Baby on their backs

[Wolfgang]

I don't know if this topic has been discussed before. If it has then the moderators can remove this thread.

Today I was doing the Caps Ridge Trail and as most people know who have used it, it is steep and very rough with lots of scrambling. Just this Sat. someone had to be rescued because of a broken ankle.

On my descent I met a couple ascending with one of those baby backpack carriers on their back with a lovely baby strapped in. I was kind of shocked to see this on this kind of a trail. I warned the couple how dangerous this trail could be. He said that he'd been on it one time before. I hope they made it out all right.

This isn't the first time that I've seen people hiking with a child on their backs. I don't know about you folks, but this is kind of disturbing and makes me nervous.

What say you all.

 

[Puma concolor]

Seems that there are two different questions here. First, I actually think it's pretty cool when couples/families are able to take their babies out to the hills in those backpack carriers. It's good for little ones to be outdoors, IMO. I have a two-month-old and would love to do this myself but certain parts of our family dynamics (oldest in a wheelchair) make it unrealistic for us to head to the hills.

Second question is taking the baby on a minor scramble above treeline ... which I would probably be surprised to see myself. But unless the parents are doing something blatantly unsafe besides just being there with the kid, I'm not going to judge them on it. Mount Jefferson in the summer on what I presume was a nice day isn't exactly Mount Everest. It's their child and they get the benefit of the doubt. My two cents.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

Well, if you were to see my family on the trail, you would probably be too.

We've taken our daughter on a lot of hikes -- we started when she was ~ 5 months old (she's ~ 21 months old now). My husband carries her and I have utmost confidence and trust in him. She loves being outdoors and we love hiking with her. We've mostly only heard positive comments (I did hear people talking about her on Breakneck Ridge one time, they were quite surprised when I spoke to them and they realized that crazy guy with the baby was my husband).

We always take necessary precautions (enough warm clothes, sunscreen, aware of weather conditions, etc) and my husband is very careful (particularly on descents). *shrug* Don't see why it's so disturbing.

 

[giggy]

i will pipe up,

My son is 4 and I have been using these since he was nearly 1. He still goes in it a little still, maybe for 10-20% of any given hike

ya know - I don't know...on 95% of the trails in NH, there is no problem.....get the kid out and have some fun - and its great training for the parent...

those other 5% - I am thinking north tri slide, hunt ravine, great gully, caps ridge, stuff like that with minor scrambling where a fall could toss you a few...etc... I would probably not do it - yea, many of us are really comfy on that stuff and its not an issue.... but - it takes one slip...and your not just hiking for yourself, you need to think of the kid - who is not making any decision on where to go..... That being said, kids play hard, they ride in cars, there is risk in everything....

I don't know how to answer it for others - not my place. But, I probably wouldn't take a kid in a carrier up that trail...and I have hiked it a number of times.... but thats just me.. to each their own...

if your making a blanket statement about hiking with them at all on your back on any trail - then I would say, your crazy and don't tell me how to parent.

 

[Wolfgang]

I'm just looking at it from a safety point of view. I don't know about you guys and gals, but I have a habit of falling once in awhile, especially when I least expect it (Maybe it's my two left feet). And when I fall, it's mostly my feet slipping out from under me and where do I land if not on my butt, but on that nice soft pack.

 

[hikerbrian]

As the parent of a 7 month old, I can tell you that parents of young children are quite risk-averse and probably overly cautious. So any parent that actually goes and byes a backpack child carrier, decides to hike in the Presidential range, and does so with the weight of a child on their back is almost certainly no one you need to worry about. These people have probably been in the mountains all of their life; it's a place that they are comfortable and safe. The inexperienced folks don't bother hiking once the challenge of carrying a child presents itself. It's probably safe to assume that the person carrying their child up Caps Ridge was endangering their child LESS than most "normal" people do carrying their child down steps.

Furthermore, I applaud (loudly) anyone who is getting their child out into the woods to experience nature at an early age. The level of comfort with - and appreciation of - nature and mountains and woods that these children will grow up with is a gift that will serve them for a lifetime.

Finally, my son LOVES hiking and camping with my wife and I. He's still riding in the front on my chest, but he just chatters and looks around and reaches for leaves and stuff all day. Yeah I stay away from stuff that I find too dangerous, and as I said, I draw that line very conservatively, as I'm sure most parents do. Caps Ridge? Meh. And it's easy enough to turn around when it gets steep.

[edited to remove the part about youth and child-rearing...just didn't like the way it read...]

 

[TrishandAlex]

Go parents! I think that's awesome.

I've taken both babies, in slings, up more than a few rock scrambles. Ever been to the Gunks? You know the Lemon Squeeze, by MoHonk House? Alex went up that with me, in a sling, when she was 3 months old. She was strapped so tightly to my chest that she couldn't have fallen out if I'd hung upside down. I've also hiked the Italian Alps pregnant with Sage, with Alex in a backpack on my back.

If you had seen me with my kids during those times, you personally may have wondered. However, I am used to this kind of thing, I know how I fall, and I know how to secure my kids in a way I feel is the safest way possible. I actually DID fall with Sage once, after she was born, in Italy. She was 4 months old and slung to my chest in front of me. I remember twisting in the air instinctively so she would land on top of me (and me not on top of her). It was a non-thought, I just did it. Amazing what motherly instincts will do.

All that being said, I have turned back when I've felt the need to, and I have ALWAYS kept the safety of my kids in my head. It's a constant preoccupation. One figures out what is safe for oneself and one's kid, and then one proceeds accordingly. It is a very individual thing.

So obviously, I echo giggy's sentiment -- to each their own. If someone in particular is not comfortable carrying a baby on a trail like that, then that particular individual should not do it.

However, other people have different comfort levels and know their own bodies, how they fall, and their own style of hiking. It is their own judgment alone that matters when it comes to the kind of trail they take their kid on.

 

[TrishandAlex]

As the parent of a 7 month old, I can tell you that parents of young children are quite risk-averse and probably overly cautious. So any parent that actually goes and byes a backpack child carrier, decides to hike in the Presidential range, and does so with the weight of a child on their back is almost certainly no one you need to worry about. These people have probably been in the mountains all of their life; it's a place that they are comfortable and safe. The inexperienced folks don't bother hiking once the challenge of carrying a child presents itself. It's probably safe to assume that the person carrying their child up Caps Ridge was endangering their child LESS than most "normal" people do carrying their child down steps.

Hikerbrian, very well said!

 

[roadtripper]

I just wanted to note the amount of minor falls & injuries that have been mentioned in trip reports on this site. This seems to occur ALL the time, and even when totally unexpected on easy, non-steep trails. Over the years, I've read probably 25+ ankle injuries, 25+ knee injuries, and worse. If a baby was on-board for any of those, it could have been bad.....

However, if I ever have children I'll probably use the carriers as well. I'll just try to consciously hike with them only when the trails are mostly dried out. Most of my 4 or 5 falls over the past 10yrs of hiking seem to have been on slippery surfaces.

Also, poles would probably be enormously helpful for maintaining balance and preventing accidents w/carriers I'd imagine.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Roadtripper's comment brought this to my mind, which I didn't mention before...

Hiking with a kid on you or next to you is a completely different experience than hiking on your own.

For me, there is a palpable difference in my awareness and in my senses. I am hyper-aware of my steps, the way I turn my body, and my balance when with one of my kids out there.

I would bet that many (note I did not say "all") of those trips and falls would NOT have happened if there had been a baby attached. Can't prove that, of course, it's just a theory. For myself, caution is magnified to the nth degree with a kid in tow, in ways I probably am not even aware of. Things are just...very different.

Any other parents with kids next to them or in slings/backpacks who feel the same way?

 

[audrey]

Hiking with a kid on you or next to you is a completely different experience than hiking on your own.

For me, there is a palpable difference in my awareness and in my senses. I am hyper-aware of my steps, the way I turn my body, and my balance when with one of my kids out there.

My thoughts exactly. Or like when I had a bum knee and every step had to be carefully considered for fear of the consequences.

 

[Jason Berard]

Thankfully, my kids are beyond the baby-backpack stage.

At 7 and 9 they at least keep pace with me on the local 4-5 mile hikes.
Sometimes they outpace me!

When they were in a backpack, I took them on the same short-to-medium hikes. I did Cardigan with them in a pack a bunch, which certainly has scrambles, although not like Caps Ridge. I think to each his/her own.
I'm glad they are getting their kids out, and themselves, too. It probably helps them recharge, so they are better parents when they get back home.

 

[Rob S]

I've taken both babies, in slings, up more than a few rock scrambles. Ever been to the Gunks? You know the Lemon Squeeze, by MoHonk House? Alex went up that with me, in a sling, when she was 3 months old. She was strapped so tightly to my chest that she couldn't have fallen out if I'd hung upside down. I've also hiked the Italian Alps pregnant with Sage, with Alex in a backpack on my back.

WOW, the Lemon Squeeze? On the Labyrinth trail, right? And topping out near Skytop? That trail is wicked fun, ...... scramble heaven! I think that is awesome that you climbed that trail with Alex! You rock!

 

[Frodo]

I also concur that getting the kids out into the outdoors (even toddlers) far outweighs the risks. We all live with risk every day (a father down here in Taxachucettes lost his 7 year old son while bike riding last weekend due to an elderly driver plowing thru a cross walk).

Life is risk, and experiencing life with balancing the risk is my personal key to it all... Personally, I feel adding some risk to kids lives FAR outweighs keeping them sheltered and getting fat and lazy playing video games and watching TV.

My kids are now 10 and 14, and I have carried both of them up some of the 4k's in the NE in child carriers when they were young, though nothing quite as challenging as the Caps Ridge (not that I wouldn't have).

 

[TrishandAlex]

WOW, the Lemon Squeeze? On the Labyrinth trail, right? And topping out near Skytop? That trail is wicked fun, ...... scramble heaven! I think that is awesome that you climbed that trail with Alex! You rock!

I did it once with Alex (3 months old) in a sling---wrapped TIGHTLY for that last bit near the topout, and with my husband close by and both of us hyperaware. There was only one bit where I felt she was in any danger whatsoever, and during that bit my husband and two others spotted me, and her.

Would I have done that on my own with her, without any other adult friends around? No way. But again, that's just me, who's to say what another, more experienced parent would have chosen to do.

I also took BOTH girls on Labyrinth Trail last year, on my own...but that time we bypassed the actual Lemon Squeeze and took the rock stairs (right by the squeeze) to the top for the Tower. I didn't feel comfortable spotting both kids (then 3 and 5) all by myself up those ladders and over the gap to the top of the cliff. For us, at that point in time, it would not have been a safe thing to attempt.

 

[Early Bird]

For me, there is a palpable difference in my awareness and in my senses. I am hyper-aware of my steps, the way I turn my body, and my balance when with one of my kids out there.

For myself, caution is magnified to the nth degree with a kid in tow, in ways I probably am not even aware of. Things are just...very different.

Any other parents with kids next to them or in slings/backpacks who feel the same way?

Yep, as a new mom who's already lost count of the number of hikes I've done with our baby, I completely agree. With our baby in a front carrier, my husband and I ventured out to her 1st 4000 footer with her this weekend and plan to get out on many more before she walks up herself. Most of the time we all go together. This helps my comfort level in case a spot is needed. I am a different hiker with her- walked right through Artist's Fall Brook on the way off Peaked yesterday instead of taking a giant step across for example.

I'm enjoying reading about how many of you have gone out with your young ones. I don't recall seeing a baby out in the woods more than once (a French Canadian family on Old Speck Pond) in all my hiking days.

I'd be thrilled to see more out there. It is so good for them-new sights, new sounds, fresh air, an introduction to a healthy lifestyle. BTW, my pediatrician cautioned me simply to have the baby wear a bug net when out hiking. She instructed me not to have her watch TV at all. How many babies do we suppose might not be heeding this advice? There are certainly worse things one could do than take an infant on a hike, the danger being variable depending on the parents' experience and comfort level.

 

[TCD]

I don't have kids. But it seems to me that front carriers might be better than back carriers, both in terms of balancing the load of a day pack on the back, and in terms of protecting the child in the event of a fall. What do people think on that?

 

[TrishandAlex]

I almost always used slings (on the trail and in everyday life). This kept baby/toddler close to my chest and seemed to optimize my balance.

As for backpacks -- if I had baby, husband carried the pack. I couldn't do both at once. That's just me though.

 

[starbug2000]

Yep, as a new mom who's already lost count of the number of hikes I've done with our baby, I completely agree. With our baby in a front carrier, my husband and I ventured out to her 1st 4000 footer with her this weekend and plan to get out on many more before she walks up herself.

I almost always used slings (on the trail and in everyday life). This kept baby/toddler close to my chest and seemed to optimize my balance.

As for backpacks -- if I had baby, husband carried the pack. I couldn't do both at once. That's just me though.

Early Bird and Trish, do you have recommendations for the types of front carriers that work the best on hikes (like Baby Bjorn vs. sling, etc.)? I know everyone is different, but I am just doing some research (baby due in a few months), and I would love to hear your opinions on that--or anyone else's opinions on the board.

 

[Lou Hale]

I just wanted to note the amount of minor falls & injuries that have been mentioned in trip reports on this site. This seems to occur ALL the time, and even when totally unexpected on easy, non-steep trails. Over the years, I've read probably 25+ ankle injuries, 25+ knee injuries, and worse. If a baby was on-board for any of those, it could have been bad.....

Babies and todlers are pretty durable, probably more so then us I think a 19 month old would fair better with a good fall then a 19 year old. My son is 19 months and he loves to climb which leads to plenty of falling, then crying untill he shakes it off and gets right back up.

The first few years of life are just hard and young ones are equiped to deal. I would be far more worried about one of us getting hurt in a fall then him getting hurt in the pack

I am not saying go out and be reckless with your child, if anything we are over cautious with ours.