10 tips for hiking and camping with toddlers

I've been climbing hills with my 4 year old daughter since she was two and a half and recently we went on our first 'wild camp'. I'm not claiming to be an expert but here are a few lessons / tips that I've picked up along the way...

1) Let them be involved in the planning - this will give them a sense of ownership of the trip. They could help to choose the menu and what clothes they're going to wear.

2) Compromise - this is their trip as well. It may seem totally impractical to pack Ski Barbie, but bringing her may mean the world to them (and Barbie's skis make great chopsticks)!

3) Let them set the pace - let them walk in front of you. They'll enjoy taking the lead a lot more than trailing along behind. And you'll be able to see when they want to stop, when they're getting tired and if they need any help.

4) Don't rush them - let them explore their surroundings. Those plants / insects / rocks that you've seen a hundred times might be new and exciting to them. 

5) Let them be involved in making decisions - this will also give them a sense of ownership. They could decide when to take a break or help choose a suitable spot to pitch a tent.

6) Show them the map - it's never too early to teach them the basics of map reading.  

7) Distract them - tell them a story or play a game if they look like they're flagging.

8) Give them targets - break the hike into manageable chunks. We'll often stop for a piece of chocolate every half hour.

9) Comfort over the 'ultralight' approach - a wet cold night under a tarp could put them off camping for life!

10) Bring a full change of clothes - children are drawn to mud like moths to a flame, plus their clothes are so small they'll take up hardly any space in the pack! 

Place Fell (657m) wild camp... with a 4 year old!

My daughter (MD) and I have been climbing hills together since she was two and a half. She is four now and a couple of months ago she asked if we could climb a mountain together and camp out on top!

I'd climbed about 350m ascent (Catbells) with MD in the past and I figured she would be able to climb 500m without too much trouble. I've found she enjoys steep climbs over gentle ones so I did some research and decided Place Fell (657m) from Patterdale would be perfect.

I wanted MD to be involved in the planning so she chose the menu - hotdog sausages and tortilla wraps for lunch,  ramen noodles for dinner and porridge for breakfast. I packed my bombproof Terra Nova Solar 2 tent (2.5kg) and my toasty warm Mountain Equipment Lightline sleeping bag (1.2kg)... hardly lightweight but I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible

I managed to pack the tent, both sleeping bags, both mats, cooking gear, spare clothes, waterproofs, food, water, camera, tigress doll and Ski Barbie in the cavernous Montane Ultratour 40lt (730g) backpack. I had a bit of a stand-off as to whether Ski Barbie should be allowed to come, but I succumbed as this was MD's trip and there was just enough space in the pack.

We drove up to Patterdale as a family on our way to a holiday cottage near Penrith. By the time we got there it was 1pm so we decided to have the hotdogs cooked on the stove with mum and little brother before we set off from the cafe at the bottom of the trail at 2pm. The views on the first leg were beautiful.

We stopped halfway at Boredale Hause for coffee / hot chocolate. The wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped so MD donned her (heavy duty) wet weather gear. The next leg of the walk was steeper and involved a few bits of easy scrambling - which she loved! 

We were on the top by 4.30pm but didn't stick around for long on the blustery and exposed trig point. Next on the agenda was finding a suitable place to pitch the tent. I let MD suggest a few places and I was surprised at how good they were (flat / dry etc). She helped me pitch the tent by pushing in the pegs, threading the poles etc.

    

Dinner (ramen noodles) were cooked in my Alpkit MytiPot with a windshield and stove set up I'd bought on ebay. I though I'd packed two sporks but when I unpacked I could only find one. I gave MD the spork and then looked for something I could use as chopsticks... Barbies skis did the job perfectly!

By 8pm MD was ready for bed - teeth brushed and tucked up in my super warm Mountain Equipment sleeping bag. I was also ready for bed having been up since 5am with her little brother and driven 3.5 hours to the Lake District. I closed my eyes ready for some sleep only to have two little fingers peal my eye lids open and a little voice ask 'Daddy are you awake?'... this happened over and over till about 9.30pm. Next time I'll tire her out on a on a bigger hill!

After breakfast in the morning we packed up in the sunshine and MD practically ran down to the Howtown Hotel where we'd arranged to meet up with mum and little brother. On the way down she shouted 'this is the best day ever!' (no doubt a line from Frozen). I'm inclined to agree - if you've got kids take them up a hill and camp out in the wild - you'll both remember it forever.