Bring a map!

F

Foilist

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Dec 20, 2004
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I had a long hike today with my five year old daughter in Bigalow Hollow SP. While is was mostly a good time, the trail turned out to be much too long for someone her age. Also, it dumped us out about 5 miles from where the car was and there was only about 30 minutes of light left. With a map, I could have avoided turning a good time into a crabby one, as well as having to make the Call of Shame to my wife to come and get us. Lesson (re)learned - should have known better.
 
No shame man. At least you're both alright.
I've went on too long hikes with my son before and it 's not fun. Keep the distance on outings with the kids short and sweet . I've taken my son ( 8 at the time) on a 10 km. hike before. He was baked at the half-way mark and struggled the rest of the way. What you can do , maybe they can't.

At least you had someone to call. I don't have that choice in the bush and am on my own or if my kid is with me his responsibility lies solely with me so I avoid predicaments the best I can. If a map would of helped , bring one next time and keep the distance moderate. JM2C
 
This was an unfamiliar trail for me, and I did not know it was that long. Dumb on my part not having a map; that won't happen again. I just hope I haven't turned my daughter off on this sort of thing.
 
Took my wife on a group camping trip a few weeks back. We let another couple lead but they had been there before and did not bring a map. The indavidual leading at one point was a wilderness guide for a church group. I guess they don't cover land navigation there. He did not understand what a contour line was nor did he understand what it meant when they are very close together. I just kind of sat back and watched it all unfold. My wife pleaded with me to lead the way out. I did have a topo. Found a much more friendly route back. Lesson learned plan your dive and dive your plan. I have done far to many long movements in the marines to know to at least attempt to stay on the military crest
 
Yeah, when taking kids on a hike, it is best to do the hike first by yourself to become familiar with the trail, the hard spots, interesting sights and the amount of time it takes. I do this even when I am leading adults. With kids, it is often best to set a time limit and turn around. Then you have a pretty good idea of how far back to the trailhead it is and how long it will take.

Particularly with young kids, shorter trails are best. You would rather them be disappointed that the hike is over so soon than for them to remember it as an ordeal. Kinda like the ols showman's line about always leave your audience wanting more. Glad you had a good time though and it ended well, even if Mom had to bail you out at the end.
 
Me and my roommate did the same thing but only with the dog, 5 mile turned into 10 when we took a wrong turn on a very hot day. The dog wasn't happy with us, but we made it back to the car almost completely out of water. We now take maps on all trails we haven't hiked before.
 
Call of Shame?

Just got you wife to help
Makes it less expensive and easier to do again

And we all make mistakes with our kids.
With my little one, we got rained out and the trail was flowing water
So we took a 'short cut' up the side of the hill which was a safe but difficult climb on the road
I made her a heroine, got her ice cream; and ten years later she remembers it with pride and affection
 
Neeman - she is pretty proud of herself for doing it all. Hopefully the pride outlasts the negative thoughts.

I looked up the area in a book at home, and we were on the longest, most strenuous trail in the S.P. D'oh! I did a textbook greenhorn move; a bag full of cool "survival" supplies, but no map on an unfamiliar trail!
 
When my daughter was young, I kept hikes short, which gave her time to stop and look at everything along the way -- which is a kind of built-in rest time.
 
I can remember my Dad carrying me on his shoulders on a long hike when I was a pup. I suspect he over estimated my capacity to participate in a 5-mile+ hike when I was under 7 years old. There are few things I remember when I was very young, but that is one of them. Those were good days when my Dad was around and we all got together for family hikes.

It is good to get kids out in the woods and to learn things from "the old man".

In state parks, they usually have trail maps. I suspect most now have trail maps on line to print off. I do like to carry a topo map however. It is part of the experience and it keeps your skills fresh.
 
With my kids, I played games with them to reinforce wilderness skills. If they stalked up to a bird and could identify the bird without scaring it then they'd get a bag of MMs for example. I taught them the Native American method of stalking/walking and I'd let them take the lead. If they did a good job then I'd reward them etc. I just reinforced good habits early on and tried to reinforce it with praise, surprises, and small gifts to make camping fun and something they looked forward too. One year I cached items (prizes and luxury items) to teach them how to use a map/compass to triangulate on a point position. (Pre GPS days). When they found the cache they were rewarded. I'd hide and if they found me via map/compass (when they were a bit older) they would be rewarded. Make it fun, but reinforce key principles and techniques.

When they got older...we'd be hiking along and I'd say "go" and they knew they had 6 minutes to start a sustainable fire with all natural materials and what they had in their pockets or pack regardless of the conditions or weather. As they got more mature they no longer could use matches and had to start and sustain the fire with a bow and drill or flint 'n steel (pre fire steel days). It made them more situationally aware of their surroundings, the materials available, and to plan ahead. Too much fun...I need to have more kids!
 
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