Outdoor Skills + Advice: A Challenge to Parents: Go Outside With Your Kids Every Day

By Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin, Field Instructor and Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the National Outdoor Leadership School; Photograph by Julie Hwang

I had the trip planned for months. Reserved two llamas from Lander Llama Company. Made and remade my packing list ten times. Took my Deuter Kid Comfort II pack on some test runs. Mapped out the route and got permits. We would spend a night in a spot I call “Beaver Meadow,” where the Popo Agie River oxbows and creeps through beaver lodges and willow stands, the perfect evening snack spot for moose. Then a few nights in Stough Creek Basin, a high alpine basin on Roaring Fork Mountain. Then we would wander over to Deep Creek Lakes for a few days, leaving the llamas down at camp for the day, to summit Wind River Peak.

All in all, it would be eight days in the mountains with my husband, our four-year-old, and two llamas packing our gear. Not a hard-core adventure ... by any stretch of the imagination. Without the kiddo, Jamie and I could probably hike the whole route in a couple of days. But we knew better than to be ambitious. We would go at Kieran’s pace. If that meant stopping for an hour to admire a bug, or throwing rocks in the river for another two hours, that would be ok.

Kieran was beyond psyched.

“Amma [mom in Tamil]? Are we going into the Wind River Mountains with the llamas tomorrow?”

“No, not tomorrow. Four weeks from now.”

Same question the next day. Similar answer. The clock was ticking down to go time.

But that is when life got in the way, as it often does.

Jamie was called into the field on an emergency, and he took a flight to India a week later to lead a group of National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) students on a monthlong Himalayan backpacking course. (Yeah, bummer for him.) We support each other in our quest to achieve the perfect balance: a month or two in the field with NOLS, a month or two of single parenting, a month on vacation together, and the rest of the time at home. So I encouraged him to go.

“We can book the llamas for next year.” (I was doing a terrible job of hiding the disappointment.) Of course, Kieran was crushed ... for all of two seconds until the next thing came along to distract him. Now he has all but forgotten the llamas.

Jamie left on a Friday, and I was in a quandary. It would have been easy to just hunker down for six weeks until I saw him again. Stay at home. Watch more Disney movies than usual. Maybe go on a couple of runs to justify eating horribly. But every fiber in my body protested against the prospect of a month and a half of sedentary brooding.

So I decided to go the other extreme. Try to get outside every day, be it spending an evening in the playground by the river or the weekend rock climbing with friends. By golly, my kid pack would get outside if I had anything to do with it!

It’s been over two weeks since the llama dream died, and so far so good. There are a couple of cruxes to every day. First, getting motivated to pack up the kid and gear, drive out to the wilderness, and begin the trudge.

And then there’s that moment in the day—I call it the mid-morning blues—when the whining gets so bad that I’m almost maxed out. If you’re a parent, you know that moment: when you’re just ready to call off your plans, call it a day, head back home, and turn on the boob-tube babysitter while you decompress.

But once I push through those cruxes, the days outside with Kieran are amazing. He cracks jokes, sings songs, scrambles on rocks, makes fun of me while I’m climbing (“Amma, you have a big fat butt! Amma, you’re climbing too slow!”). He’s more patient than I would ever be, hanging out at the base of a crag while I’m going up and down the rock with friends.            

Gazing up into the Wind Rivers from my back porch, I feel a little pang. What would that llama trip have been like? Would it have been the time of our lives, with sightings of big game (“mega-fauna,” we call it), fields of wildflowers, refreshing dunks in creeks warmed by the summer sun, philosophical stove-side discussions (Why are the llamas eating the grass? Why can’t I eat grass? Why?), followed by nighttime readings of Dr. Seuss and family cuddling in our tent? Or, would it have been an epic debacle, with whining and llama poop and demands to go home immediately?

But I need to stop asking myself these questions. No time for wondering what our trip would have been like. Kieran and I have some other memories to make.

Comments

[cheap car insurance for young drivers]

I remained hopeful that Obama, after evaluation of those risks would have chosen to not proceed with increased off shore drilling. I am even more convinced he will understand the unacceptable risks now.

[african mango]

We would go at Kieran’s pace. If that meant stopping for an hour to admire a bug, or throwing rocks in the river for another two hours, that would be ok.

[casinogames downloads]

I had decompression surgery in 2002 for Chiari Malformation. I’m dreading surgery to correct this condition. What should I expect?

[David Ng]

Great!
http://www.worldmatetravel.com/vietnam-adventure-tours.html
http://www.worldmatetravel.com/vietnam-tours.html
http://www.worldmatetravel.com/indochina-tours.html
http://www.worldmatetravel.com/halong-bay-cruise-tours.html
http://www.worldmatetravel.com/mekong-cruise-tours.html

[how to make your hair grow faster]

If that meant stopping for an hour to admire a bug, or throwing rocks in the river for another two hours, that would be ok.

[Hai]

When you have kids,you'll want them to travel with you.Family is sacred.
http://www.indochinadeluxetravel.com/vietnam-family-tours.html
http://www.indochinadeluxetour.com/

[static dissipative mats]

We support each other in our quest to achieve the perfect balance: a month or two in the field with NOLS, a month or two of single parenting, a month on vacation together, and the rest of the time at home. So I encouraged him to go.

[recruitment agencies in uae]

We can book the llamas for next year.” (I was doing a terrible job of hiding the disappointment.)

[inventory clerk London]

There is nothing better than a family trip. Time spend with your kids is priceless. Nice picture.

[Land For Sale]

We take burberry wallets outlet not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam.

[Viajes Miami]

We would go at Kieran’s pace. If that meant stopping for an hour to admire a bug, or throwing rocks in the river for another two hours, that would be ok.

[debt consolidation]

Of course, Kieran was crushed ... for all of two seconds until the next thing came along to distract him. Now he has all but forgotten the llamas.

[nfl jerseyss]

thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
This is great! It really shows me where to expand my blog. I think that sometime in the future I might try to write a book to go along with my blog, but we will see.Good post with useful tips and ideas.
http://www.newjerseysdiscount.com
http://www.jerseysdiscountstore.com

[louis vuitton outlet]

The answer of the enemy has been intransigence at the conference table, belligerence at Hanoi, massive military aggression in Laos and Cambodia and burberry bags for sale attacks in South Vietnam designed to increase American casualties.This attitude has become intolerable. We take burberry wallets outlet not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam. http://www.designerbagfactory.com/ reniya

[Account Deleted]

Cheap NBA hats:http://fashion-saler.com/

[Account Deleted]

Cheap NBA hats:http://fashion-saler.com/

[cash advance usa]

If that meant stopping for an hour to admire a bug, or throwing rocks in the river for another two hours, that would be ok.

[Cheap UGGs]

A nearly century-old hunting Cheap UGGs is catching on with a younger generation that sees the utilitarian footwear as hip.L.L Bean's familiar duck UGG Bailey Button with leather uppers and rubber soles - designed for slogging through mud and snow - has become something of a statement owing to its newfound popularity on campuses, UGG Amberlee the company said. Another reason is new styles, UGG Tularosa including something Leon Leonwood Bean surely never envisioned in 1912: bright blue and pink leather, new for spring.Part of the success of the UGG Kensington is its versatility, in barnyards or in cities, in snow or rain.Defying a trend toward offshore production,UGG Bailey Button Triplet the outdoors retailer is adding 125 full-time employees to its Maine manufacturing operation to keep pace with orders.
The well-known UGG Classic Short Sparkles appears to be benefiting from a retro trend, whether it's penny loafers or Gap's 1969 series blue jeans, said Candace Corlett, UGG Caspia president of WSL Strategic Retail in New York.Another factor that could be helping Bean: There's been little that's new and exciting in footwear in recent years beyond UGG Montclair boots and Crocs, said Alexander Geyman, editor of Focus on Fashion Retail. Trendy UGG Classic Cardy boots and the Timberland brand outstrip Bean's in sales, he said.
The duck UGG Classic Short carry the "Made in the USA" label, something that's hard to find these days in footwear. Nationwide, the number of shoe-manufacturing jobs dropped from more than 200,000 in the 1970s to 12,500 this year, UGG Fox Fur according to the U.S. Labor Department. In Maine, shoe-manufacturing jobs peaked at more than 25,000 in the 1960s, UGG Delaine and last year there were 1,300 jobs, according to the Maine Department of LaborWell-known Maine brands like G.H. Bass, Cole Haan, UGG Knightsbridge Sebago and Dexter are now made abroad. But L.L. Bean has resisted the notion of making its Bean UGG Plumdale.As the story goes, L.L. Bean created the hunting UGG Classic Tall for himself after his feet got wet and cold on a hunting trip, and it was not an instant success. Ninety of the first 100 pairs sold in 1912 were returned after the leather separated; Bean had a satisfaction guarantee, UGG Annabelle so he returned customers' money.These days, UGG Retro Cargo the original L.L. Bean Hunting Shoe is available unlined or with various linings, UGG Finnegan including Gore-Tex, Thinsulate and shearling. There are plenty of other variations, including quilted, canvas and plaid, UGG Sheepskin Cuff and even bright blue and pink leather. There are low-cut versions as well.All of them are still made by hand. The rubber soles are made by L.L. Bean workers in Lewiston, UGG Mayfaire and they're sewn to the leather uppers at an L.L. Bean plant in Brunswick.All told, there are 320 workers at L.L. Bean's factory in Brunswick, making UGG Highkoo, dog beds, canvas totes and other products.Each Gore-Tex liner is inflated and dunked in a tank to make sure it's watertight before being dried and put in the UGG Roslynn.

[Casual Sex]

It's usually pretty easy to take care of things like this. Most of the
time, we just need a little more information about your account or latest
transactions.

[acai berry free trial]

Of course, Kieran was crushed ... for all of two seconds until the next thing came along to distract him. Now he has all but forgotten the llamas.

[Land For Sale]

Fall means school, changing leaves, football, holidays, pumpkins, and—for those of us in the Rockies—enjoying that last bit of mosquito-free balminess before winter descends.

[Directory Listings]

The answer to that can only be made by the person who is about to board the fishing boat and temp their own fate.

[discount nfl jerseys]

1.Denver Broncos and New England Patriots NFL game this season to create a new high ratings, CBS is also the past four years, the highest ratings of the NFL regular season

game
http://www.jerseysdiscountstore.com
http://www.bestjerseysdiscount.com

[Tresor Paris]

the article is so wonderful, I am interested in it. I will pay attention to your articles. And I like cheap clothes very much,they are in high quality and inexpensive

[ghd hair straighteners]

Thank u for your sharing.Your blog has a unique feature that can make the people who reads become happy