How to cross rough terrain when hiking

Though most of the terrain you’ll cross with walking kids will be fairly flat, as they age you’ll start tackling rougher country. In addition, if carrying an infant or toddler in a carrier, there’s no need to limit yourself to flat trails, so long as you know how to traverse slopes, scree and other hindrances. Not knowing how to cross such ground can cause you and your children to fall.

The more you and your kids hike, the easier traversing difficult terrain will become. After a while, it’ll become second nature.

Some difficult terrain you may encounter includes:
g Up a slope - When heading up an incline, slow your pace, take short steps, and keep body upright. This will ensure you keep your balance.
g Down a slope - Ironically, going down a slope can be as exhausting as going up one, particularly on a steep trail. Don’t let gravity take you down too fast or you’ll slip; at best, your feet, ankles and knees will ache by the time you reach bottom. Your trekking pole really can help you stay upright when going downhill. You can maximize your trekking pole’s effectiveness by holding it securely with your arms bent at the elbow in a 90 degrees angle in front of you. In addition, test each stone with your pole before stepping on it.
g Scree - Scree is small, loose rock often found on slopes, especially in mountainous areas. It can slide beneath your step, causing you to slip, which in turn can cut up your hands as the rocks often are sharp. Walk across scree by stepping sideways so the long side of your feet have more contact with the slope. If climbing up a slope with scree, take small steps with your feet spread-eagled or splayed. This puts your weight on each boot’s instep, reducing both strain on your legs and the odds of slipping.

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

How to walk with slow-walking children

Slow your pace when day hiking with children.

Perhaps one aspect of childhood we adults tend to forget about is that kids have shorter legs than us. Because of that, they can’t easily keep pace with us. Indeed, for every step we take, they may need to make two or three. The result is they often have to run just to keep up with our walk. Regardless of children’s boundless energy, they’ll quickly tire if forced to run a mile or more. That means whining, you carrying them if they’re young, and probably that they’ll come to dislike hiking.

The solution is for you to slow your pace. That sounds easy, but if you’re long legged like me, it quickly becomes tiring to force oneself to go slow!

The solution is to use the rest step. It’s usually reserved for climbing steep slopes, but you can use it on level surfaces just as well to slow your pace.

In the rest step, you take a half-step, then bring the other foot up to it, lightly planting it and then moving that planted foot forward again it. The rest step ensures that you can keep moving forward without getting worn out.

Give it a try – your kids will appreciate it!

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