It was a warm Saturday morning as I prepared my gear for hiking with my son Maverick.
I had been spending my weekends hiking solo but decided it was time to include my little ginger bub on his first hiking adventure up Fish Lake.
I’ve hiked it hundreds of times, but I was a little nervous with Maverick. Would I have everything I needed? What if something happens? So many questions swirling in my head. Meanwhile, Maverick is puttering around the house as usual, unaware that we were about to embark on an outdoor adventure.
First thing was going through my gear. Normally, I’ve got everything down pat that I don’t even need to prepare for hiking anymore. But this felt more like a multi-day camping adventure with preparation being key. The best thing you can have for carrying your baby is a good backpack.
Our Deuter backpack has space for him to sit with a sunshade and plenty of storage space to carry all your essentials for a day trip.
Making sure to include everything (see essentials list) in the backpack ensured that the hike would be seamless.
With Maverick being only one year old, it becomes difficult to manage how to incorporate activities because his nap schedule is so important. So planning and preparing the right time to not only drive to the trail but also hike it without him sleeping before his nap felt like disarming a bomb with 10 seconds to spare.
It’s about a half-an-hour drive from Whistle Bend to the start of the trail. Do I have him do some walking at the beginning of the trail to exert some energy? Hmmm, no let’s try and race up to the top and have him walk at the summit.
I pack the baby and place the over 40 pounds on my back. Instant regret. But I’m here now and may as well try. We head off onto the trail with our dogs Phil and Charlie to try and reach the summit.
It’s a muggy sort of day with the warm weather and lack of wind, leading to a lot of mosquitos.
Half way up, the weight of the pack is hurting my back, my breathing laboured. I message my husband Ryan that I don’t think I can do the hike, but being as stubborn as I am, I continue on.
Out of the treeline, I know I won’t reach the summit, but I can make it to the saddle. I drag one leg and then the other, everything aches, I’m sweating profusely. Until. We finally made it to the saddle!
I lower the backpack and let Maverick run free. We didn’t quite make it, but after nearly three kilometres, uphill we got an incredible view. We had some snacks while trying to avoid being eaten by mosquitos.
Heading down was much easier, but a couple of hundred metres before the end of the trail, Maverick started to fall asleep. Oh no! Trying to keep him awake with my terrible singing didn’t work, but fortunately it was only a little catnap before we got to the car and drove home in time for his actual nap in his bed.
Inset
Essentials for baby backpacking:
Bugspray!
Food – you can never have too much!
Hat (even if they rip it off)
Diaper bag
The baby!
