...I hate seeing people become "tied to the house" when they have babies, it seems to happen a lot but it doesn't have to be that way as you have shown. And she will grow up being comfortable outdoors and enjoying it, which is a great gift to give any child.
I totally agree! My son is ten, and an avid outdoorsman. I'm hoping that she's going to have a similar love of the outdoors - even in the winter. We don't get Alaskan winters, but we do get winter weather, every winter. Spring and Fall too. Conversely, we only get 4-6 weeks of true summer weather, so we'd best get to liking cold weather activities.
My son got frostbite on his cheeks when he was a toddler, so he gets frostnip just about every time he's out in the cold now, but he doesn't let that stop him. Thankfully, he loves his balaclavas!
He's going on a ski trip with his school next week, so this hike was a good chance to review 2 important concepts:
1. Winter clothing and layering. His outerwear rocks, but he chose to wear a cotton t-shirt under a cotton hoodie, with cotton long-johns under his ski pants. He was a bit chilled when we got home, so we talked about our active wear while we had some hot cocoa to warm up. Layers of synthetics or wool - he has them, but was just too excited to find them.
2. Hydration. Again, in the excitement of going sledding, he didn't bring his water bottle. I had lots of all of us, but he kept saying "Remember your H2O next time!" every time we'd take a water break.
As far as the sled goes, you could run the rope through two 5-6' lengths of PVC pipe or electrical conduit (1/2-3/4" diameter), attach two carabiners to the rope ends as close as possible to the pipe ends, and then pull it by attaching the carabiners to the hip belt of your pack. That will keep the sled from running into you on downhills. The stadium seat is probably a good idea to give her some support, if you can secure it in the sled.
Great ideas, Jolt. Thanks!!
Thanks! I couldn't resist sharing her first winter trek with my ETS family.
Previous Topic
Index
