My views on children hiking

[njgail11]

I do not want to come across sounding like a mean and terrible person like some of you may think i am after reading this. I just would like to get something off my chest that has been bothering me for a few years. I would like to give you some background first about me and my husband. We started vacationing in the white mountains in 2004 and starting hiking for the first time in the whites in 2006. We fell in love with the whites and have been going there every summer for vacation and to hike. We also hike were we live in New Jersey and we hike in PA. I go on this forum practically every day to read all of the posts. I know how hard and strenous alot of the hikes are in the whites, and i just don't understand for the life of me why someone would put their young child in harms way i just don't understand it. I would like to hear how other people feel on this matter.

[TrishandAlex]

Okay, I'll give it a go.

I've taken my 5 year old up Moosilauke in December. However, I never put her in harm's way.

To make any kind of claim that anyone was putting their kid "in harm's way," you'd have to know that family and those particular kids very, very well.

Also, the definition of "in harm's way" is very different depending on who you ask.

Here's my definition of "in harm's way" -- allowing a kid to watch television and play video games, not paying attention to what the kid is eating, allowing them to wear midriffs when they're 8, not getting them outside for at least a few hours each day...also, letting them play football, be a cheerleader, signing them up for gymnastics...those three sports are far more dangerous than hiking well-prepared.

Oh yeah, riding in a car at all, that's INCREDIBLY dangerous. I always feel that the most danger Alex and I have ever been in was on the road driving to the trailhead. Some people really like to tailgate!

Bottom line...I hike with both my kids. Both are pretty tough and one in particular can handle (and enjoy!) almost any kind of trail. I'm not going to hold her back. I will stand by and spot when necessary, though. I will always carry enough stuff to keep my kids and I warm, safe and dry for two days should I become injured and have to wait for rescue. I will always turn back whenever I feel the need.

Guess it's a question of what you're used to. I don't consider well-prepared hiking all that dangerous. Bring proper gear, spot your kid, be prepared to turn back.

[FisherCat]

If you don't mind my asking, because I couldn't discern this from your post, do you have children? Have you taken them hiking yourself?

[Knapper]

I know how hard and strenous alot of the hikes are in the whites, and i just don't understand for the life of me why someone would put their young child in harms way i just don't understand it. I would like to hear how other people feel on this matter.

I agree and disagree with your sweeping statement based on my own personal experience vs. what I have seen done on the summit. I started hiking before preschool and before that, I was carried in a baby carrier on day hikes. I did all sorts of trails with varying difficulty out west around Lake Tahoe where I grew up as well as hikes in a lot of western states. We always did a lot of research on trails that would take more than one day to do and that was before the internet. Some of them went successful some of them were washed out by unseasonable weather. Some we took with trails that were well maintained while others were bushwacks. Good or "bad" hikes, they were all memorable and something I wouldn't trade for the world as they were partly what brought me here. And my love for the trail came from experience that I gained by my dad teaching me. Would I have done Tuckerman Ravine in the summer as a first grader, yes. Would I have done Huntington Ravine Trail, probably but my dad would have said no. Would I do Huntington now? No unless I had to help on a rescue. But I had the benefit of having a parent that helped teach me to make the right and wrong decissions or at least guide me in making them.

But I will agree with your statement on some levels. Should parents with infants be hiking to the summit with a baby backpack strapped on. NO!!!. We have helped parents who didn't give their baby enough water on the way up or didn't cover them up enough and they got sunburns. Or continued hiking in cold weather and had the baby shivering when they arrived or worst. Add the fact that the trails up are steep in some areas and I have seen and helped people that were blown down off trail with just packs. I can't even imagine how I'd feel if there was a baby carrier on their backs when that happened. So, I will agree with you there. But then i teeter on how I feel about "young kids" hiking the trails.

If the kids want to do the hike, are with a responsible parent/leader, are prepared for any kind of conditions, and are fit to hike, then I say let them do it. How else will they get into the sport? But if you are parent dragging a kid up that doesn't want to be there, then no. If you are leading a kid up in freezing temperatures with shorts and a tank top on, then no. If you are leading a kid up with a 20oz bottle of water and nothing else, then no. If they are tired and told you 2 miles ago that they want to stop or go back to the car, then no. If they are unfit and get winded just kicking a soccer ball, then no. If you are leading them up Huntington Ravine in the rain, then no. If you are going up Lions Head in tennis shoes in winter, then no. I could go on and on but everything I listed isn't limited to the kids following their parents. The same can be said of any age. In spring, summer and fall, I see plenty of kids hiking the summit happy as a clam. Their parents even saying they wish they had their energy. The kids are about the same age I was when I started so I see nothing wrong with them coming up. Kids are resilient and most that are on the trails want to be there. It's a parents role to set guidelines for the day and help them make informed decisions.

But I guess it all comes down to differnent parenting techniques and what you deem "putting them in harms way". Each parent views the world different and are entitled to their opinions. But, like any sport, there are dangers that are involved. Who's to say hiking in the Whites is safer than having a kid play baseball, football, or bike riding. If any sport is taught correctly and played correctly then it is "safe". But there are hidden variable even in those. Baseball has fast pitches and bats, football has tackles, and bike riding has automobiles or potholes. There are dangers everywhere if we look for them. We could insert anything for the start of your statement and still have it be true to some degree. For example "I know how fast and dangerous boating on a lake is and i just don't understand for the life of me why someone would put their young child in harms way i just don't understand it." Or "I know how fast and steep alot of the ski trails are in the whites, and i just don't understand for the life of me why someone would put their young child in harms way i just don't understand it." I guess for better understanding, what tails do you deem hard and strenous, what age you are referring to, what age would you allow your kids to start hiking, what kind of weather conditions are you referring to, etc.

[mtruman]

Bringing your kids into the mountains doesn't mean putting them in harms way. If you take the right precautions (as you should for yourself) there's almost no better place that I can think of for kids to be. If they don't want to be there you shouldn't drag them there. It's OK to help them learn to love it though. I knew that Trish would be the first to answer this post when I saw it and I'm glad that she did. When I first started reading her early trip reports of hiking 4000 footers with her very young children I wasn't so sure about it. It seemed like it might be too much for them and that they were maybe being "dragged along". If there is any doubt about this read Trish and Alex's blog and their journey to complete all 48 4Ks while Alex was just 8 years old. There cannot possibly be any doubt when you see the joy on that kid's face that she is not being dragged.

We've been bringing our daughter into the woods (and up mountains) since she was little as well. She always loved it and we always ensured that she was safe. As a teenager she has hiked and backpacked with us and with other groups and is as capable out there as we are. I only wish that she spent more time out there now.

[TrishandAlex]

Ryan and Mark, great posts.

(Psst, Mark, Alex is 6 and a half, we started when she was 5).

[mtruman]

Ryan and Mark, great posts.

(Psst, Mark, Alex is 6 and a half, we started when she was 5).

Yes, the 8 was a typo - I meant to say 6. If she was 8 it would still be amazing.

Great thoughts Ryan. Couldn't agree more with all your observations.

[billysinc]

I think hiking with children is fantastic and so long as the adult in attendance is prepared then I think it's fine.

My one concern that I see from time to time is when I see baby backpacks and not so much going up hikes but descending. I've slipped coming down rocks enough that I cringe thinking about what would happen to those little passengers if a slip occurs as pretty much all would be 3 years or younger.

[Snow Miser]

I have to agree with everyone. As long as the parents and kids are properly prepared, it's great to get younger kids into hiking. One point too is kind of related to what Trish pointed to, look at the obseity rate of kids these days. It's incredible how parents let their kids get that way. That in itself is doing great harm to them. And much of that is due to kids not getting outside for some good exercise and mental stimulation other than what video games and TV provide.

[rockin rex]

Those of you who know me, know I have to chime in here. First, being from New Jersey myself, there are MANY more dangerous things in Jersey than hiking up a mountain with your child. I have had my kids in the outdoors since they were just a few months old. I started carrying them on my back when they were old enough to hold their heads up by themselves. When I felt it was safe for them to summit mountains up we went. I started taking them up on my back when they were two. The parent is 100 percent responsible for that child!!!!! I never went alone with them on my back in case a problem ever did arise.. I ALWAYS had someone strong with me who could keep an eye on my kid in the pack and if needed could have gone for help. Folks on this forum have met my 2 boys and neither one of my 2 boys would ever say I put their lives at risk. Both Madison and Baxter have been carried up on my back numerous times to the summit of Mount Washington and both have walked up with Baxter having done Huntington Ravine for Seek the Peak. I fully believe my kids are the outstanding children they are today because of the lessons they learned in the great outdoors. There is no better place for children to be than climbing mountains. I do agree though that it has to be done safely and that is the parents responsibility. Those on this forum that do hike with their children love their kids and make sure that EVERY base is covered when they take them out. You should see what is in our pack when we head out. Safety is our firs concern!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By the way Baxter also ski races in high school. Now that scares me : )