It has come to my attention that some of you are breeding. Stop it. Stop it right now. Too late? Oh well. Now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, you’re going to need something to keep that brood busy and yourself sane.
As a relatively new father myself (18 months), getting outdoors often involves the LittleFlogger. He’s keen to get on Denali, and while I’m supportive I also believe in the crawl-walk-run approach – literally in this case – as necessary predecessors to the climb-ski-BASE jump activities.
And so I’m happy to introduce a new category at GearFlogger: Kids. There won’t be a bunch of baby clothes, I promise, but I will try to point out the occasional useful gear for active parents. Let’s start with the basics. Best Hikes With Kids: Oregon is a 2007 title from the ever-indispensable Mountaineers Books, and there are many other states in the series. They show off "100 hikes selected for kid appeal," with the focus on fun: waterfalls, bridges and other kid-cool natural and human-made points of interest.
Just-long-enough descriptions include simple and clear maps, difficulty ratings, distance, elevation and more. A particularly handy list is titled, "How to create memorable outings for kids," and includes pointers we all know but too often forget: take plenty of snacks, avoid electronics to keep them in the moment, and go slow are a few. You can’t go wrong with this guide.