I am excited to share an interview with my friend Penny this week. What has impressed me the most about the outdoor adventures she goes on with her family are all the trips she takes in the winter. I haven't taken our kids snow camping yet, but hopefully we will try it this winter and I will be asking her for advice. I hope you enjoy the interview!

We're excited to share another interview this week! This one is really interesting because we have a husband and wife giving two perspectives on how they make outdoor parenting work. 

Transitioning to parenthood:

1. What outdoor activities did you do before you had kids? Same, just much more frequently before kids!​
2. If you or your spouse were pregnant, did that person continue any of the activities and how did they modify the activity while pregnant?  Laura: I climbed until my harness didn’t fit anymore. Skiing stopped pretty early (3 mo pregnant). No ocean time on my kayak since pre-pregnancy. 
3. If you do different activities after having kids, why is that? Laura: I’ve lost touch with friends who I did outdoor activities with. We engage in activities we can all participate in as a family. Dennis: We do most of the same activities, just much less frequently. There is much less time for day outings or weekends away due to school/work, kid's activities (classed, birthday parties, playdates, etc.). 
4. How old were your kids when you started doing outdoor activities with them? Laura: First camping trip at 2.5, skiing at 3. Did lots of hikes with baby as carrier made it easy. Dennis: We had them try climbing around ages 3 or 4. ​
5. What was your biggest challenge when you started doing outdoor activities with the kids? Laura: They love being outdoors. With skiing we have to tag team who is with what kid. They youngest needs more support. Dennis: Keeping the kids occupied and engaged, particularly downtime (such as setting up climbs) or waiting for their turn.

Outdoor parenting:

1. How have these challenges changed as the kids got older?  Laura: Our oldest can ski and climb the same trails/routes we do. I no longer climb but my husband does. Typically, all four of us go so I can belay him and keep the youngest occupied as she waits for a turn. Dennis: As [our oldest] has gotten older, she has taken a genuine interest in climbing. Together with mental maturity, which means she requires less constant stimulation and is more patient. 
2. Do you have trouble maintaining the kids interest in the activity (ie during a long hike) and if you do, how do you keep the kids interested?  Laura: When they were 4 and under, yes. Now they are happy and engaged during day trips. Dennis: They tend to stay interested on their own. But the kids getting tired is more of a challenge. Especially the little one, which will usually want to be carried at some point of the hike.  
3. How do you fit the activities into your working life?  Laura: I only have time on the weekends. In the winter we ski almost every week - it’s something we all love. Summer activities like camping and hiking aren’t as regular. Dennis: It is very tough during the week. We mostly engage in outdoor activities on the weekends. Since COVID, we have had more time on weekdays, for things like local nature hikes and bike rides, just like lots of other families. 
4. How do you balance outdoor activities with kids activities (organized sports, music, school)?  Laura: We’ve boxed all kid activities Into Saturday  morning or weekdays to leave Sundays open. Dennis: It’s very challenging. There just isn’t enough time for everything. There are constant trade-offs. We try our best to talk to the kids and see what they want. 
5. How do you ensure that both of you can keep doing your outdoor activities? Laura: Pre-COVID my husband went to climbing gym every week at the same time. I just don’t have the copious free time I did before kids and opt to spend my limited free time on other things like gardening, socializing, and yoga. Dennis: We’ve been supportive of each other getting out for “grown up” activities (such as climbing without the kids). But it’s hard to be away from the family all day. 
6. Have you ever received pushback on outdoor parenting from family, friends, or community? If so, how have you handled it? Laura: Not really. People ask questions as it can seem hard to get little kids engaged in outdoor activities but it has always felt like curiosity. Dennis: I wouldn’t say “pushback”. But there is often a perception by folks who don’t participate in outdoor activities like climbing or skiing, that these activities are dangerous. Explaining how these activities work (such as describing a climbing top rope setup) will often get folks to be less critical. 

Summary/Conclusion:

1. What resources helped you figure out how to do these outdoor activities with your kids? (books, friends, groups, blogs, etc).  Laura: Mainly seeing friends do it and getting inspired to try with my own kids. Dennis: We’ve had friends who had kids before we did. So we learned a lot watching them interact with their kids while doing outdoor activities. 
2. What is your favorite outdoor parenting hack? Laura: Sharing a ski pass when one parent has to be with baby in the lodge. Nature scavenger hunts on hikes on when waiting for turn climbing. Dennis: I’ve given my kids a little extra climbing motivation by putting candy inside plastic Easter eggs, and placing them on holds or ledges at various points of the climb (both outdoors and at climbing gyms). It does work, although it can backfire as well. One time, I did not bring the eggs, and my daughter was upset “But I want to find an egg!”
3. What is your biggest outdoor parenting mistake?  Laura: You can’t do things the way you use to. Be flexible with yourself and your kids and have fun! Dennis: Georgia broke her leg skiing last winter. She got going too fast and took a tumble. I don’t think there was really anything I could have done to prevent it. But I kept replaying it in my head for a long time. Georgia has since fully recovered, and is rearing to get back on skis this winter.
4. If you could give one piece of advice to other outdoor families, what would it be? Laura: Get your family out there,  it’s hard when they are wee little ones but I never regretted a single trip. Dennis: Your kids might not end up enjoying all the same activities you do. Show them why you love these activities, and maybe they will, too​
5. What is your favorite piece of gear for outdoor parenting? Laura: For babies/toddlers a good supportive carrier for hikes. Ski harnesses were helpful with toddlers. Dennis: Not specifically outdoor gear, but definitely my favorite: a good camera (not a phone) to capture all those memories. Cameras on phones have come a long way, and obviously win for convenience. But a phone simply can’t match the image quality of a “real” camera in capable hands. I started getting into photography when our first child was born, and that interest has carried over to outdoor activities. My current camera is a mirrorless, full-frame Canon R. My favorite lens for outdoor activities is the 70-200mm, f2.8. It’s a big, heavy lens. But it lets you zoom in on the action. I can get close-up shots of my kids on the rock, or out on the water while standing on shore.

I have known Corbin for almost 15 years, most of it before he had his son. I have watched him go on many adventures and use his creativity, engineering talent, and mechanical skills to modify equipment and test out new ideas (which you can read about on https://www.corbinstreehouse.com). So I was excited to learn more about his approach to outdoor parenting and I'm even more excited to see what he and his family do as his soon gets older. I hope you enjoy this interview also!

Overview:
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Currently, we mountain bike, ski/snowboard, camp, hike and backpack. When our boy gets older we will add in more activities that he is capable of. 

Let’s start with camping. I have a Ford F250 truck for doing work. We wanted to still go camping with our boy, so we decided to get a truck camper for our F250. This made the most economical sense; a used truck camper was under $10,000 and had all the amenities for off grid comfort camping: bed, toilet, shower, kitchen, stovetop, oven, heater, sink and a small fridge. I added some solar panels. We started truck camping when my wife was pregnant, and we did a one month trip around the west coast and a lot of shorter trips. 

For mountain biking, I’ve been taking him in a backpack since he was about 6 months old. At that age his neck was strong enough to do some light off road riding. The hardest part was finding a helmet that would fit him when he was so young. I couldn’t find one, and did three or four rides with him without a helmet. Then my wife insisted on us finding one, and we eventually did find the smallest size offered from a company, and it still  barely would fit him at that point. I tried a pull along wee-hoo trailer, but he didn’t like it; it was too bumpy for even the tamest offroad riding and cornering was really difficult with the long wheel base. I found the backpack works well because the bike shocks absorb a lot of impact, and I can use my legs to make the ride even smoother for him on difficult terrain. I avoid drops and jumps; they would cause his head to fling around too much and we bump helmets.  I stopped taking him on rides for the past 3 months due to COVID-19.

For cross country skiing, my wife pulled a bike trailer that had skis on it instead of wheels. We only did this a few times, and it worked fine.

We normally downhill ski and snowboard. The resorts will not let you carry a child and last year he was still early in the walking stage, so we couldn’t put skis on him. This season we will try both skiing and snowboarding (he will be 2 years old). We found one resort that would let him ride the 2-person chair lift! (I held him tightly in my arms).

Then comes in our truck camper again: when our boy was 2.5 months old we ventured off on a one month winter ski trip, touring the IKON pass destinations: California, Utah, Montana. The camper did great in the cold weather down to -7 F or so; we simply left the heater on all night and changed our propane tank every 3 days to ensure we’d never run out (and carried a spare tank) and to keep pipes from freezing. We didn’t shower in the camper at this time; it would use too much water, so we would shower weekly at various places (friend’s houses, camp site bathrooms, YMCA, etc). My wife was breast feeding, so we would take turns skiing every 2-3 hours. We could park the camper right at the base of the mountain, so swapping over was easy.  We had issues with too much snow causing the solar panels to not charge the battery enough, so we ended up buying a small generator to ensure we’d never run out of power.

​Transitioning to parenthood:

1. What outdoor activities did you do before you had kids? Before, we would also rock climb. At this point we have only climbed a few times outdoors; our boy is too young and needs constant supervision by one parent, making it hard to do the dual climbing partner thing (belayer and climber). We previously used to mountain bike together, but now we haven’t been doing that (yet).​
2. If you or your spouse were pregnant, did that person continue any of the activities and how did they modify the activity while pregnant? She stopped climbing, but continued to ski. She is very skilled at skiing. Biking was harder, as the excess weight made it unpleasant.​
3. How old were your kids when you started doing outdoor activities with them? About 2.5 months is the point when we did the winter camping trip.​
4. What was your biggest challenge when you started doing outdoor activities with the kids? The hardest thing is making time for things we each want to do. I can’t take my boy with me when I ride some trails that are technical and dangerous.

Outdoor parenting:

1. How have these challenges changed as the kids got older? It has just gotten easier as he gets older.
2. Do you have trouble maintaining the kids interest in the activity (ie during a long hike) and if you do, how do you keep the kids interested? So far, he is too young to really have a say in it. Sometimes he gets tired and cranky.
3. How do you fit the activities into your working life? We choose to live more simply and work less.​ 
4. How do you balance outdoor activities with kids activities (organized sports, music, school)?  He’s too young for those things at this point.
5. If you have a partner, how do you ensure that both of you can keep doing your outdoor activities? We developed a schedule. I get up first and take care of our son in the morning from when he wakes up till 8:30 or so. My wife then takes over till 3pm. I then have time to work or bike. I take back over at 3pm till after dinner, at which we swap again. This allows each of us to have dedicated time to ourselves. On days that my wife works I will watch our boy for the entire day

This week I'm excited to introduce our friend Shannon. She and her wife are masters of organizing group camping trips, which we have been lucky to be part of for many years now. (They created the camping spreadsheet I shared last week). They have also started taking their kids backpacking and skiing, while impressively managing sports and activity schedules. She is right about how friends help kids hike more - when my kids hike with them they go much farther!

Transitioning to parenthood:

1. What outdoor activities did you do before you had kids? More Skiing and backpacking, kayaking, plus all that we do with kids
2. If you or your spouse were pregnant, did that person continue any of the activities and how did they modify the activity while pregnant? Not really, we got a cushier sleeping pad for car camping. 
3. If you do different activities after having kids, why is that? We haven’t taken the kids paddling yet, but we should be able to do that with our 9 year old soon. Our schedules are busier now with sports and kid activities, so we don’t necessarily prioritize our outdoor activities. We waited until age 7 or so to introduce downhill skiing, but did enjoy cross country skiing when they were young.
4. How old were your kids when you started doing outdoor activities with them? We started camping and hiking when the kids were just a few months old.
5. What was your biggest challenge when you started doing outdoor activities with the kids? Working around the nap schedule! Trying to schedule a hike around a toddler’s nap is tough. 

Outdoor parenting:

1. How have these challenges changed as the kids got older? Our schedules have gotten busier! Soccer, swimming, softball teams, birthday parties, etc. The kids are less enthusiastic about hiking now, but that usually dissipates after the first quarter mile. 
2. Do you have trouble maintaining the kids interest in the activity (ie during a long hike) and if you do, how do you keep the kids interested? Candy. Lots of candy. Also, we just introduced the kids to geocaching and the kids are surprisingly interested! The best thing is having friends on a hike! Chatting with friends makes the miles fly by! Finding ways to make things fun by singing and playing games while hiking helps. 
3. How do you fit the activities into your working life? We try to get out for a hike every week. During our 2020 Shelter in Place we tried to get out one midweek afternoon each week for a hike. 
4. How do you balance outdoor activities with kids activities (organized sports, music, school)? It’s hard! Our balance leans toward a greater commitment to team sports at the detriment of our outdoor adventures. That said, we don’t have a problem with taking off on a Friday after lunch a few times a year to get an early start to a camping weekend. 
5. If you have a partner, how do you ensure that both of you can keep doing your outdoor activities? We take turns. She likes running so I make sure to be on kid duty so she can run. I play soccer, so she’s on duty then. When we’re outdoors together, we’re both on duty...with some breaks.

Summary/Conclusion:

1. What resources helped you figure out how to do these outdoor activities with your kids? (books, friends, groups, blogs, etc). We started with Strollerhikes.com when our oldest was a baby. Then we found a core group of friends who shared our interest in getting outdoors with the kids. Mostly we relied on our outdoor skills from before kids. 
2. What is your favorite outdoor parenting hack? Put the baby/toddler in a snowsuit for chilly nights when camping. Bring extra blankets to pile on in the middle of the night.
3. What is your biggest outdoor parenting mistake? Not pushing the kids hard enough. They can do so much more than we think they can. 
4. If you could give one piece of advice to other outdoor families, what would it be? It is ok to start small, within your comfort zone. Just get out!
5. What is your favorite piece of gear for outdoor parenting? A small solar powered inflatable lantern. It is lightweight enough for backpacking, but creates a lovely soothing glow in the tent.

For our second interview we are excited to share Karl's experience as an outdoor dad. We have known him and his family for a few years. They are part of a group of families we go on group camping trips with a few times a year, until they moved back to Colorado. I have always been impressed with how they find the time to get into the mountains so often while they both worked full time jobs and also with the impressive hiking stamina of their daughter.

Transitioning to parenthood:

1. What outdoor activities did you do before you had a kid? Pretty much the same with less day hiking and more climbing, mountain biking and trail running.
2. When your spouse was pregnant, she continue any of the activities and how did she modify the activity while pregnant? We tried to keep up the outdoor activities.  We even planned a backpacking trip at about 5 months, but afterward we discovered that she needed to back off a bit.  She also gave up canoeing and climbing and any other activity that had a potential for jostling.
3. If you do different activities after having a kid, why is that? Our activities changed and how we approached those activities changed, partly to accommodate the safety and abilities of our child, but also because we were getting older and slowing down a bit.
4. How old was your kid when you started doing outdoor activities with them? 4 months.
5. What was your biggest challenge when you started doing outdoor activities with your kid? Finding that balance between fun and exhaustion.

Outdoor parenting:

1. How have these challenges changed as your kid got older? I’m not sure it has. We still work hard at pushing our child’s limits without harming them or making the activity miserable. Every year she can do more, so we do more.
2. Do you have trouble maintaining the kid's interest in the activity (ie during a long hike) and if you do, how do you keep the kid interested? Hiking games! From Fetch the stick to 20 Questions to Name an Ingredient.  The games have changed as she has aged, but they are still very useful as the mileage increases. 
3. How do you fit the activities into your working life? Anyway we can (from maxing out our weekends to taking a six month sabbatical).
4. How do you balance outdoor activities with kid's activities (organized sports, music, school)? We have avoided organized sports and have done everything we can to keep our weekends open. 
5. How do you and your partner ensure that both of you can keep doing your outdoor activities? We have settled on a group of activities that we can all enjoy together. 
6. Have you ever received pushback on outdoor parenting from family, friends, or community? No.

Summary/Conclusion:

1. What resources helped you figure out how to do these outdoor activities with your kid? (books, friends, groups, blogs, etc) We have pretty much learned by trial and error.  We just kept doing what we liked to do and tweaked things along the way. Early on, I was also involved in a Bay Area group called Stroller Hikes, that organized mid-week hikes with the littles. They are still up and running and can be found at strollerhikes.com.
2. If you’re a writer, what are the blog posts, articles, books, videos that you have written/created that you think would most help other families?  Back when our daughter was little and I had more time, I published a blog with tons of stories and photos from our earlier adventures. It’s quite a good snapshot of our transition from an adventurous couple to adventurous parents. I currently have aspirations of adding some of our more recent long treks and the planning involved in making them happen. The blog can be found at somehowlost.com
3. What is your favorite outdoor parenting hack? Just get outside. Go early and often.
4. What is your biggest outdoor parenting mistake? This one is hard.  I don’t want to say we didn’t make any mistakes, but honestly none of them mattered. We now have a daughter that is just as addicted to the outdoors as we are.

We are so excited to introduce our first interview of an Outdoor Parent! We are hoping to do about two of these each month and use this information to improve our information pages. If you're interested in being interviewed, please contact us.

​Transitioning to parenthood:

1. What outdoor activities did you do before you had kids? Hiking, camping, backpacking, climbing.
2. When you were pregnant did you continue any of the activities and how did they modify the activity while pregnant? When I was pregnant I continued all activities while pregnant with modifications. I didn't backpack after the first trimester (mostly because I was tired and not interested in carrying any more weight) and I climbed only at the gym (not outdoors) while pregnant. Hiking and car camping had no modifications.
3. If you do different activities after having kids, why is that? No change
4. How old were your kids when you started doing outdoor activities with them? 1-2 months started hiking. Car camping around 6 months? Backpacking around 1 year. Climbing for parents went along with car camping. Climbing for kids around 3 years.
5. What was your biggest challenge when you started doing outdoor activities with the kids? Adjusting expectations for how big/high/far/fast we would go. Balancing adult fun and kid fun so everyone has a good time. But really it's been amazing. I remember our first J Tree trip when Evelyn was about 18 months old. She ran around in the dirt for hours chasing after the other kids and having a tremendous time. It was amazing to sit in a chair and not have to entertain her. It was the first time that I realized a pack of kids + nature actually can increase adult free time and relaxation. I've made sure to take advantage of the phenomenon as much as possible since then.

Outdoor parenting:

1. How have these challenges changed as the kids got older? Do my kids count as older yet, lol? My 6 year old is starting to have more opinions about what she wants to do, but so far she loves nature activities. Probably the biggest challenge has been motivating her to hike, since she isn't very easy to carry anymore. See below!
2. Do you have trouble maintaining the kids interest in the activity (ie during a long hike) and if you do, how do you keep the kids interested? Yes, I have trouble with this. The things that have worked include 1) hiking with other kids so they play together along the trail, 2) Carrying a giant box of blueberries for trail tag. The game is "whoever touches the next tree/log/rock/etc up ahead gets a blueberry!" This game has been known to carry Evelyn and her hiking friends shockingly far (several miles), even with significant elevation gain. 3) Adjusting adult expectations about stopping. Stopping more than we want to to explore, talk, snack, etc. Then continuing on. 4) Giving in and carrying her part of the way. She's only ~45 lb.
3. How do you fit the activities into your working life? Right now we are satisfied with planning ~4 - 6 trips/year and doing a lot of local hiking. We are fortunate that most of our family is close so our vacation time is generally spent in the outdoors. This could be a long weekend or a longer trip. We also built a climbing wall in the backyard for at-home free play. This seems to fit with the amount of time we have free.
4. How do you balance outdoor activities with kids activities (organized sports, music, school)? Because I'm a teacher, my vacation time generally lines up with the school year for my kids. I mostly restrict kid activities to the afterschool program Evelyn attends. If she's doing something on a weekend like swimming or gymnastics, I am fine with her missing a class and swallowing the money if we have another plan.
5. If you have a partner, how do you ensure that both of you can keep doing your outdoor activities? It's mostly about scheduling trips that work for our schedules. He is busier than I am at work, so I often will take weekend trips with other families that he can't attend. Neither of us really do outdoor activities sans kids. Kids are just part of our life now and they are generally included. We do occasionally rely on sitters to allow us to climb together. This takes the form of swapping childcare with another family, or getting paid help. We found ourselves stranded in Red Rock Nevada once when another family skipped out our planned trip and we were able to find childcare at a local kids gym in Las Vegas (Evelyn was around 2 or 3yrs). We would wake up, drive her into the childcare, then book it back to the rocks, climb something shorter and then dash back to pick her up by 5pm.

Summary/Conclusion:

1. What resources helped you figure out how to do these outdoor activities with your kids? (books, friends, groups, blogs, etc) Rock Rugratz, our babysitting co-op group (Oaktown Babyswap) that we do at least one trip/year with, and trading tips with other active parents.​
2. What is your favorite outdoor parenting hack? Rather than mess around with a million sleeping mats in the tent, I pack one big egg crate foam for all of us to share. This is nice and comfy on my hips too, which are less resilient than they used to be.
3. What is your biggest outdoor parenting mistake? One time I led a group of families to a climb in The Pinnacles. In my mind the climb had a simple approach and nice flat ground for the kids to play. My memory did not serve me well that day, it was a sloped ravine with a drop-off and there were a lot of toddlers tied to ropes that day.
4. If you could give one piece of advice to other outdoor families, what would it be? Definitely try camping/climbing with another family or two. It keeps the kids busy, provides social time for everyone, and gives the parents flexibility to support each other's activities.
5. What is your favorite piece of gear for outdoor parenting? My daughter had trouble with nature peeing for a long time. The Go Girl was a life saver. I even started taking it to the local playgrounds at home so she could step behind a bush if needed.

See all of our interviews here, where you can browse through them by keywords and locations.