Anyone with little-littles? Advice?

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Like kids under 2?  Our son is 6 months old.  I guess we are a little late to the game since most of our friends have kids 3-tween or have decided not the reproduce.  
 

The first camp has different capabilities for family adventures since kids want to do stuff too, and it’s not always that much fun for us since ours can’t really ride the magic carpet or climb the kiddie wall.  We could go xc ski with the trailer or snowshoe with him and do 5-8 miles pretty easily but that’s way to far for the others.

Most of my non-kid friends (that still climb/ski) are in better shape and still want to go hard on the weekends so not interested in having an infant along.

Anyone else out there in the in-between?  My wife and I have been getting out together a lot but it would be nice to have a bigger crew that wants to tow babies, split lift tickets, or boulder.  We have a bunch of new PEPS friends but we seem to be the far outlier for going outside with our kid.

Anyone want to adventure?  Advice from others who have been through this?  It just feels isolating and hard to motivate to stay fit.

[JasonG]

That's a tough stage for getting out with a wee one.  When our kids were that age I guess we never really found other families to go outside with at and just did as you're doing, for all the same reasons. Now we have a couple families that we've found, but our kids are in jr. high and high school so it is totally different than those early years.

BUT, I'm sure that there are families out there who want to do what you are doing!  We just couldn't find them up in the Skagit.  I'm sure they exist in the Seattle area, and you may find them right here.

I know, not super helpful, but it gets easier each year, and suddenly you will find yourself not being able to catch them on the trail.  It is weird how fast a dozen years go with kids.  But, as they say, the years go fast and the days go so slow.

" Family fun", circa 2010:

Eleven years later.... Family FUN:

Hang in there @OlympicMtnBoy!

[Fairweather]

The wife only allowed me to take one of our two. No, not divorced, rather, some kind of weird Dawkinsesque mentality. Anyhow, he's 33 now, and might beg to differ--but I think I showed him a pretty good time.

 

1&2 - Olympus summit and Blue Glacier age 14

3 - Baker age 15, I think.

4 - Winter on Ellinor. Age 11?

5&6 - Age 12 in the Wrangell Nountains (Blackburn behind us)

Lots of other great trips. His first backpack was Enchanted Valley when he was six. He never has summited Rainier. Under 2? Day hikes only. And car/tent camping.

 

Advice? Have a good time. Don't come home without them.

Edited January 29, 2023 by Fairweather

[Fairweather]

Now, occasionally, I get to take the grand kids.

IMG_7015.HEIC

[JasonG]

Yes to keeping it easy with day hikes and car camping until they can carry some of their own stuff and walk five miles or more with some gain (usually age 4-6).  No need to torture yourself or family in the name of trying to impress people with what you are doing with little kids.  These tough days will pass.

I will say it is all about working up to harder things with your kids, year by year, incrementally.  That way they may still enjoy it once they get to be teenagers.  It is really fun if they do!

[olyclimber]

I carried Ulee on my back up the old mailbox peak trail,  but I remember that was bested in my mind by a young woman I met up by Prussik who had just carried her child up  and gear Asguard pass. I’d keep trying to link up with others but main thing is just keep just going and raising your boy in the wild as you are.  Truth is this time will go faster than you want it to and next thing he will be in college.  I’d say slow down and enjoy it but find time here and there to sneak off for a little adventure for yourself.  I wish I could go back and just camp with little Ulee, but I now that he is big and busy with his own life I’m glad just to get any time with him.

[JasonG]

4 minutes ago, olyclimber said:

I’d say slow down and enjoy it but find time here and there to sneak off for a little adventure for yourself.

Wise words.

[Fairweather]

One more thought: they get cold easier than you do. Less muscle for heat production--even in motion and relative to their total size. Don't assume they are warm just because you are. I made this mistake a couple times.

 

[Rad]

My kids are on the cusp of leaving the nest. Your post takes me back...

My advice is simple: separate your workout/fun desires from activities with your kids and you'll be more likely to make everyone happy, including yourself. So get fit enough to get out with your friends once or twice a month. It'll be good for your body and soul. Cover parenting so your partner can have a similar opportunity. And do family-focused outdoor fun whenever you can. Just being in nature is good for everyone, even small kids. For family fun, keep in mind that often staying close to the trailhead is easier. You and your kid can have more fun playing in the snow bank across from the Alpental parking lot or near Gold Creek Pond than walking two miles in a crowded trail to Source Lake basin. 

If kids have a great time doing stuff outdoors with you they might be more inclined to keep doing it - with or without you - as they grow older. 

Be kind to others. Be kind to yourself. Have fun!

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Start them young.  Keep to reasonable (for them) objectives, but they can do more than you might think.  My progression with the kids from age 3 on up started out with easy stuff like Lake 22 trail, Rattlesnake Ledge and Little Si, or Mount Scott (Crater Lake) and progressed up from there in steps year by year.  Good luck and enjoy!