By Rosie Perrot

I’ve been doing long backpacking trips (anywhere from 200 miles to 375 miles) with my parents and sister since I was seven years old. Our month-long trip from Carson Pass to Mount Whitney last summer marked my ninth annual section-hike of the PCT. When I tell most people about my trips, their first assumption is that I go because my parents make me not because I want to. They’re surprised to find out that I enjoy long backpacking trips and look forward to them all year long. To follow are some tips that have made long-distance backpacking so enjoyable for me. I’m sharing them in the hope that they will give parents ideas about how to make backpacking fun for their kids, too.

I think two critical ingredients for a successful backpacking trip with your kids are motivation and rewards. Adults enjoy backpacking because it is fun and gives them positive energy, and kids also want to feel that way. Still, it is important to remember that everyone likes different aspects of backpacking, whether it is the physical challenge, the scenery, or having a quiet place. Small children may be too young to understand these intangible benefits. Let’s face it; their days usually consist of playtime, drawing, and learning the ABCs (not exactly stressful.) However, teens can be almost as stressed as adults with homework, tests, college applications, and only 30 minutes for lunch! Parents need to use different motivational tools, based on their children’s ages, to keep them interested and to have fun while backpacking.

Set goals: It’s important to set daily hiking goals with your kids. When backpacking with young children, you should plan on hiking shorter distances each day. Even though you likely could hike much further, when your kids are younger, you’ll have to make sacrifices. One tip is to involve your kids in planning the trip itinerary. My sister and I would help my Mom plan the trip itinerary, even when we were very young. That way we knew in advance where we needed to try to get to each day. Also, we really liked having a big goal for the end of the trip. That’s why we’ve always ended our trip at Mount Whitney (the highest peak in the contiguous U.S.). When we’d start our trip hundreds of miles away, it was fun to tell other hikers that we were going all the way to Mount Whitney. When we were young, hikers we’d meet along the way would be impressed with our big goal and would encourage us, and that helped motivate us, too.

Pack light: Young children love the responsibility of packing and carrying their very own backpacks. When I was little, my parents always made sure I had a comfortable pack and that it was very light weight by including just my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, clothes, and favorite teddy bear. I was so proud of my backpack and would get very upset when my Dad would insist on carrying it on top of his for the last mile if we’d had a long day.

Start hiking early: Young children get tired as the day wears on, so it’s important to start hiking early (7:00 a.m., if possible). That way, you can stop hiking early and have extra time when you get to camp. But, getting up early when it is cold, and trying to persuade a young child to do the same, is no easy task. That’s why when I was younger my parents would always serve me breakfast and hot chocolate in bed. This made it much easier for me to wake up, and motivated me to help take down camp. I am happy to say that I still enjoy this much-needed comfort today. Also, my Dad had a 4:00 p.m. rule, meaning that if we didn’t make our destination by 4:00 p.m., we’d start looking for a campsite anyway and try to make up the distance the next day. That kept us from getting too tired or discouraged.

Bring hobbies: Items that can provide great entertainment for kids include journals, disposable cameras, and sketch books with colored pencils. In my journal, I would record all of the day’s events, and every night in the tent I would read them back to my family. My mom still keeps the journals, and it is fun now that I am older to read them again and remember happenings on our trips. The camera is also a great way for kids to record the trip. Take an interest in their pictures, and allow them to stop along the trail to take pictures of things that interest them. The sketch book allows kids to combine hobbies with nature. Kids love to draw, and what’s better than to draw a picture of the campsite or the surrounding environment?
Involve kids in camp chores: Kids can start on the road to complaining if parents “baby” them too much. Kids are not completely helpless. They can help set up camp, collect firewood, or cook dinner. This doesn’t mean you should make them slave around the camp, but allow them to help with camping chores. In fact, many kids want to help because it gives them a feeling of purpose, and it helps them learn important camping skills. It’s also a great opportunity to teach them wilderness etiquette, for example, washing dishes away from streams and lakes.

Make meals tasty: Most people carry freeze-dried dinners, some of which are pretty good, and others of which are almost inedible. Have your kids help you pick out dinners that they think they would like. For breakfast, my Mom always made sure she brought treats we would like, such as an occasional Pop Tart, but she also made sure we regularly had a nutritional bowl of oatmeal. And, of course, there were snacks. Let your kids pick out special snacks, preferably a treat they don’t get at home, and bring it for snack time out on the trail. My Mom would always bring a granola bar to give us long-term energy, but also included some kind of candy whether it was Starburst, Skittles, or Sour Patch Kids (my personal favorites) to make snack time sweetly special. My Mom describes these treats as “something she would have wanted as a kid.”

Emphasize rewards: People are attracted to backpacking because it is a rewarding experience, whether because they are out in the fresh air, spending time with family, in a relaxing environment, or (my family’s favorite) getting in shape and losing weight. Parents need to create this same rewarding feeling for their kids. Encourage them by telling them how proud you are that they were able to hike all that way, or trace the route you took on the map, and show them the distance they covered when they hiked. It also doesn’t hurt to give in to a small toy or special something they have been wanting. However, make sure you give them their reward after the trip, so it seems that you are rewarding them for how good they did on the backpacking trip, but not bribing them to come. As your kids grow older, you can create more mature and appropriate goals. Losing weight and getting into shape is a great goal for teens because the changes can be dramatic and visible. Since your teen has worked hard to lose that weight, he or she will continue to try to stay healthy and exercise at home, so this goal not only motivates them on the trail but carries over into daily life. Speaking from a girl’s point of view, my Mom, sister, and I like to discuss picking out cute outfits and trying on clothes with our newly toned bodies as we hike the trail

Finally, it’s not worth it to force your child into doing something he or she is truly not interested in. Long-distance backpacking as a family requires teamwork, and if your child is not willing to be a part of the team, it’s not going to be fun for anyone. The tips I’ve offered have helped me and my sister and my family as a whole on our long hikes. Adjust these offerings to fit your kid’s personality and likings. Lastly, just remember, the most important objective is to have fun together!

Rosie Perrot is a 16-year-old junior at Rocklin High School in Rocklin, California. When Rosie was 7 years old she and her family hiked the John Muir Trail. Every year since then they have gone on a long backpacking trip together.