Seeing the joy and sense of accomplishment on a child’s face after they conquered a mountain is priceless. However, when cold-weather hiking with children, some situations can come-up along the trail. This is especially true when your hiking companions are young children.

Show me the layers …

The most important situation that can arise, is keeping the body temperature happy when hiking with children.

At the Base

Recently we climbed Mount Beacon. It has about a 1000 ft elevation gain and is considered moderate. At the bottom of the mountain, the temperature was a glorious 44 degrees. However, as the climb continues, the temperature begins to drop. Why is that?

As air rises, the pressure decreases. It is this lower pressure at higher altitudes that causes the temperature to be colder on top of a mountain than at sea level.

Howstuffworks.com

Basically, this means everyone needs layers. Someone recently gave me the advice to start out cool. As we work-out our body temperature rises and while hiking, this can cause sweating. This can then lead to hypothermia which can be a very serious medical condition especially for little ones who are more prone to it than adults. Surprisingly though, adults sweat more than children. However, children and older adults cannot regulate body temperature as easily. This all means that when hiking with children, we need not only layers but appropriate layers.

We started out in base layers with head wraps, gloves, and warm shoes. There is debate on whether covering these points on your body help decrease the risk of hypothermia, but I feel it helps. I also hate achy ears and don’t want frostbite on me or my little one. As a good rule of thumb, the base layer should be close to your skin and made of synthetic material or wool. Personally, I’m allergic to wool and will end up with a wicked rash, scratching like a crazed monkey climbing a mountain. So, synthetic is my go-to choice.

Midway up the mountain

Midway up the mountain, the child started whining that she was cold. So I pulled out a sweatshirt made from fleece inside and a synthetic blend on the outside. I put the emergency socks over her gloves to warm her hands. She prefers to have full mobility of her hands so she can climb and use poles. Those lobster gloves don’t work for her. Being an adult, my temperature was still regulated and happy, so I was fine. A little further up, she complained of being cold again. I pulled out the nice thick snow pants and put those on over her clothing. I made sure her hood stayed over her head and switched my headwrap with hers as mine is thicker.

The Summit-

Who has a picnic to celebrate climbing a mountain in winter, my child? The wind was whipping, near the summit and at the top, ice was everywhere. No birds were chirping. However, my teeth were chattering. Only sound up there besides the howling wind. So it was time for me to layer up. I pulled out my fuzzy vest and zippered that up. I took out my waterproof jacket and added that. My hood went over my head and I made sure everything was tied tight and buttoned up. Our feet were happy the whole trip because we were both wearing nice warm hiking socks and Abby has Gortex Boots.

Back down we go

We didn’t remove any layers until we got back to the car. It was very slow going down the icy section of the mountain and we were facing the wind. Once back at the car, we removed all our layers back to where we had started. I changed Abby’s shoes and we headed to our next hike. Yes, we did two that day.

If your happy and you know

Sometimes the children become cranky and agitated. Heck, so can the adult. It’s all about working as a team. If the child becomes upset, the adult needs to stop, take a breath, and assess the situation. Are they cold, too hot, hungry, tired, injured, just in a bad mood? In some cases, the decision might have to be made to turn around. Abby started whining and crying part way up. I at first felt a little stressed myself. But, I stopped took a breath and assessed the situation. She missed her daddy. So I got out my phone and she was able to talk to him. Another time, she needed a little encouragement. She really only wanted to do the crazy icy stuff and got bored with the easier sections. Another time, she was cold. Stop, take a breath, assess.

Food glorious food and hydration

Hydration is key. In fact, before a winter hike, everyone should hydrate. This can be an issue because at some point the little one will need to pee. But, it does help in staying hydrated to drink beforehand. Then throughout the hike, everyone should keep drinking even if they don’t want to. I honestly, need more to drink on a winter hike. My body feels it. Summit Medical Group has some good key points as to why we need to hydrate in the winter and why we usually don’t feel the need to drink as much.

Appropriate snacks are also important. My child is very food motivated. Pick healthy treats that help give everyone fuel for the journey. On our last trip, we packed fruit leather, Gatorade, water, sunflower seeds and chocolate mini-muffins (yes, the muffins are not the best choice.) If they want to stop and have a treat or drink, let them. Obviously, if they want to stop all the time to eat, then try to use it as motivation to hike on.

Patience

When hiking with children, especially small children, the grown-ups need to have the patience of Job. On the way down the mountain, my child started losing steam. So she wanted to play the walk/freeze game where you take like two steps and freeze. Eye spy also starts happening. Seriously, in winter how many something brown or white can one person find? Every time she had to look for something, it was another stop. You also have to walk a lot slower on the hard sections and talk things through very clearly. At times, I extended my pole to help her down or we held hands. It takes time. But rushing can lead to injury.

Know abilities-

Don’t’ be a warrior and don’t be stupid. Just because one child can hike two miles up a summit in icy winter conditions doesn’t mean yours automatically can too. Just like in life, everyone is different. My child is just turned four. However, she walked super young and was raised in the woods wandering completing her first scramble and solo mile at 1.5 years. But, I know her limits and it seems she knows mine. She also is very strong in knowing her left from her right, reading a map and making sensible decisions. These are all key and especially during winter hiking. However, I know not to take her up Break-Neck Ridge. That would be dumb. So know limits. All in all, though, it comes down to the fact that we know each other very well.

What’s in my pack?

Too much. However, I would rather have too much than too little when hiking with a child.

• snacks
• water
• extra layers and a change of clothes including spare socks
• an all-tool (knife)
• duct tape
• lighter
• flashlight
• driver’s license and a card with emergency information for each person in the hiking party. Preferably these cards should be somewhere on each person’s body.
• first-aid kit. I also pack a couple of sanitary napkins as they are great with the duct tape to control bleeding
• for more extreme or hiking with no trails, a compass
• whistles. We each have a whistle we carry and know the distress signal is three short blows into the whistle.
• Bandana. It can be used for many different purposes including to wipe if need be
• tp or toilet paper.
• something to put your trash in. Leave no trash
• garbage bags or rain gear. Seriously, in a pinch, a garbage bag can be used as a very stylish poncho
• sunglasses or goggles (if there is snow). Glare can cause snow blindness. I had it once skiing and had to ski blind down a mountain. Never again.
• spikes. I have yet to get spikes and just watch my footing. I heard Yak Tracks are awesome.
• extra gloves

Conclusion

Winter hiking with children is a totally different ball-game. However, with the appropriate gear, knowing everyone’s level of experience and patience, it can be a lot of fun and super rewarding. Through our many miles wandered, we have been blessed to have learned a lot. In fact, after a six-week challenge, we had huge personal growth. Read about what six weeks wandering in the woods taught us.

Did you know we have previously hiked Mount Beacon several other times? In fact, Abby girl bagged the double peak on her two feet at just under three years old! Read about one of our awesome experiences where kindness was everywhere on Mount Beacon