  Since that first summer I was pregnant with Aidan, I've missed out on the week-long summer backpacking trips I grew up taking in northern New Mexico. There's nothing in the world like disappearing into the back country on foot, with all you could desire on your back. This year John and I are determined to figure out a method for backpacking with young children. For starters, we had to get back into the old camping regimes. We were startled to realize we hadn't had cause to get our gear out since camping when I was pregnant with Eleanor nearly two years ago!
And of course, that trip ended up in the hospital, like every single thing seemed to during that pregnancy! I'm ashamed to say that this past weekend was our first camping trip with two kids. Everyone knows how last year collectively kicked our asses, and I blame it partially on that as well as the other trips we took last year (Europe, the Earthship adventures, hell--I mean, Lake Powell/Glen Canyon Reservoir). These are no excuses though. Camping has always been and should always be a huge priority in our lives.
We suffer physically and mentally when we neglect this, our most loved hobby. We went to urlLink Enchanted Rock , just outside of Fredericksburg, an hour west of Austin. This urlLink huge batholith (think minitature urlLink Ayres Rock ) makes a perfect training ground for bouldering. We took Aidan here for his first camp trip so long ago when he was just 14 months old. I still remember the funny way he would hold the flashlight at night and chase it's circle of light on the ground! The giant rocks are gentle but challenging surfaces on which a toddler can get the hang of hiking with light climbing.
Just as Aidan did on that first trip, Ellie was fascinated with gathering pebbles on every trail and had little interest in following us for any distance. Aidan was easier to hike with in our Kelty back carrier, but Ellie is actually more easily in the babysling. Aidan clearly needed no assistance in hiking, aside from holding my hand just before reaching the crest of the big rock (maybe a 500 ft rise over less than a mile). He's pure billygoat when it comes to climbing and hiking. He was able to work on climbing skills, since the bottom sides of the rock offer various levels of climbing routes. We haven't been back to the rock gym lately, so he really needed this refresher. When Aidan was our only tag-along, we would make small camp fires and watch him closely.
On this trip, we didn't make a fire at all. If we had, I'm sure keeping both kids safely away from the flame would have been a challenge. We have a small cook stove for meals, and we realized people only need the fires for the unhealthy camp foods that we don't eat anyway (marshmallows and smores). We definitely didn't need the fire for warmth, since we all slept on top of our bags until near-dawn. This also helped protect us from the bad smoke reactions we seem to get (swollen eyes and stuffy noses the next day). Ellie's food is most easily packed in (as it is everywhere we go! ), as she is still breastfeeding. Both kids were happy enough to eat fruit (bananas and apples fare best in bags) and pre-packed sandwiches along the way. We needed to establish separate water bottles for kids and parents though, b/c they're terrible about backwashing the food. And we needed much more water than we were used to packing. Essential equipment included sunhats for all (as usual we didn't use bug repellant, and didn't do any worse than if we'd used it), very grippy shoes (sometimes a challenge to find for toddlers, but high-tech, striderites and mollers are good brands), lots of water, and as little other items as you can bare to bring.
Camping must be one of the best activities to do with your kids. They are so easily occupied with exploring nature that it's actually easier than occupying kids at home, and the exposure to different experiences is great for their developmental health. I can't believe we've taken such a hiatus! 
