In Search of Backcountry Family Bloggers

damien's picture
Submitted by damien on

I am always in search of families that do overnight/multi-day treks in the backcountry together. Where we are, families like that are a rarity and so in order to find inspiration we have to look online. I would like to make this post THE definitive directory of bloggers who take their families on backcountry treks. This is what we have so far (not that many!), listed in alphabetical order:

Do you know any other bloggers that should be added to this list? Leave a comment or send me a message via the contact form.

Want to keep up-to-date on new sites that get added to this post? Click on the "subscribe" link at the bottom of this post to receive an email message whenever this post is updated.

Animal Tracks - Laurent Tougas
Artwork: Laurent Tougas

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Comments

Broken Record

I know I keep saying this (in my head, at least, if not out loud), but I am very thankful you two post resources on your blogs for newbies like me. I feel like Mr. Savvy and I are where you were when you first started exploring living an outside-of-mainstream lifestyle. Renee has posted a couple of times about feeling isolated in your exploration of alternate living, so I feel bad that I can't contribute, but I love learning from your family. Thanks so much! These blogs look fantastic, and I've already learned something new from clicking through.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for posting these sites. As you well know, it's often very difficult to find like-minded families that get out in the backcountry. We are very fortunate to live in a very small town in western North Carolina which has many fellow outdoor enthusiasts with kids. Most of them are paddlers primarily, who hike/backpack/camp only in the colder months. None of them, aside from ourselves, homeschool.

Finding the blogs you and Renee author has been wonderful, and I will look forward to checking out the other blogs you've posted. It definitely helps us to feel less isolated in the outdoor and educational lifestyle choices we have made, and continue to make, for our family. I don't blog, but if you or Renee want to send us an email we will happily keep you posted on our own adventures!

Your gear reviews have also been really useful, particularly when we were searching for a good, lightweight tent. (We ended up with the Big Agnes Pine Island 4 and are cozy).

Keep up the great work and know that it is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Thanks for the link love! If all goes well, in the next month we will be kicking that back-country thing up a bit more and actually moving there! Currently it looks like off the PCT or off the AT. We'll keep you all posted so you can hopefully come visit.

Oh! We are cleaning out some serious closets with moving. Would Celine be in any need of any gear? It isn't necessarily the newest, but I'm not 95 pounds anymore (thanks Barracuda!) and have some I can't fit.

Family Backpacking

Damien,

We have a 1 yr old and a 2 yr old and at most, we've done one night backpacking trips... so I would not consider myself an expert by any means, but others may learn from my experiences... Here's my blog that has details on an overnight trip into Rocky Mountain National Park in July: http://treklightly.blogspot.com/ I do have high hopes and plans to take my family out on longer more extensive trips in the future.

Here's another blog that I follow that has extensive experience in the backcountry, but limited as a family: http://jolly-green-giant.blogspot.com/2010/10/camping-with-3-year-old.html

Additionally, as you probably know, Backpackinglight.com has had some great articles on trekking into the backcountry with kids. They also have a whole forum section dedicated to Boy Scouts. I have pulled together a list of articles/trip reports that I think would be helpful to your readers (some may require membership subscription access):

2003: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00177.html

2004: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/hot_weather_hik...

2005: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/colon_oia_youth...

2007: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/lightweight_bac...

2008: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_d...

2009: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/babyonboard.html

Thanks!
Jeremy

not always in the backcountry...

while most of our adventures these days are on bikes outside of backcountry destinations (especially with a year long cycle trip fast approaching), we have ventured a bit into the world of backcountry canoeing with plans for plenty more in the coming years as our kids grow out of the toddler stage. we blogged our trip to algonquin in 2009 when our daughter was two and my wife was pregnant with our second child: http://www.pedalpoweredfamily.com/category/mini-trips/algonquin-2009/

Thanks for the great list. We

Thanks for the great list. We aren't really a backcountry family, yet (lots of day hikes and cross-country skis) but, we hope to get there as the boys get older. I'm glad there is some inspiration out there.

excting

Wow, I'm excited to stumble upon these blogs and comments about families who love adventure. We are an adventurous little family of 5 ( kids aged 12,3 and 1 ). When we can we go 'out bush' ( I might add that we live in Australia ) - if the kids are unwell ( or poor me is pregnant! ) we stay a little closer to towns, but always within nature, few people around and as little luxury as possible. It is THE best way for us to raise our family. Our dream for the next 6 months is a trip to India with the kids. Our dream for the year is to do a year long trip around Australia, off the Grid. Our dream for the next 5 years is to buy a yacht and take off wherever the wind leads us. Big dreams? Yup! It's my goal to make them happen! I'll be blogging about this a little bit more as Summer picks up over here - I'd love to be linked into other people's adventures, as it really is hard to find other families with the same dreams ( and therefore much needed advice! )

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