Backpacking... with a Toddler?

Recently on a hut trip, we met a couple from Boulder.  They were on a weekend away, with their toddler at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They were quite interested in our kids' enthusiasm about our hut trip, and asked the appropriate question about when they might ever go backpacking as a family.  Certainly the goals of backpacking change as it evolves from an event of  quiet solitude for us, to one of tremendous growth for our kids.  Admittedly, our first backpacking trip (or trips...) with our very young kids (two or three years old for the youngest) were a bit miserable to say the least.  But we made modifications and kept getting out into the woods.  And our lives are richer because we have.

Backpacker Magazine's website (Backpacker.com) featured a great article about getting out there with your toddler...  Check it out!

http://www.backpacker.com/skills/how-to-take-a-toddler-backpacking-without-losing-your-mind

We will see you on the trail!

- Mama Bear

My Winter Touring Setup

Altai Skis: Our Kids' Winter Touring Setup

10th Mountain Dvision Hut

Well Laid Plans... Blown Away

The car, partly loaded with gear

December...  A month of excitement and anticipation.  There is the Holiday Season, of course.  With its own busy-ness, gift-giving, and celebrations.  And then here in Colorado, it brings the awe of the outdoors.  Just travel west from the front range and you arrive to a world-class amusement park.  The mountains transform into endless slides that turn adults into kids the minute we step into our bindings.  One of our favorite winter escapes is a backcountry hut trip.  And I had been eagerly anticipating a trip this weekend...  until we looked at the weather.

As a parent, I love sharing the outdoors with my boys, now six and eight years old.  They have become avid hikers, backpackers, skiers, snowshoers, and now snowboarders.  A Tenth Mountain Division Hut is a great way to continue those backcountry adventures in the winter.  We get the best of the backcountry combined with a warm place to sleep at the end of the day.  As good as these huts can be at providing shelter, we still are careful to check the weather.  And here in Colorado, a weather forecast can change dramatically over the course of a couple days.  After spending the night on call at the hospital, I drove home excited to load up the car and head to the mountains.  When I arrived, my wonderful husband said, "I think we should cancel because of the weather."  I heard him, but doubted  him at the same time.  Not willing to give up easily, I sat down to look at the weather forecast myself.  And that is when I saw this:

"Hmmm.... Maybe it won't be so bad" I thought.  "Let me check the avalanche forecast."  And that is when I saw this:

Ughhhh....  As an overachiever, it is not often that I cancel my well-laid plans.  Disappointment came over me.  Thoughts like "Maybe we can do this if we really bundle up," raced through my head.  But then I pictured my six year old son getting pelted with snow at 60 miles per hour on the side of a mountain, with zero visibility, getting every bit of heat sucked out of his body, resulting in a boy who learns to hate the outdoors... or worse.

Safety is always important in the outdoors.  Add wintry weather and go above treeline?  Well, then safety needs to be highest priority.  While we are well-equipped with winter gear, emergency shelters, first aid kit, avalanche probes and beacons, the weather report and avalanche forecast were not to be taken lightly.

As a parent I have to remind myself that one canceled weekend could mean many more weekends enjoyed.  I love seeing my kids, practically floating on the snow, racing up and down the mountain.  And taking a weekend off due to dangerous weather, can ensure the snow remains our playground for our lifetimes.

We will see you on the trail!
-Mama Bear

What's in Our Food Bag?

Backpacking Segment 1 of the Colorado Trail

Ready to start!

The Colorado Trail is a 486 mile long trail that reaches from the southwest side of the Denver area all the way down to Durango.  We have made it a family goal to section hike the entire trail.  Until our most recent trip, we had completed Segments 2-4.  But with the warm weather and the confidence of a snow-free trail, we were able to do a great overnight of Segment 1.

Cooling off...

Segment 1 starts out very flat, traveling down the Waterton Canyon.  The first 6 miles are busy with dayhikers and cyclists.  Ninety degree temperatures beat down on us as we traveled through the canyon along the South Platte River.  Fortunately we were able to cool off in the icy water once along the way.  As the trail is very wide (Denver Water vehicles travel the same path), the large number of people along the route were not a detriment to our hike.  In fact everyone was very friendly and were eager to encourage our boys (ages 6 and 7) as we hiked.

The Waterton Canyon is a great place for wildlife viewing.  We did get to see about six bighorn sheep as we neared the dam.  Bears also have been seen in the area.  In fact, the Waterton Canyon Trail was closed for part of the summer of 2015 due to bear activity.  Understanding this, I carried bear spray for the trip -- something I have never done before.

Soon after we passed the dam, the trail begins a single track route and the number of people on the trail diminishes.  There is a steady uphill into the forest at this point.  We intended to camp at about mile 8, near bear Creek.  Importantly, there is no camping on the trail until about mile seven.  An easy uphill led us to several campsites near Bear Creek.  We arrived early afternoon, set up the shelter and napped (parents) or played ball (kids).

After an easy dinner and dessert of marshmallows roasted over our backpacking stove (fire danger was high, so we did not have a campfire), we cleaned up and got ready for a roaring game of Uno.  And then we heard a neighbor camper yelling to us...  "Hey guys, there's a bear across the creek!"

Now, there was a time, before I had kids, when I would have been thrilled to see a bear.  But having kids changes everything.  So it was with some dread that I looked up the creek, and then I saw it...  And it was looking at me.  It looked huge!

Okay so that is not really the bear we saw. It looked more like this.

The real bear....  about 50 yards away

 And when it turned to the side, the bear that seemed so huge at first, looked smaller.  I grabbed the bear spray, since I had not shared with my husband the secrets of operating my weapon.  And Matt grabbed the camera.  We watched the bear lumber along the opposite side of the creek, willing it to stay on the far side of the creek from us.  It walked along, stopped and sniffed the air for about ten seconds.  I think it was trying to figure out what we had eaten in our Backpacker's Pantry dinners.  It must not have liked the smell of our (too spicy) Chana Masala because it moved on, and soon was out of sight.

All was well, no bear attacks during the night.  And no one swiped our food bags either.  I woke in the morning with the realization that we had a rather unremarkable night of sleep.

After breakfast and breaking camp, we had a rigorous eight-mile hike ahead.  We would gain and lose about 1600 feet in elevation over the course of the day.  While the temperatures will still hot,the shade of this forested section of trail made hiking more tolerable.  The path had a few minor stream crossings before the big ascent up to a an easy ridge and some incredible views of the surrounding area (including Segment 2 we hiked earlier this year).

After breaking for lunch and taking in the views, we descended rather quickly.  We traversed a meadow with a couple campsites and headed toward the trailhead.  In all this was a fulfilling, beautiful hike.

We will see you on the trail!

- Mama Bear