Ditching the Car for Camping

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by glatt

Not so much any more. That's one of the things my wife and I gave up after having kids. Their little legs are just too short for more than a short walk in the woods. Maybe in a few years.

Excuses, excuses.

I spoke with a family of five (+dog) that I met along the trail that ended up camping nearby. Mother, father, and three children aged 4 to 9! They were on day two of hiking through the entire Juniper Prairie Wilderness from north to south. I was amazed that they seemed so active, especially with the youngest girl not able to carry so much. The distributed gear worked quite well and, at one point in the night, I dropped by their site to find the mother reading stories to the whole group as they huddled around a fire. (No MP3 players, no Gameboys/PSPs! I was dumbstruck!)

I mentioned it was good to see a family with children so young out on the trail having a good time. "That's nothing", said the only son, "we hiked through Yellowstone two years ago! It was days and days!" I looked to the father for comfirmation and he noted that they had, indeed, hiked for days with the entire family, caring for their two year old daughter on the way.