Introducing Kids to Backpacking

Many people lament that modern kids aren’t very connected with the natural world, and I’m glad to say that we gave our kids good grounding in the wilderness. When Ciera and Jim were little we first tried pickup camping with a canopy on the pickup, but eventually we got a beater pickup with a small camper on the back. We would often camp near Burgdorf Hot Spring, near McCall. In the morning we’d visit the hot spring and get a day pass. Then we’d do hikes around the area, and hit the hot spring before bed. It worked out great. A pickup camper was a big improvement over pickup canopy camping, and was a great place to be in the rain or cold. But when our youngest, Jim, was 5 we went on his first overnight hike, and starting the next summer we did easy backpacks and got rid of the pickup. What follows is our introduction of our kids, ages 10 and 5, to backpacking and camping.

Year 1: Car camping near a hot spring and visiting the Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival. Below 17 mile hot spring.

Also in Year 1: Baker Lake near Ketchum, below. Its a 1 mile hike to a nice lake stocked with golden trout.

Year 2: Norton Lake (5 miles), Bench Lake (4 miles), Boulder Basin (5 miles), Bellas Lake (4 miles), Goat Lake (4 miles). Bench Lake shown below, Jim on the left, Ciera on the right.

Year 3: Boulder Lake, Bench Lake, Washington (Mars) Lake. Hiking to Boulder Lake shown below, Jim still not carrying his own sleeping bag.

Year 4: Washington Lake, Kane Lake, Born lakes overlook, Day hike to Moon Dipper hot springs. Below, Kane Lake, 3 mile hike that feels like 5 miles.

Year 5: Farley Lake day hike, Kane Lake, Sawtooth Lake, Mars lake (near Washington Lk), Sawtooth Lake below.

Year 6: Olympic Coast 3 day hike, Kane lake, Jim started scouts that year and he and I did many backpacks in the years after with the scouts.