Book Review: Camping Grounds

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"Camping Grounds: Public Nature in American Life from the Civil War to the Occupy Movement" By Phoebe S. K. Young “Camping Grounds” tells the history of camping in the United States, from the Civil War to the present. The book is divided into three sections: 1. The 1850’s to the 1890’s, reviewing the origin of camping as a leisure activity in the US; 2. The increasing popularity of camping in the 1880s through the 1940’s as it became easier to travel and also as white-collar workers had more vacation time; 3. The 1950’s through the present which reviews the dramatic…

Interview: Audrey Withycombe (hiking, camping, biking, boating, skiing)

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Our latest interview is with Audrey Withycombe who has created an amazing podcast called Outdoorsy Families - I suggest you all go and subscribe to it right now. I've been looking for a while for an outdoor parenting podcast and I was excited to hear about hers. In this interview, she shares what it's like to be an outdoor parent while raising kids full-time on a summer camp. I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful like I did! Name: Audrey WithycombeLocation: Northern Minnesota at a summer camp on a lakeFamily Activities: Hike, camp, mountain bike, motorboat, fish, canoe,…

Interview: Molly and Cole Foss (camping, hiking, fishing, biking)

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After a hiatus, we are back with a new interview, this time with a family I met through the Backpacking with Babies and Kids Facebook page. They have created a website and blog (Camping Critterz) dedicated to helping parents go camping with their families. We hope you enjoy the interview and also check out their website! Name: Molly Foss (Momma Critter) and Cole Foss (Daddy Critter) Location: Minneapolis area, MN, USAFamily Activities: Camping, hiking, fishing, bikingKids: 4 yo (aka Tiny Critter)Work Schedule: Cole works a standard 8-4 M-F job (working from home the last 1.5 years) and Molly is a…

Interview: Penny Hutchinson (camping, backpacking skiing, hiking, cycling, paddling)

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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! Name: Penny HutchinsonLocation: Bay Area, CA, USAFamily Activities: Camping (including snow camping), backpacking. skiing (backcountry/alpine/telemark), hiking, cycling (road and mtn bike), some paddling ​​Kids: 11 & 13Work Schedule: ​​​Before COVID I worked part time…

Interview: Dennis & Laura (climbing, camping, hiking, skiing, kayaking, canoeing)

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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.  Name: Laura & DennisLocation: MA, USAFamily Activities: Climbing, camping, hiking, downhill skiing, kayaking, canoeing. ​Kids: 10 & 6Work Schedule: ​​​ 2 full-time Transitioning to parenthood: What outdoor activities did you do before you had kids? Same, just much more frequently before kids!​ 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…

Interview: Scott Turner (Orienteering, Hiking, Skiing, Camping, Biking, ​Backpacking )

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This week we have an interview with an outdoor parent whose children are grown up, so he has the perspective of taking them outdoors through all the stages of childhood. He is also a very experienced at orienteering, which I think is a great way to get kids outside that I haven't tried yet with my kids. He also happens to be my uncle, and when I was a kid I got to go orienteering with them. Enjoy! Name: Scott TurnerLocation: Suburban Boston, MA, USAFamily Activities: hiking, orienteering, cross-country skiing (and a little downhill), car camping, swimming   less regularly canoeing, bicycling on dedicated…

All-Weather Camping

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For this week we have an update to our camping section, with tips on camping in weather. You may wonder what we know about camping in the rain since we live in sunny California, but we both grew up on the east coast and have plenty of experience camping and hiking in the rain! Unless you only camp if the weather is perfect (like summertime in California) you’re going to have to have contingency plans to deal with weather when you’re camping. When you’re an adult, it’s a lot easier to just wing-it when the weather is bad but with…

Choosing Camping Gear for Families

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This week's post is a new Gear Selection section of the Camping page.  We hope it's helpful, and as always, we love feedback! This section is a summarization of the gear tips for camping that are included in the different camping sections, with some additional tips added. Since the philosophy of this website is to not recommend certain specific gear band instead to give criteria of what to look for when selecting gear, that is what you'll find here. General: Packing for car camping is a lot faster if you are not filling up every square inch of your car when packing. If you…

How to pack up from camp quickly

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This week's post is an update to our Simple Packing section of the Camping page. It has been updated to include our tips for unpacking and some clarification to packing. Here are our tips on unpacking:​ As we have optimized our car camping system over the years, more and more I think the key to fast packing and unpacking is carefully picking what you bring with you. This means being honest with yourself about what you actually will use and understanding how many comfort items you need to still have a good time, without going overboard. This means that you do…

Interview: Shannon (Skier and Backpacker)

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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! Name: ShannonLocation: Bay Area, CA, USAFamily Activities: hike, camp, backpack, cross country ski, downhill ski​Kids: 5 and 9Work Schedule: ​1 full time, 1 newly self…