Camping with Kids

As we continue our slight hiking hiatus, we have fallen into our next favorite season: Camping Season. We are lucky enough to have our own house with a decent chunk of property, in the middle of nowhere. Therefore, we camp in our back field. Being so close to our back door and in an area the kids clearly know and adore, we had all of the confidence in the world to start all of our babies camping at a very young age.

For this two day adventure, we used Derek’s new SL3 and my RCP 2 person trekking pole tent. The older two kids (14 and 11) spent the night in the RCP for the first time. I love this tent. Quick to set up, always warm, and just bare, basic, brilliance. We had the younger two babies with us in the SL3. For a three person tent, there is plenty of space for two adults, one preschooler, one toddler, and roughly 37 stuffed animals.

When we camp, we like to have smores and games for both age ranges. While the little two are still awake, we do silly truth or dare games (I dare you to do 1 pushup, I dare you to make a piggy noise for 10 seconds, truth, hmm, what’s your favorite sandwich? Etc.). We also eat all of our smores, maybe kick or throw a ball around, and send them off to bed the moment they experience the undeniable sugar crash. In regards to the teen and preteen, this is when we have more authentic fun. I’m not saying that the babies aren’t fun, but there is something otherworldly, and excitingly tragic, when your little babies grow up and have conversations that are actually stimulating and interesting. This weekend, we played a ton of “Would you rather..”. If you’re unfamiliar, the game is just an open discussion of two options. Some questions are really an introduction to a debate (Would you rather have the power to bring back an extinct species or prevent a future species from going extinct?), some are gross (Would you rather clean a public bathroom with a toothbrush you have to keep, or drink a glass of murky, dirty, nasty pond water?), some are serious (Would you rather live in a world without art, or without science?), and some are just stupid (Would you rather fight a horse sized duck, or 100 duck sized horses?). We spent nearly 2 hours around the fire, snacking on graham crackers, and discussing every little detail of every question to great lengths. If we were inside, surrounded by our screens and distractions, I don’t know if our family would have these talks. This is definitely coming from a place of faults though, we are just easily distracted people.

I mentioned sitting around the fire, this jogged my mind for another little hack that we personally use. Kids on flimsy chairs near a fire is an absolute nightmare to me. Instead, our little ones use the thick padded cushions that you would see in the back of a restaurant. They are waterproof, pretty puncture proof, easy to clean, and ON THE GROUND. So much safer in my eyes, at least, for my feral children.

We also bring out all of the flashlights. You get a flashlight and you get a flashlight and you….you get it. Flashlights give the kids a touch of confidence, even those who are definitely not afraid of the dark. They also give the kids a reason to go into their tents at any time. They like to make shadow animals, color and draw by flashlight, and be away from grownups who are often a little boring and too annoying with rules. Fair enough. We are big fans of OLIGHT and have a few different types. They are generally affordable, powerful, and come in vibrant colors, just in case your kids lose them. Oh, and they are magnetic! That alone gives you hours of fun, sticking the lights to every picnic table and shiny thing in sight.

The rain is returning this week, so we will be sleeping inside like boring people for now. We will hopefully be back out on trail soon. Until then, let me leave you with one little thing, just in case you don’t follow our Facebook page where we made a recent announcement. We have set our intentions, as a family of 6, to Thru-Hike The Appalachian Trail, beginning February of 2027. Continue to stay tuned as we review and test our gear for this journey, practice our backpacking skills, and learn! Happy Hiking!

SL3 and RCP.

Behind Manny, you can see the long mat that we use as a seat for the little ones.

Smores Are Life.