Backpacking with a Toddler 101

Recently, a friend told me that she had had an altercation with a gardening-store attendant who was angry that, due to the COVID quarantine, gardening had become unusually popular. Rookie gardeners were buying up all the seeds and supplies, and loyal customers were being turned away. “Everyone’s gardening!” the irritated attendant complained.

Well, that’s the way I feel about camping. You guys, everybody’s camping! I didn’t know there were so many people not camping before. But if you have tried to make weekend reservations at a campground – any campground, anywhere – in this state, you know exactly what I mean. What used to be a challenge is now officially impossible. Even the I’m-cool-because-I-live-in-Seattle-and-I-don’t-like-to-camp folks are sick of being at home. We’re all desperate. The rooky gardeners are also camping.

This is cool, I guess, from an objective standpoint, especially when it comes to getting kids outside and unplugging and reconnecting to Mother Earth and the future of humankind and yadda yadda yadda. But the thing is, there aren’t enough campsites for us all.

So, in an unexpected and ironic twist of fate, the COVID stay-home order launched the Menaul Family into the wide world of back-country camping with a toddler.

In the Beforetimes (parenthood, not COVID), Travis and I went backpacking a lot. But even when Levi was a wee newborn, we balked at the extra weight. I mean, the diaper baggage alone made a multi-day trip seem inconceivable and, well, smelly. Plus, while the greater distance from civilization used to be a plus, we’ve definitely become reliant on the comforts of car camping with a kid. You know, the basics: Garbage cans. Big bag o’ toys. Lifetime supply of Cheddar Bunnies. Beers in the cooler. Getaway car, in case of emergency. (And yes, there have been Mama-can’t-take-it-anymore “emergencies” in which the car came in handy.)

But now, we were faced with a choice: stay at home, or travel light.

We chose the latter. It was a success, and for those interested in giving it a try, here is what we did:

Step 1: We made an itinerary: Give this mama a glass of wine and a trail map and I am in my happy place. I chose the Lower Icicle Creek Trail in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, about 20 miles outside of Leavenworth. This “lonely” trail is rated “easy” in my guidebook. Bingo! “Lonely” = we’ll probably find a campsite. “Easy” = a 3-year-old could hang. The trail is more than 20 miles long, but the guidebook also mentioned that there were multiple camps starting at mile 1, and no permit was necessary. Itinerary: set!

Step 2: We packed: This is going to be a surprising piece of advice coming from me: Don’t overthink it. Don’t underthink it, but if you’ve packed for a car camping trip, you can totally pack for a backcountry trip. If you’re anything like me, use this equation: Add up what you would normally bring and then divide it by 30. The resulting amount is the number of things you can fit in your backpack. I am usually a, um, terrible packer. Readers of this blog know that when travelling with Levi, I typically leave the house with every conceivable thing I might need in case of an emergency/natural disaster. Friends and relatives have observed that watching me pack for a vacation is physically painful for them. But for this trip, everything – including food – had to fit in our 2 backpacks, so we could only pack what we truly needed. (See below for our checklist. You will note that Matchbox cars made the cut. Wine did not. This is our life now.)

On the trail! (I swear Travis was having fun. It’s just that when he turned 40, he declared he would no longer be smiling for photographs.)

Step 3: We backpacked: After a 3-hour car ride, we made it to the trailhead around noon. We had lunch at the car, took a family photo (We’re doing it!), and started off. This is probably super obvious, but hiking is slow-going with a 3-year-old; it took us over an hour to walk 1.5 miles, at which point we found a beautiful campsite right by the junction of two roaring creeks (Lower Icicle & French, for interested locals). Part of me wanted to keep going further. I mean, in the old days Travis and I would hike at least a dozen miles a day; but that was then. Nowadays, I consider it a coup to actually complete anything that I start, so I figured we should stop while we were all still having fun. (Plus, honestly? At a good clip, we could make it to the car in 15 minutes. You know, in case there was an emergency. Or if we decided to go back for the bottle of wine that was stowed in the trunk.) We spent the afternoon setting up our camp, eating snacks, and throwing rocks in the creek. Levi learned about bear hangs and backcountry toilets. Mac n Cheese and hot dogs for dinner, and everyone was ready for bed by 8. The next day, we went for a longer hike on the French Creek Trail. We spent the afternoon back at camp playing cars and collecting pine cones, and hit the sack again before sundown. (Side note: Backpacking with a toddler may not be your jam if you are someone who likes to do a lot throughout your day. This was a minor challenge for me; Travis, on the other hand, could do nothing for the rest of his life and be satisfied.) On Day 3, we packed up after breakfast, and were back at our car by 11 a.m., ready for a beer and brats in town.

Step 4: We came home: There’s nothing like heading back to the city after a weekend in the woods. In the Beforetimes (COVID, not parenthood), the drive was bittersweet: intense longing for nachos and beer and a shower (in that order) mixed with sadness at the prospect of going back to the grind. But now that the grind we’re going back to is truly awful -- COVID updates flooding our inboxes, and news of shootings and violence at the Black Lives Matter protests -- the drive home felt downright dismal. I was surprised to feel guilty to have been able to make an “escape” while so many people across the country were suffering from one pandemic or another. But I can say that our weekend in the woods was a powerful reminder that this world is a good and beautiful place, and that life goes on with or without us.

If you’re interested in planning a trip, I provided a Checklist of things to pack. I’m assuming you’ve been backpacking before, and you have the basic gear (pack, tent, sleeping gear, stove, etc.), so I only listed the extra items we packed for Levi. (If you’ve never been backpacking and want to try it out, e-mail me!! I’d love to help you get started!)

Toddler Clothes:
- Warm jacket for nights / mornings
- Rain jacket
- 2 Sun Shirts (we use Patagonia brand)
- 2 pairs of light pants / jeans
- Woolino pajamas / long johns
- 3 pairs of socks
- 3 pairs of underwear
- Hiking shoes
- Sandals / camp shoes
- Warm Hat
- Baseball Cap
- Mittens

Toddler Miscellaneous:
- Sleeping Bag (This was the first season we decided to switch Levi from a sleep sac / blanket to an actual sleeping bag. We had a kid’s Little Red on order from Big Agnes, but we left before it arrived. We used an old one of Travis’s, and now I’m wondering if we should have spent the extra money. I’ll keep you posted!)
- Travel Potty (I’m a big fan of Washington’s backcountry toilet system, but wouldn’t want my toddler anywhere near one. I mean, he did get near it out of curiosity, but sit on it he did not. With the portable potty, you just dig a hole, stick the potty over it, and you have the smoothest back-country potty experience imaginable. Don’t forget your shovel!)
- Matchbox Cars (I brought 3, one for each of us. I respect the concept of no toys in the Great Outdoors. I respect but do not subscribe.)
- Books (We brought 2 of our slimmest books to help with bedtime routine. Which totally didn’t f’ing matter because it takes toddlers hours and hours and hours to fall the f*@^ to sleep in a tent.)
Food:
You guys. Levi ate so. much. food. I had to give him my entire lunch on Friday and Saturday. He ate all of the communal snacks – beef jerky, apples, Cheddar Bunnies (they’re totally a source of protein, you guys), fig bars, everything – and an adult sized portion of dinner at night. More than once I caught Travis staring at him eating more than his share. I will never forget the look on Travis’s face, which was this fascinating mixture of fatherly pride and primal human rage. Anyways, I truly recommend bringing more than you think you’ll need.
- Instant oats for breakfast
- Banana Bread (I had some leftover, and brought it in case Levi didn’t like the oats. Which he didn’t. Well, that’s not true; he got close to the spoon and said, “No.”)
- Peanut butter sandwiches (pre-made at home) for lunch. Um, make extra. Someone ate mine.
- Snacks that you know your kid likes. Bring more than you think you’ll need. (I also brought special treats: beef jerky and fruit gummies. They were both a hit, although lots of crying happened when the gummies ran out.)
- Mac n Cheese & hot dogs for dinner (Yes, the hot dogs go in the Mac n Cheese. I am proud / not proud to report that this meal has been on regular rotation during COVID. We do what we gotta do, people!)
- Dehydrated soup (Bear Creek Minestrone Soup has been my favorite backpacking meal since the Beforetimes (COVID and parenthood). Just add water. The package says it’s good for 8 servings. So, uh, yeah. That covered one meal for the 3 of us.)