We are often asked for advice on hiking with babies and kids. People are usually shocked to hear of the adventures we have taken our 13 month old son on. Other hikers on the trail constantly remark on our tiniest hiker saying, “He’s so little!” “I can’t believe you bring him with!” “Wow, you’re brave.” We just chuckle, smile, and make chit chat when we receive such comments, but really we are thinking that of course we are going to bring our son with us on the trail. Why would we stop hiking after having a baby? For us, we always knew…
Obstruction Point to Elk Mountain Loop
I sat in the airport alone. Something I hadn’t done in a very long time. I held the tears at bay only just. I texted Bobby furiously telling him that this plan of ours was stupid. But he calmed me down and convinced me to stay where I was and board the plane that would take me to Seattle to meet up with him. I left Jack in the capable hands of Grandma and Grandpa Marko but the comfort of knowing he was well cared for wasn’t enough to shake the gloom that overtook me. I thought my first trip…
Garibaldi Lake
It was our last full day in Squamish, British Columbia and we had a lofty goal. Bobby had been reading and dreaming about hiking to Garibaldi Lake. The trip would be 11 miles with 3000 feet of elevation gain and I was unsure if I would be able to complete it. I hadn’t done anything with that distance or elevation gain in a couple of years. We were also concerned that Jack wouldn’t last that long in his carrier and would be a total wreck by the end. The longest he had done was 7 miles. But, we were in…
Whistler – Blackcomb Lake
We were vacationing for a week in Squamish, British Columbia and decided that a day trip to Whistler (a short 45 minute drive away) would be really fun! We had been to Whistler once before back in November of 2013. We had found out we were pregnant with Jack less then a week before we were set to leave. That vacation was to be a long weekend of snowboarding with friends, being newly pregnant, and not a very talented snowboarder, I was advised by my midwives not to participate. So, my last trip to Whistler was spent in a lovely…
Stawamus Chief
We had arrived in Squamish for a week of fun in the sun and mountains. For our first hike we chose the Stawamus Chief which was just a short 5 minute drive from the house we were renting in town. This is one of THE hikes to do when in Squamish and we were excited to see the views of the surrounding mountains that this hike promised. We had gotten to the trailhead just before 7:00am and were the first car in the lot. This hike is notoriously popular and we had decided that our 5:30am cheerful alarm that goes off every…
Oberg Loop
A fellow hiker on the Superior Hiking Trail Facebook Group recommended this hike to us and we were glad we listened and went on this scenic, short trail. At only 2.6 miles and situated between Tofte and Lutsen this made a great day hike for us on a recent trip to the North Shore. When we arrived at the trailhead it was lunchtime so we decided to have a picnic in the parking lot before hitting the trail. This was made easy by the SPACE Trailer we had rented for the weekend. The parking lot was massive! It was only half full…
SPACE Trailer
Before Jack came along we had a rather hard time fitting all of our gear and our trusty adventure companion, Latigo, into our Ford Explorer. We had picked up a Yakima Rocket Box many years ago and it has served us faithfully. With the addition of a baby into our lives and adventures the Rocket Box is no longer cutting it. Finding adequate space in the car for gear, baby, and dog stuff while still having enough room for all of us to be comfortable was becoming a huge issue. We would cram the Rocket Box full, take up half of…
Merrick Backcountry Adventure
For our Merrick sponsored backcountry adventure we chose to visit the most famous wilderness area in Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Bobby and I have never been there and we have been keen to pay this scenic wilderness a visit. The long weekend for Memorial Day gave us an extra day to make the big 5 hour journey north. We left on Friday and spent the night in Duluth before continuing on to the campground early Saturday morning. We chose Sawbill Lake Campground for our base for the weekend. Located in the Superior National Forest it is a stunning…
Merrick Backcountry
Latigo has been chosen as an ambassador for Merrick Backcountry dog food. Their protein-loaded kibble is a grain free, all-natural option that has chunks of raw, freeze-dried meat in it. Merrick also offers several canned food options in both stews and loafs. These 12.7 ounce cans come in a variety of flavors such as Alpine Rabbit, Hearty Beef, Hearty Salmon stews, and Beef and Chicken Loafs. The stew is thick and slathered in a gravy while the loaf has more of a hash texture and is a little watery. Often times the smell of canned dog food makes me a…
5 Tips for Camping with a Baby
1. Research and Find Inspiration The idea of taking an infant or young baby camping can be overwhelming and scary. Questions, concerns and “what ifs” may plague you as you set out to plan your first camping trip. When we were discussing taking our 6 week old baby on his first camping trip last September, I was very intimidated and overwhelmed by all of my concerns. I decided to look for some inspiration in guidebooks and blog posts. My go-to outdoor baby guidebook is Babes in the Woods: Hiking, Camping, & Boating with Babies and Young Children by Jennifer Aist. This…