Summer Camp Series: Camping with Kids with Hailey Terry

0:02Hailey Terry:Welcome to our summer mini-series all about camping.

0:12In these bonus episodes, we're going beyond the standard tent and campsite setup, from bikepacking and rafting to camping with kids and dispersed car camping.

0:23Hailey Terry:Over the next four weeks, we're talking to people who are camping their own way, sharing what works, what doesn't, and how you can try it too. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-op Studios production presented by Capital One and the REI Co-op MasterCard.

0:53Hailey Terry:Camping and hiking with kids can sound daunting, but it's also one of the most rewarding ways to spend time as a family. It's a chance to unplug, explore, and bond. Sure, it comes with serious challenges, like planning meals for picky eaters or getting toddlers to sleep before sunset. But it's all part of the adventure. That's why we've brought in an expert to share tips that make it easier and more fun for the whole family. Haley Terry is a mom of three young kids who shares her family's outdoor adventures online. As a content creator, Haley shows that getting outside isn't just for adults or even teenagers.

1:31Hailey Terry:With a little preparation and a go-with-the-flow mindset, camping with younger kids can be both manageable and magical.

1:43Hailey Terry:Haley Terry, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living. I'm really excited to talk to you about camping with kiddos.

1:50Lindsey Olander:Yeah, I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me. So what was your relationship with camping growing up? We went frequently. My parents both grew up camping. So we as a family, we would drive up to Zion and camp there or we'd go to California. We just I have lots of good memories camping as a kid. Cool.

2:08Hailey Terry:So you learned young like this is just part of your DNA.

2:12Lindsey Olander:Yes.

2:12Hailey Terry:So then obviously introducing your kids to the outdoors was just like a non-negotiable for you, I'm guessing.

2:18Lindsey Olander:Pretty much. I mean, I've always loved the outdoors. And so it wasn't really a, ooh, should I take my kids outside? It was just kind of a, how am I going to make this work? So how long ago did you have your first kid? I had him five years ago. He's five years old. So it was in December of 2019. Amazing. What was it like the first time you went camping with him? The first time I went camping with him, he was eight months old. My husband had been deployed right after he was born. Right after he got home, we were still in Las Vegas, and there's a nearby mountain called Mount Charleston, and that's where I grew up hiking.

2:55Lindsey Olander:I'm from Las Vegas. And so we packed up some gear, our tent, and found a spot to pitch our tent, and we had so much fun. There were so many learning experiences just from that one trip. I had a sleeping bag for my baby, realized it is too hot for this 60 degree sleeping bag because it probably only got down to 75. And so figured out how we should actually dress him, how we were going to sleep in this small tent with a baby safely. And we had a great time, though. So, buddy, what is your favorite thing about camping as a family?

3:33Lindsey Olander:My favorite thing about camping is roasting marshmallows. and my favorite toy I like to bring is Cutie. Cutie? Cutie's his stuffed giraffe. And it's special. It's special. Do you like having your own sleeping bag and your own pillow? Mm-hmm. Do you want to say that? I like having my own sleeping bag and my pillow. Yeah, okay. And where do I go camping again? Maybe we can go next week.

4:00Hailey Terry:So what advice do you give to new moms or new aunties or grandparents parents who are taking kids camping for the first time?

4:08Lindsey Olander:Yeah. As someone who only has a kid up to five years old, I can only speak to like the toddler preschooler age. But I think having realistic expectations, sometimes on Instagram or social media, you see people camping with their kids and it looks like they're having such a great time, but nobody is pulling out their phones when it's the middle of the night and their kids aren't going to sleep or they're having a hard time getting their kids down. So having just realistic expectations that kids are kids no matter where you're at, and you're bringing them into a new environment. And sometimes it's going to go really well.

4:42And sometimes it's going to be hard because anyone in a new environment is going to have

4:47Lindsey Olander:different reactions. So yeah, I did think number one is just knowing it might not go perfectly. And then second, I think the biggest challenge a lot of parents come across is how am I going to That helped my kids sleep at night in a completely different environment. And so trying to recreate their sleep set up at home in the tent when you're first starting out. So for us, that meant making sure we had his binky. He always slept with a binky, bringing a portable sound machine, and obviously trying to keep their temperature comfortable. And that kind of comes with trial and error. I sometimes I don't sleep great when I'm camping because I'm checking on the kids.

5:27Lindsey Olander:I'm making sure they're not too hot. They're not too cold. Uh, and so, yeah, trying to bring pieces of home that help your kids be comfortable. And that could also include like bringing their favorite stuffed animal, bringing their special blanket, um, whatever that is, buying a special blackout tent. They do make those actually. So whatever you feel like is important and it's going to help your kids sleep. Um, that is, yeah.

5:52Hailey Terry:Well, let's talk about that. What is your sleep setup when you're camping with kids? Are you in a tent? Are you in a rooftop tent? are you in some sort of extra trailer?

6:02Lindsey Olander:Yeah, we have tried it all. When we first started out, actually, that first camping trip, we borrowed my parents' tent. And then after that, we only had a three-person tent. And with our dog, it was fine. It was just a tight squeeze. So actually, what we would do is my husband would sleep with our dog in the ground tent, and I would sleep with our baby in the back of our car. Eventually, we did get a bigger tent, and that was really nice. And so I would say if you have the space, we brought a pack and play for a lot of camping trips. And it was great because it was similar to a sleep setup at home and we were just sleeping right next to him on our mattress.

6:40Lindsey Olander:Now it's different because yeah, we've most recently slept in either our trailer or our rooftop tent. My kids have their own little pillows that they love, their own special sleeping bags. And then they have what's called a Yodo player that plays little audio books. So they fall asleep listening to that and they sleep great. Wait, hold up.

7:00Hailey Terry:You can all sleep together when you're all next to each other in this little tent and the dog in front.

7:06Lindsey Olander:And you actually sleep. We really do. We sleep great. You know, at first it's a little hard, but they just get used to it. Don't get me wrong. They still go to bed much later. Sometimes they wake up earlier, but also sometimes they surprise us and they will sleep better in a tent than at home. Because I think they just get worn out from running around and playing and then the cool air helps them sleep. So one thing I do recommend to help your kids go to sleep a little easier is letting them play in the tent or the trailer, whatever you're camping in before bedtime. The tent is exciting. So they want to play in there.

7:40Lindsey Olander:So if you're keeping them out of the tent until bedtime, they're going to get in there and be like, oh, this is fun. This is cool. I want to play. I don't want to go to sleep. So if they've had that little time to explore and play in there, then when it's bedtime, they might still be excited to go back in the tent. But it's not as much of a novelty as it was.

8:09Hailey Terry:What's been the most audacious camping adventure you've done with your kids?

8:14Lindsey Olander:funny enough the one of our biggest trips we ever took was our first backpacking trip with our first baby he was a little over a year old and we decided to do a 30 mile backpacking trip it was my mom who convinced us to do this she really wanted to do this um amazing backpacking trip in pria canyon and buckskin gulch it was such an skin gulch i know that one that is a no joke little place of the world. It's beautiful. And it's honestly not too hard of a route. It's pretty flat. But it was our first backpacking trip with our baby. And it was long. It was so long. But it was such an incredible trip.

8:55Lindsey Olander:I had him in my hiking kid carrier. So my husband carried a lot of our gear. I carried some and my mom carried some as well. And it snowed on us unexpectedly. unexpectedly. So I was glad my mom had an extra giant trash bag. We cut out a hole in it so we could put it over my pack, but he could still, you know, look out and breathe okay. But he was covered from the kind of wet snow. And so yeah, we just you just make things work when you're out there. And you just you have to make it work because what else are you going to do? How do you deal with the less than ideal weather? You always have to bring extra layers and be prepared for things when you're camping.

9:36Lindsey Olander:It always clears up. But just being flexible and knowing something might go wrong, like what are we going to do in those situations? So packing those extra layers, making sure you bring things to keep your kids entertained in the tent or your trailer or whatever you have because you might be in there for a little while. And also knowing like when it's time to bail. We've bailed on multiple, not too many trips, but we've definitely bailed when it's like this isn't working or we were not prepared and that's on us. And so we did go home and it's always a bummer, but it's always good learning.

10:11Hailey Terry:And then obviously you have to carry out your waist when you're in a canyon like Busk Skin Gulch and they make you carry a wag bag.

10:19Lindsey Olander:Yeah.

10:19Hailey Terry:Do you teach your kids how to use them?

10:21Lindsey Olander:Yeah. So our kids are pretty young still. He well, he was in diapers at the time we did that hike. So every backpacking trip or camping trip, we're carrying out diapers. And there's a few things I've learned over the years that have made that easier. But at the end of the day, you're still just carrying out a bunch of diapers.

10:38Hailey Terry:What makes it easier?

10:40Lindsey Olander:So some things that I have found to make it easier are one, just, you know, letting the diapers be open at camp and letting them dry out and some of that liquid evaporate to make them a little bit lighter weight. A lot of times we bring mountain house meals that like the with the, what are those called like mylar bags so when we're done with that we'll keep the dirty diapers in there and that helps contain the smell which is great um but yeah letting kids run around without their diaper at camp sometimes can be nice if we're in a secluded spot we'll do that and honestly that works great um to help lessen the load of diapers how are you carrying your kids

11:19Hailey Terry:are you carrying like your baby are you carrying them on the front or on the back yeah so i've done

11:25Lindsey Olander:multiple ways. So my first few backpacking trips with our oldest, he just went in the hiking carrier. And so I would carry as much as I could in that pack and my husband would carry the rest. And then he would be in the back. Yeah. So he'd be on my back. When they're young, too young to be in the hiking carrier, I have my babies in a soft carrier on the front and then my backpacking pack on the back. And then the best situation I have found, when your kids are about one year old. There's a product called the Trail Magic. And it's a piece of Cordura fabric with webbing that clips onto your load lifters and the straps.

12:07Lindsey Olander:And your kid can sit in there. And it's great. So when my kids are like...

12:11Hailey Terry:It sits on the front of your body.

12:12Lindsey Olander:Yeah. So I have my kid on the front. I'm holding them on the front and the backpacking pack on the back. And so it's great. It's great for like when they're one, I can pretty much carry them the whole time. and but it's even great up to when they're a little older and they're hiking more on their own but they can't quite make it all the way without needing a break the trail magic carrier it's super lightweight it folds up small so i'll have it in my pack and then i'll pull out clip it on put the kid in give them a little break and then get them out when they're ready to go so that is the best scenario because when you have older kids and they want to be carried it's really hard to carry them in your arms and then it's really hard to use just a hiking pack because you just have to clip things on.

12:51Lindsey Olander:Things don't fit well. It doesn't sit right on your back because it's too heavy. So yeah, I love our Trail Magic Carrier.