Lightweight Backpacking with Young Children

Introducing your child to the wonders of nature is one thing ­– helping them enjoy themselves while preserving your own sanity on a backpacking trip is quite another. Most parents view backpacking with a child as an arduous, masochistic experience by which Mom carries her screaming infant or drags her whining toddler (or both of them!) up a dusty trail, while Dad shoulders a hundred-pound pack containing gear for the entire family. While this style of family hiking may not lead directly to divorce, it’s certainly going to be unpleasant.