Hellobee

Mr. Oyster and I have always been interested in hiking. We did many hikes, both with groups of friends and just with each other, before we had kids.

After we had Scallop, we took our time getting back into hiking. By the time he was big enough to fit into our hiking pack though (at about 8 months), we were ready to go! Our first hiking pack was a Kelty FC 2.0 and I loved it!! I felt like it fit me perfectly, was incredibly comfortable and easy to adjust. It came with a sun shade to go over Scallop and he just seemed comfortable in it.

We used it for hiking, for apple picking, and pretty much any other adventure where it made sense to have him up and along for the ride. He even rode in it while Mr. Oyster mowed the lawn once because…well, terrible 2’s. I think I actually used our Kelty more than Mr. Oyster. In the summer and fall around his first birthday, we explored as many trails as we could near our home in southern New Hampshire. We would hike at least once, if not twice, a week. We found huge rocks in the middle of the forest (Pulpit Rock, Bedford, NH), bugs and trees we’d never seen before, and secret waterfalls we thought were made just for us. Hiking together was one of our favorite things to do.

Scallop used our Kelty until he was about 2 – when he really started wanting to walk around more on his own and was able to keep up on our hikes. By the time Pearl was born, Mr. Oyster was ready to get a new hiking pack. He didn’t find the Kelty nearly as comfortable as I did, and he was able to get a great deal on an Osprey Poco.

We used the Boba most often with Pearl in her first year because it was easy and kept her close to us while we chased Scallop around. It wasn’t really until after she turned 1 that we started using the Osprey and, unfortunately….I don’t really like it. Mr. Oyster thinks it feels much more comfortable, but I find it harder to adjust and that it puts all of the weight on my hips – which can be pretty uncomfortable as Pearl has gotten bigger (and so have my hips, hah!). But, it’s what we’ve got, so I make it work.

Hiking with 2 kiddos definitely takes some planning. I make sure to pack double the amount of water I would normally pack. I also pack lots of snacks, diaper changing stuff, bug spray, and extra sunscreen. I usually use Google to find hikes near our house and, since Scallop is now hiking on his own, I try to pick ones that don’t go longer than an hour, are fairly flat, and have some sort of “cool” feature (waterfalls, pond, beaver dam, etc). We have a great trail system near us that actually has a Treasure Hunt hike – complete with a treasure map to follow and a small treasure at the end (last time we went it was small pieces of cut logs that a “fairy” had left. That hike also introduced us to geocaching, which seems like something Scallop will be really into!

The most difficult parts of hiking with 2 are that Pearl often wants to get down and walk by herself, but isn’t quite balanced enough yet to do so over some of the terrain, often resulting in tears and spills. And that Scallop doesn’t always make it through the whole hike. More often than not lately, when I’m hiking with the 2 of them, I end up having Pearl in the pack on my back while carrying  Scallop the last bit of each hike. It’s exhausting. I guess at least I know I’m getting my exercise in for the day!

Does your family like hiking? Any tips/tricks for hiking with multiple kiddos on your own?