My partner and myself have three boys aged 12, 9 and 2 months as of today.
The two older boys have been tramping for quite a few years and the youngest was doing multi day tramps in the ruahine and tararua at 6 years old with his own pack.
Our baby has already stood(well sat) on top of aokaparangi peak in the middle of the tararua ranges in the snow at 5 days old. But we got there on a chopper (it was a fortieth birthday present from my partner). Now we are taking him on his first overnight tramp to papatahi hut on Monday. It will also be my cousins boys first tramp as well and he has just turned 5.
A few family members have expressed concerns about us taking our baby outdoors, but we are a very outdoorsy family. I have already carried him vertically the equivalent of mountain cook/Aoraki twice and at least fifty km horizontally.
He's only 2 months but is over 6 and a half kilo. He's a big boy and been exposed already to a lot of different environmental conditions. He is always strapped to my chest and I always carry a plb even if he wasn't there. Papatahi hut is at least ten km from the closest car park.
So what's your feelings on this matter.
This post has been edited by the author on 29 September 2016 at 17:55.
A very good question that I think will get a range of answers. My oldest daughter did a fair bit of tramping before her first birthday, and oddly enough all these years later she still claims to have some memory of them.
We carried her in a standard sort of baby-back pack, to which I added a moveable hood I lashed up out of a length of supplejack, some PU coated fabric and light bungy cord. The idea was that if the weather packed it in we could pull the hood up over her head and she'd be completely sheltered.
Seemed to work a treat. We did a number of trips quite deep into the Urewera's like this... the longest was 5 days ... and it all went really well. At least one of the trips was mid-winter.
I think she was more like 6 month old when we did the first trip, and then you only have a small window before they become too heavy to carry. I'd be a bit leery of a trip with any rock scrambling or serious river crossings ... a fall at the wrong moment might turn out badly. But overall if you think it through, dial back your risk appetite, I'd say go for it.
My feeling is that humans lived like this for tens of thousands of years, but then again surviving your first year of life was a much less certain thing in those times.
It won't be for everyone. In my case my partner was totally into it as well, which meant there was no stress or conflict. We just went for it and have fond memories of those particular trips.
This post has been edited by the author on 2 October 2016 at 14:24.
Nice response from someone who's been there. I'm in total agreement.
I'm sure there will be a range of replies.
My youngest went to Paua Hut aged 6 months and my oldest walked in on the same trip aged under 3 years. Papatahi is only a little further.
My only concern would be how well they sit in the carry pack for that long. If they can hold there head up and not slump to a big splot in the bottom for the 4 hour trip it should be ok
My daughter & her sisters have all done trips of that length & longer at that age, carried against the body in a sling andean-style. I look at babies in western carry-packs and they seem far less supported & far less confortable. I'm not convinced that modern technology is really a step forward in this regard.
Awesome thanks guys. Nice to hear we are all in the same boat. Can't wait to take the little man on the first of hundreds of tramps.
taking babies into the mountains any reasonable distance is only for experienced trampers who know what to expect of the conditions.. its not a good idea to take a baby if you're learning the ropes...
As a responsible parent I doubt you need any one else's approval. It sounds as if you have done so before, and you have two youngsters in whom you have imbued a sense of adventure where they want to get out there. That's a damn sight better than having there noses glued to a small screen all day long. Do whatever is a responsible fit for you as long as ones partner is also comfortable with it.
Cheers every body.
Yeah I've been there and done that before, was just interested in getting some others experienced opinions.
But I am very confident in what I'm doing.
wayno that was a really weird and out of context post?
Gaiters,good for you for giving it a go with your young ones.im a dad of 3 (all over 16) so know what you are saying...but...occasionally when I see babies or wee children at huts or on the trail I cant help thinking the tramping parents are kind of forcing the kids into it.
Obviously a 6 month old has no opinion yet but its seldom about the child,more that the parents haven't been for a tramp for a while so we better take the kid with us.
Meaningful experiences in the outdoors are great but wouldn't mean much till after about maybe 3 years old?.
Each to their own though.
