Enjoy the Outdoors: Yes! You Can Hike with Your Baby

I often hear new parents talk about all of the things they “can’t do” now that they have a child(ren).  One thing that seems to make that list time and time again is hiking.  Every time I hear this I just want to scream I mean honestly what better way to bond with your child than getting out and experience the great outdoors together with a nice hike.  So maybe you can’t do those 10-15 mile hikes that you once did and overnight backpacking trips will have to be put on hold until your little one can carrier their own pack but besides those few little things hiking is most definitely something you can do with your child at most any age.

My husband Neil fell in love with hiking a few years ago and I have slowly become fond of hiking myself and have even gone on a few 10-15 mile hikes and an overnight trip with him.  When our daughter arrived last summer we unfortunately didn’t make it out for any of the hiking season due to my slow postpartum recovery and just the busy-ness that comes with having a new baby. So we were disappointed that we didn’t make it out for the 2012 hiking season but vowed to get out as much as possible come 2013.

Finally we experienced some amazing hiking worthy weather during the last weekend in March so we decided to head to the Oregon Coast, which beyond the amazing beaches, has wonderful nature parks to go hiking right along the water. In preparation of our hike we made sure to bring our hiking boots/trail shoes, a carrier for baby, comfortable hiking clothes and of course a hat for Edith.

This was our first time using the Ergobaby Performance Carrier for more than city walking and it was amazing.  Neil and I both took turns wearing Edith on our back in the Performance Carrier during our hike and we all couldn’t have been more comfortable. The Performance is awesome because it has a moisture-wicking mesh lining which makes it super breathable. It was in the 80’s when we went on our hike and Edith, Neil and I all stayed nice and comfortable.

We only made it out on a few short (2+ mile) hikes but it just made us more excited for the the longer hikes we hope to do this summer. After this experience there is no doubt that as far as a carrier for baby when on a hike, the Performance is just what we need this summer to make hiking fun for the whole family.  Now we just need to figure out what hike we will do next!

For more tips, please check out our other posts: Survival Guide to Hiking with Your Baby and Hitting the Trail with Kids.