"Roughing" it

unit

unit

Joined
Nov 22, 2009
Messages
11,601
Last week has been a weather roller coaster around here. Saturday I drove into work with the windows open (it was low to mid 50s)...by 4:00 PM it was snowing and windy.

Today we woke up to 12 degrees and a bit more than a dusting of snow with 20-30 MPH winds.

My son refuses to go on hikes when the it is this cold outside....and rather than push him into hating it...I am trying to keep him wanting more.

With all that said, we did not hike very far today (about 20 feet out the back door). Because I live in the city limits, we had to make our fire in this "grill", but we made it with wood we found laying in the vacant lot behind the house, and lit it with a fire steel and tinder that we also found outside today (cedar bark and wood shavings).

I suggested we use the fire to melt some snow and make some hot chocolate, and we stirred the coco with spoons we made earlier (in the garage:)).

It is a far cry from the hikes and outdoor whittling we often do on weekends, but I figure I will ease him into the outdoors as far as he *wants* to go.

hotcoco.jpg
 
:thumbup: all out doors is the great out doors! i wish my dad was that cool when i was growing up lol
 
Good show, that looks like a lot of fun. I think your approach is a good one. I plan to do the same with my kids when they get a little older. Keep it up.
 
I do a lot of "backyard" bushcrafting with my son for the same reasons. And if he gets too cold, or bored with it he can go in the house and I can stay out and play!
 
Yea the weather sure has been crazy... I was hoping to get out today but with the wind blowing at 40mph I just hung out at the house with the dogs.

Ski
 
skab8541 said:
I do a lot of "backyard" bushcrafting with my son for the same reasons. And if he gets too cold, or bored with it he can go in the house and I can stay out and play!
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Amen brother! I feel exactly the same way.

ohski said:
Yea the weather sure has been crazy... I was hoping to get out today but with the wind blowing at 40mph I just hung out at the house with the dogs.

Ski
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I hear you...I stayed in and whittled inside most of the day. I will freely admit that I was surprised and elated to actually get a fire going in that wind....my first tinder bundle is probably in the next county by now!
 
nothing wrong with a little backyard camping...skill building is skill building regardless of where it's acquired. it still beats being a couch potato!

i seem to always have the urge to play with fire when i'm drinking though :eek::D

beckers_bourbon.jpg
 
Great stuff, man.
I respect the fact that you're letting him go at his own pace, very cool of you.
Iz
 
ken i certainly agree with the idea of not force feeding any experience to a kiddo.it's their life experience & they certainly deserve the right to run their own race. it doe'nt hurt to give them a glass of water every now & then.
dennis
 
When you have a 'baseline' of what your comfortable with, that's what you build the foundation on. :thumbup:

Start small and make the foundation thick and you can build a lot taller! My parents never really encouraged me to get outside so luckily I got there on my own, but it took more work for me to get as comfortable as I am now out there.
 
Big bravo to you unit! Very cool dad. Keep it fun and they learn at their own pace. I wish my dad was that cool and I hope as a father I can do as well as you are.
 
unit said:
My son refuses to go on hikes when the it is this cold outside....and rather than push him into hating it...I am trying to keep him wanting more. With all that said, we did not hike very far today (about 20 feet out the back door). Because I live in the city limits, we had to make our fire in this "grill", but we made it with wood we found laying in the vacant lot behind the house, and lit it with a fire steel and tinder that we also found outside today (cedar bark and wood shavings).

hotcoco.jpg
Click to expand...

Unit, this picture is worth a thousand words. Right idea of not forcing it on them, & I bet he had just as much fun as trying to hike in the weather.
I "noticed" you had your survival gear strapped on just in case you had to abandoned where you were & move a little further out in the yard . . . :D
Great shots for passing on down the experience. . .
Be safe.
 
Thanks for all the kind words guys. I really appreciate the sentiment around here. I really enjoy time with my kids, and I really enjoy time outside...get them all together and it is a fantastic time.

JUST1MOR said:
Unit, this picture is worth a thousand words. Right idea of not forcing it on them, & I bet he had just as much fun as trying to hike in the weather.
I "noticed" you had your survival gear strapped on just in case you had to abandoned where you were & move a little further out in the yard . . . :D
Great shots for passing on down the experience. . .
Be safe.
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Ohhh! That cracks me up. I guess you never know when an airplane might drop out of the sky (potentially full of zombies) and you will need to respond.

All BSing aside...we talked about surviving out in the woods. I asked him to help me gather some clean snow to boil, and he said, "dad, I will just go inside and get some water...it'll save time" chuckling, I responded with something along the lines of, "no, son we are surviving...we have to make our hot chocolate out of what we have available". He smiled and said it is a good thing I remembered the coco mix....I was just waiting for him to jeer me about hoping no bears happen by:D

Thanks again...I love this place!
 
Now that looks like fun! My patio fire pan has a good sanity-keeper. Great idea with the hot chocolate and melting snow. I bet your son learned a lot just in how much snow it takes to make a cuppa. All good stuff!
 
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