy as possible I keep my backpack stocked at all times. Here's a list of items I'd recommend keeping in your pack for a potential outing with the kids.
Items that stay in your pack:
- Dog poop bags: For dog poop (if applicable) as well as for bathroom breaks, TP, or used diapers.
- Diapers: Remember to keep these stocked, it isn’t fun to be on the trail and realize you don’t have a spare diaper (speaking from experience).
- Bum wipes: Obviously for bums, also for snotty noses, and hand wiping before snacks.
- Knife: Because every pack needs a knife.
- Suckers: Or some other ‘incentive’ for when your child is “toooo tiiiiirrrreeed” to go on.
- Small first aid kit: Buy a small kit to leave in your pack or check out these instructions for making your own little survival kit.
- Bandana: Forgot a hair fastener, need a tourniquet, small super hero cape, babies bald head getting sunburned… always handy!
- Tweezers: Sometimes nature can be one giant sliver; I think I use these just about every time we take a hike.
- Trowel shovel: For digging catholes, or in our case it mostly gets used for just plain old-fashioned digging.
- Sunscreen: For obvious reasons
Items that go in your pack or your child’s prior to leaving:
- Snacks: Here is a list of my favorites.
- Water
- Jackets or long sleeve shirts: Important in all seasons for sun exposure or cold weather.
- Sun hats
- Camera