Labor Day weekend turned out to be a summer highlight for our family. We fished, we went to the farmer’s market, but most importantly, we went on some great hikes.
One of the hikes was a wilderness adventure following only elk trails.
The other hike was into our favorite secret mountain basin.
West was enthusiastic for it all, but it did make me think about how much time we spend trying to foster his love of outdoor adventures.
Sometimes that looks like some creative storytelling to bring excitement to the outing.
Sometimes that looks like straight up bribery.
When we followed the elk trails, we said we were on a treasure hunt and the elks knew the way.
When we went to our secret basin, we told him it was where Santa’s elves spent their summers and showed him elf houses and gardens. It all created a lot of whimsy and joy and West was so excited.
Finding ways to stretch miles outdoors with a toddler is always a mission of ours. At three and half years old, we still do a combo of carrying West in the Osprey Poco Plus pack and letting him hike. Mostly we try to cover as many miles as possible with him in the pack, before letting him wander for the slowest miles ever.
In order to keep the excitement and love alive, we have tested a lot of ideas. Below are some of our favorites.
Search for snails
Or pretty rocks, or a certain animal, or a waterfall. Creating something specific to look for creates drive for our little toddler. We have carried many, many rocks back on hikes.
Bury the treasure
One of the best things I did this summer was scatter a bunch of pretty rocks and gems in our garden for West to randomly find. He delighted in that so much, I brought that idea out to the trail where we have hidden treasure at the end of the hike for him to find.
Make up epic stories
The story could be about the place itself like my above example where we turned an alpine basin into a summer retreat for Santa’s elves. On that hike, every old mining structure, weirdly shaped rock, and water feature became a part of the magical elf spa. It really made West look at the landscape and engage. Buy a bug catcher. We carry along a little bug catcher when we hike, to inspect all of nature’s little creatures up close and personal.
