Unless it is a perfect, sunny, summer's day, and all of the planets have aligned just right, getting the family outdoors can be a large undertaking. In fact, the difficulty of putting a plan like this into motion is exponentially proportional to the number of people in your family. Any number of circumstances can conspire against you to dampen your motivation: the weather, fatigue, and mood (everyone has their days) to name a few. For us - being in a family of five - there is usually at least one person who is not firing on all cylinders. The good news is that nature is a powerful healer and by the end of the day everyone is almost always in great spirits. The tricky part is getting out the door.

The easiest way I have found to conquer those psychological mountains is to create plans, patterns, and routines. On the days when I wish I could be out in the bush someplace, I try to use the motivation created by that state-of-mind to prepare for our weekend outings. The end goal has been to create systems so that we can run on autopilot when we are trying to get out the door. The less we have to think, the better, saving precious mental energy for dealing with the unexpected and encouraging the highest probability for success.

Meals

We believe in eating healthy, wholesome food, and we don't want to compromise on this if we can help it. There are many who would be content to grab a coffee, a doughnut, throw a couple of energy bars in their pocket and call it good for the day. We prefer to have real nourishment for our bodies and this takes time.

For lunch, we have designed a few easy to prepare, easy to pack, healthful meals that can be thrown together the night before. We make sure we always have the ingredients on hand. We have at least one for winter (something hot) and another for summer (no cooking required). We reserve these recipes for trail-use only so that we don't get tired of them. Our current favorite winter meal is our Green Tea Rice recipe, and a favorite summer meal is cold beans & salsa over brown rice. We usually augment these with fresh fruit for dessert.

For snacks, we whip-up a quick no-bake energy bar out of dried fruit and nuts. Then if anyone wants to bring something over and above that, they are responsible for packing their own.

For supper, it is our routine to eat out - our weekly treat. This is a great way to finish a day of physical exercise when we are tired, hungry, and not in the mood for cooking.

Lists

We have created clothing and gear lists for all seasons and activities. We have found what works and continue to refine the lists as we go. When faced with a less-than-stellar weather, motivation for packing can be low. Being able to follow a checklist makes it easy to get the job done.

Gear

We believe in spending the time and money necessary to get the right gear. We are much more motivated to get out year-round when we know we have what it takes to deal with inclement weather.

Sleep

Getting enough sleep has proven to be essential to having a good day in the outdoors. We have learned the hard way to not short-change ourselves on sleep the night before. There have been occasions where we stayed up too late and started the following day too tired to be motivated for physical activity. When kids are tired, they drag and complain. Some of our kids need more sleep than others and we make sure they are in bed at the appropriate time.

Plan

We watch the weather forecast throughout the week and plan our outing accordingly. By the end of the week we know what it is we want to do and where we want to go. If we know the weather is going to be bad we try to use the opportunity to build our experience in inclement conditions, selecting locations and distances that we feel won't push us too far outside of our comfort zone. On beautiful days we try to tackle more difficult hikes because we know the weather won't be a significant factor.

Responsibilities

We like to divide up the preparation responsibilities. Everyone knows exactly what their role is and how to do it. The following is how we typically prepare for a hiking day:

• The day before we go:
  • It is Renee's responsibility to make sure that we have beans prepared for the hiking meal.
  • Damien plans the destination and route (with input from the kids) based on the season and forecasted weather conditions.
  • Brienne makes the energy bars (she likes having the treats, so she is motivated to make them).
  • Each person assembles their clothing and gear for the day using the appropriate checklist. (Sometimes happens the morning of the trip - everyone is efficient enough that it goes pretty quickly.) This includes building a personal snack bag.
  • Damien prepares the lunch.
  • Damien assembles the group gear (i.e. water, first-aid kit, etc.)
  • Renee assembles the personal care gear (i.e. TP, lip balm, bug repellent, etc.)
  • Damien reviews the kids' clothing and gear.
• The day we go:
  • We eat breakfast.
  • Everyone loads their own stuff in the car.
  • We head out!