What Goes In An Adventure Pack?
Adventure packs are deeply ingrained in our family culture. We gave Adelaide an Adventure Pack for her 5th birthday to encourage her to spend more time exploring in nature. It was an adorable military-style rucksack that accompanied us on many an excursion to the creek, until the fateful day that we pulled it out of the trunk of the car and found something had chewed a hole clear through the pack. I had a feeling about what I might find inside, and quickly dumped the contents onto the driveway. Inside, we found the results of a small creature’s evening of work: the little burlap drawstring bag that had previously held granola bars and trail mix was chewed through, the plastic of each snack shredded, and the food gone. Her laminated folded field-guides had perfect holes chewed through the center, so that, when unfolded, they displayed a series of identical holes like some twisted Norwegian Christmas decoration. Even her little wooden pencils displayed chew marks. Most of the items were destroyed, and Addie was crushed.
We caught the culprits: two small mice and one very fat one had found a way into the car via the vent system. I was horrified, but it solved the mystery of my sudden sneeze attacks whenever we drove anywhere, and Chris came straight home from work to decontaminate the car (he is the best). Adelaide was pacified with promises of a new adventure pack, but she wanted an upgrade: this time, a real pack with a water bladder.
Idris, our two-year-old, didn’t seem to mind that he didn’t have a pack until about 6 months later. When he asked, I told him that packs are for children that walk—otherwise I would end up carrying the pack along with him. A few weeks later, he walked two miles unassisted, and earned his adventure pack.
We take our adventure packs on day hikes and overnight trips, but we pack them differently. Backpacking trips result in more water, food, and clothing weight, so we leave most of the other stuff at home.
The Essentials
No matter where we go, our kids have three things:
Adventure Pack
Our packs are the Tarn 12 kid’s packs from REI. These are real packs, not a toy. i don’t believe in giving kids a pale imitation of the real thing—children deserve tools and functional items that support their interests and validate them as legitimate. This is why I love these packs— with a padded mesh back and straps, plus a chest and waist strap, a child can carry real weight, distributed properly. There is a separate compartment for a water reservoir, a front stuff pocket for a jacket, side pockets for water bottles, and an internal and external zip pocket to stash small things for easy access. There are loops in front to lash a blanket or other gear to the bottom of the pack, and the front chest clip has a whistle, which our kids know to blow if they ever need to find us. There is a larger size for older kids, which you can find here. I think I will probably get it for day hikes when our kids outgrow their current packs, but also get an option for backpacking trips so that Addie can carry her own sleeping gear next year. I’ve been eyeing this one. I know people also like the small packs by camelbak, which include the water bladder, for little kids. You can find them here. I didn’t choose them because the little packs don’t hold much other than a snack. They have full backpacks, too, but they strike me as a little less rugged than the REI version—but they do come in pink. (We usually stick to more neutral colors, but this might serve you if you are trying to engage a reluctant little girl.) You can find them here.
Water Bladder
We use the 1.5 liter reservoirs from Camelbak. Don’t cheap out on a knock-off. Buying a higher-quality item will save you the double cost of buying cheap, then upgrading once you realize the cheap one leaks or is impossible to seal properly, or difficult to clean. I prefer water bladders to bottles on the trail because little kids dehydrate easily, and this is a sure way to make sure they are drinking constantly.
Hiking Shoes
If you only buy one thing, buy good foot gear for your kid. Tennis shoes really aren’t a substitute. When we switched to hiking shoes, the trips, slips, and falls virtually vanished. Our kids have the merril hiking water shoes. Apart from being wonderful for hiking, they are a sturdy, quick-dry water shoe. I believe children should be able to play in mud and water without concern for keeping their shoes clean and dry. Having these shoes has been such a nice change from the pile of soaking-wet, newspaper-stuffed shoes on my doorstep, or the alternative of taking everyone’s shoes and socks off, and then trying to stuff wet, sandy, or muddy feet back into them once we are done playing. Keen also makes fantastic hiking shoes for kids—you can find some here. I would just buy whichever is on sale. One thing—there are imitations of this design all over the place, and you could probably find a look-alike at your grocery store for 1/5 the price. Don’t fall for it—they will not perform the same for actual hiking. Unless your biggest adventure is to the splash pad, buy the real thing, and put them to good use—I promise we have gotten our money’s worth in complaint-free miles.
Day Hike Adventure Packing List
A lot of these items are designed to encourage discovery and nature play—and some of it, let’s be real, is just to be cute. My must-haves are closer to the top. As always, we take our packs with water bladders, and wear hiking/water shoes.
Snacks
Granola bars, trail mix, fruit leather—just be sure not to store it in your car! (see above story of mice).
First Aid Kit
I got the Kikkerland Wilderness First Aid Kit originally because I thought it was cute, but we use it almost every time we are on the trail, especially when adventuring with friends—chances are good, at least one child will skin a knee. Adelaide absolutely loves tending to her friends, and it’s made for some touching moments. We added some bee sting relief ointment to her kit (see below for link), and the two together pretty much cover most things we’ve encountered.
Field Guides
I love field guides. We have larger books at home, but they’re heavy to take on the trail when you figure in the weight of supplies and non-walking children. These foldable versions are lightweight and easy for kids to use—and completely water-proof! I love that Addie can find any wildflower, bird, or tree and identify it by the picture. Waterford Press has sets for each state, or options for more general guides to North America, Animal Tracks, etc.
Animal Tracks: A Folding Pocket Guide to the Tracks & Signs of Familiar North American Species (Wildlife and Nature Identification)
North Carolina Nature Set: Field Guides to Wildlife, Birds, Trees & Wildflowers of North Carolina
Edible Wild Plants: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar North American Species (Outdoor Skills and Preparedness)
Magnifying Glass
I love this wooden one. It’s sturdy and virtually mouse-proof.
Critter boxes
These little bug boxes have magnifying glass tops, and they’re a great way to take a closer look at a critter on the trail—we’ve popped little bugs, snails, even a baby toad inside to observe without fear of escape for a few minutes before gently releasing them. Also great if you have an over-enthusiastic toddler that puts the mini-beast in very real danger of being squished from excitement.
Flower press
We have a full-sized wooden flower press at home, which we love. I made a lighter weight version to take along in the packs out of cardboard, paper, and rubber bands, but we only use those for transport and swap everything to the real press when we get home. Adelaide is an avid wildflower collector, and pressing the flowers makes them easy to turn into bookmarks, collages, or greeting cards.
Nature Journals
Anything will do, but I love these take-along nature journals. We have a larger nature sketchbook at home that we use with watercolor pencils to draw our finds, write poetry, or describe our adventures.
Colored Pencils
This was definitely a cuteness-driven purchase. I mean, come on! Twig colored pencils?? They’re adorable. But I have to admit, my vision of sitting with my kids to sketch nature finds in our journals has yet to come to fruition—we tend to snap photos, collect samples, and go home to paint and write about our adventures at the table with more space to spread out and time to work. I don’t think we would really want to use up nature play time sitting and working on our nature studies, anyway.
Assorted-Stick Twig Colored Outdoor Wooden Pencils Tree Child Camping Decorative Color
Backpacking Adventure Packing List
This list is decidedly more functional. We only take what we really use. Our toddler’s pack only has his water bladder and snacks—if you have to choose between loading up your toddler and having him tire out early, or lightening his pack but getting him to walk several more miles, go for the walking toddler—you’ll carry less weight that way. Our 5-year-old carries all of her own gear. Again, our kids wear their hiking/water shoes.
Snack Pouch
I put our kid’s snacks in clear zip bags, and fill them with granola bars, fruit leather, and trial mix. They carry only the snacks for each day, so they aren’t overloaded with 4-days snacks.
Augbunny Multi-Purpose Water Resisitant Clear PVC Organizer Bag Pouch with Zipper Closure 6-Pack
Clothing
I like to put a complete outfit in one ziploc bag, so that we aren’t searching through the pack for socks, undies, etc. I bring a few more changes of clothes for the kids than for myself, because they tend to get wet and muddy if there’s any kind of opportunity for it. They also always have a warm sweater and a pair of smart wool socks, which you can find linked below.
Rain protection
I toss in a poncho anytime we are backpacking, but if I know it’ll be raining heavily I bring the kid’s North Face rain coats.
Headlamps
This generated a lot of excitement when we brought them out. It isn’t really necessary around camp, where we have a lantern, but we love having them walking back to camp from viewing the sunset or stars.
First Aid Kit
I love the Kikkerland Wilderness tin first aid kit. Just make sure you replenish it once you’ve used some! We also bring this natural sting ointment—it works great for bees, mosquitoes, and ants, too, if you have an overly-curious toddler that wants to know what’s inside an ant hill. Addie is the only one that carries a first aid kit in our family, and I think it gives her a great sense of purpose to be the one that helps when someone is hurt.
Inflatable Pillow
We have these inflatable sleeping pillows. They weigh next to nothing, so it’s not a big deal to add it to a kid’s pack.
Bedding
Long-term, I am going to buy the kids full-blown down backpacking sleeping bags. There really aren’t great kid options out there for warmth and weight, so I’ll just get them the same adult bags my husband and I have from Hyke and Byke. But all of this gear gets pricey fast, and since it’s summer right now I just got our kids this cheap fleece bedroll by Coleman. It doesn’t weigh much, and Addie can strap it outside her pack. When she is older, we will upgrade her backpack to a real backpacking pack, and that will fit a proper sleeping bag.
Sleeping Pad
Again, inflatable is your friend. We got these ultra-lightweight ones, and the kids love them.
Personal Item
Addie brings her stuffed piggy. Idris brings 2-3 hot wheels cars. I’m thinking of simplifying packing and adding permanent hiking buddies—Maileg hiking mice would fit perfectly in a pocket, and they come with their own sleeping bags!
Whistle
Our kid’s packs come with an emergency whistle on the front buckle, but it’s a good idea to have one if your pack doesn’t have an integrated one.
Keep in mind, it is important to know your child. Addie was already used to carrying a full water bladder, snacks, and gear in her day pack, so adding a few extra things for a backpacking trip wasn’t a big deal. Her pack weighed about 7 pounds when it was full. I wouldn’t do much more next time—it is better to have a lighter pack, and a chipper child, than load up your kids packs and need to take constant breaks. I adjust the weight of our kid’s packs for their age, the duration of the hike, and the difficulty of the terrain. I will only say this: kids love to be taken seriously, and given the opportunity to do things themselves. Our children adore their adventure packs—so much so that we have had to sneakily remove items from our toddlers’, because he wouldn’t be parted with it. There is something very empowering to kids about carrying their own gear. Give your kids a chance—if there’s anything I’ve learned about adventuring with kids, its that they are a lot stronger, and tougher, than we think.