My wife and I are in Mammoth Lakes, California. Some friends gave us access to their luxury cabin in town, so we’re being lazy at least part of the day.
Yesterday, we hiked to Rainbow Falls and back, taking in Devil’s Postpile along the way. On this short hike (about 5 miles round trip), I made an observation that was gratifying to me: people were hiking with their kids.
On the shuttle to the Devil’s Postpile National Monument, we met a young woman who was excited about taking a multi-day backpacking trip to Yosemite with her mother. Another couple of families were hiking together to and from the falls with kids ranging in ages from 3 years to 17 years (my guesses).
Photo Author: Jesper Rautell Balle
All in all, I’d estimate that there were as many kids on the trail as adults or more.
We hear so much about how kids being tied to their iPods, cell phones and video games to such a degree that they never get outdoors. Well, here was some counter evidence. Kids were definitely outdoors and enjoying it.
Well, some were.
One 6-year-old (my guess), was bawling, complaining and clinging to her dad on the way down. On the other hand, her two older siblings seemed to be having a great time. The dad explained that the older brother and sister acted the same way as the young one when they were her age. But, that didn’t stop him and his wife from continuing the habit of taking their kids on hikes until they began to enjoy it.
Some very young kids, toddlers and infants, rode stylishly in kid carriers on the back or on the front of a parent. Others clung to a parent’s hand whle stumbling along. Yet others ran ahead until almost out of sight and then waited for their parents to catch up to them.
The trail was crowded and dusty. My wife, Mimi, and I yearned for the serenity of the previous day’s hike in the Bristlecone Pines Forest where we didn’t see a soul on the trail. But despite the crowds, it was very satisfying for me to see parents taking their kids outdoors and hiking with them. Satisfying indeed.
We always hiked with our three kids. They’re adults now and I’m not sure we made them all into avid hikers, but we tried our best. I’m convinced that’s all anyone can expect you to do.
by Richard Davidian, Ph.D.
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