Backpacking: Baby on Board – Part 2: Trekking with a Toddler

Four years ago, a heated debate on this forum once discussed the advantages and dangers of making a long thru-hike in the Pyrenees ... with a baby. After the initial 250 km with 3 months old Flora we published an article here.

Two years and another 750 km later, the then 30 months old Flora completed the whole traverse. We walked the Pyrenees in four parts - always returning to the place where we stopped the previous holiday. My second and latest book takes these walks with Flora as a starting point for some reflections on modern society.

Here I'll focus on the part of that book and experience that gives a good idea of what trekking with a toddler in the mountains can look like. I will only share some stories relevant to backpacking parents with toddlers and will not move into the economical, social or cultural context of the walking hype. If you would like to read an English version of the book, all I can say is: https://www.facebook.com/WandelenMetFlora?ref=hl ask for it.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

• Introduction
• New adventure, new dangers
• A rather heavy lightweight trek
• The nightlife
• A sticky issue
• My head = the playing table
• Hospitality
• A year later and again it's a totally different trek
• Boiling point
• The cave
• Lessons learned

# WORDS: 3650
# PHOTOS: 15