Backpacking used to be simple. We could decide to go on a trip at the drop of the hat, pack up, and be out of here in a few hours. We could hike 40 miles over three days and bring nothing but ramen noodles and sleeping gear. Now that we have a 2 ½ year old it takes a lot more planning. Deciding on a location, with a reasonable length trail (2 miles max each way) and an interesting destination (preferably water), choosing healthy yet lightweight and easy to prepare food, making sure we will be warm enough at the higher elevations during the night (often it gets below freezing at the places we go), are all challenges that we have to be a lot more careful about now that we backpack with a child. Not to mention the bears and wolves that frequent the backcountry in the northwest.

Last weekend we went to Packsaddle Lake. The trailhead is hard to find, a long trek in a 4 wheel drive vehicle on private and forest service dirt roads. But the views of the Tetons from the Idaho side was a sublime and stunning reward.

I like a good workout from my hikes, but Packsaddle was only ½ a mile so I was a little disappointed. But we spent the energy saved from the shorter hike by swimming! This is something I never did when it was just Chris and I. We needed to have a kid to get us in the water!



Cold can be a problem for backpackers with children. Sam has a hard time keeping his hands inside the covers and absolutely refuses to sleep INSIDE the sleeping bag. We have gone ahead and started bringing a sleeping back liner, probably ½ a pound in hand warmers, and a small catalytic propane heater with us. We use a “Little Buddy Heater” that is indoor-safe, and will turn it on periodically throughout the night in our tent. Chris stays awake with it for safety. During this last hike, each of us carried over 40 pounds from all the extra stuff for keeping a kid warm.



Packsaddle lake is 7, 379 ft elevation, so it was a lot warmer than some of the other places we’ve camped this summer. It wasn’t cold enough to warrant a fire, but we made a very small one to scare off the mosquitos.



Before bed, we always string up a bear bag with all of the food and other scented items that we have used during the trip. We also carry bear mace at all times and never eat or prepare food near our tent. Instead we find a scenic spot to enjoy our meal far away from camp to keep attractants away from US. Technically, this is not an ideal way to string it up. Ideally, the bag would be at least 5 feet away from a surface that a bear can climb, as well as 10 or 12 feet up in the air. But Packsaddle lake gets a lot of traffic and we didn’t see any signs of dangerous wildlife. Throughout the day we visited there, we saw at least one hundred people stop for at least a few minutes (although we were the only people to stay there that night). As late as 11 pm, we heard ATVs driving up to the lake, and scaring away any threatening wildlife.



Sam loves being in the tent, but he can start getting nervous and antsy when it is actually time to sleep. This is when we bust out the technology. Chris has an iPhone, so we have Sam’s favorite movie Harry Potter downloaded on it to help him feel at home.

And of course, we love to play with glowsticks when it gets REALLY dark.



There is a lot more I will have to say about backpacking with a toddler, but one parting note is how important we have discovered it is to choose a location with water. Not only did Sam enjoy swimming in the afternoon, we also spent a lot of time just standing near the water, throwing in stones and sticks, watching the various birds sweep over the water and paddle around the lake. I brought some lightweight toys, but with a beautiful distraction like a body of water, we found the toys unnecessary.

I hope to have a post about what we bring to eat and how we manage to do it with minimal mess sometime within the next week or so, so check back!

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