Keep it Light: Good rule for day hiking with children

On a day hike, follow the mantra "Keep it light."
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

The equipment you buy for hiking largely is meant for carrying around supplies you need to get by while in the wilds – the canteen holds water, the baby carrier holds your child, and the backpack holds … well, whatever you need to survive with maybe a couple of “luxury” items like a journal or a good book.

When deciding what to bring, your mantra should be “keep it light.” The more you carry, the longer it will take you to get somewhere. The more weight on your back, the greater the chance of slipping and injuring yourself. Pack only essentials items, favoring those items with multiple uses. A multi-purpose tool, for example, can take the place of a scissors, a tweezers and a knife.

Given this, you’ll need to determine what are the musts, the maybes and the never brings of your day hike.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.