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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Listening Point - General Discussion :: BWCA with an infant in the NYT
 
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OCDave
07/19/2020 11:12PM
  
My wife and I switched from backpackers (hadn't yet discovered canoe tripping) to car campers when our oldest was born. We, have a ton of memories and experiences that our kids were too young to remember. However, we, as parents, gained a lot of experience and knowledge on those early camping trips that made the later trips (the ones the kids do remember) more successful than they otherwise might have been. Eventually, the kids were old enough to hike a few miles with a light pack and carry their car camping experiences into the back country.

I am certainly no John Hodgman but, I'd advise that if you want to be the parent that takes your kid into the wilderness, the sooner you start practicing, the better you'll be doing it.
 
gravelroad
07/20/2020 02:00PM
  
"Karen Jr. will not remember this trip, but you will be scarred by anxiety, exhaustion and (given BWCA’s “Leave No Trace” policy) soiled-diaper transportation trauma."

We once had a search for a missing eighteen-month-old kid in WA. A dog handler only caught up to him because he'd stopped to shed his soiled diaper. And don't get me started on the selling of camo onesies ...

OTOH, I disagree completely with the Judge on this one, which is a rarity for me.
 
Soledad
07/20/2020 12:26PM
  
My first BWCA trip was when I was 4 months old. I've been going back ever since ;)
 
rtallent
07/20/2020 07:57PM
  
How did those Native Americans ever do it? (But do pack stuff out; we don't need 100,000 visitors leaving moss-diapers and certainly not the current style....)
 
gkimball
07/20/2020 09:08PM
  
Agree completely with the "judge."


It won't matter one bit to the child and the parents will never remember much of it either, except how much more work and hassle it was.


Go car camping instead. Many more options for maintaining comfort, safety and sanity and it won't make any different to the child. After a few years they will be comfortable outdoors and then take them into the BW.


Plus, can only wonder how stupid the parents will feel if they find themselves in a dangerous situation and there is the child looking at them.
 
THEGrandRapids
07/21/2020 09:45AM
  
To say it has no impact on the child is absolute hogwash. Studies show when a child is born he or she is able to recognize its parents voices from when it was inside the womb. But some how they can't experience anything from being outside in the BW? I suppose we could just keep kids in a crib until they are able to "remember" things.


My 2 year old has been to the BW 3 times now. I only think kidless adults must deem taking care of them a "hassle." Diapers? I mean come on, people bring fresh food into the BW that weighs more and takes up more space. I've packed out dozens of diapers, and I'm sure others have packed out way more than me. Is it for the parents? Dang straight its for the parents. and dang straight its for the kid. And dang straight its for the family. Its bonding- Sights, sounds, smells....


Car camping? Spent last weekend at Gooseberry... the sweet sound of generators running for hours on end from other sites. From 6 Pm to 10:15 when I went over and told them to shut the effing thing off- it still bothered me even knowing that there would likely be a lot of noise. I wasn't expecting absolute silence. Granted, there are a lot of nice places for car camping, but its hardly camping. (We very much enjoy car camping for road trips- but there is no comparison to backcountry camping)


For anyone considering bringing their kids, don't listen to the naysayers. Figure it out and go. 18 summers will go by fast. All those lakes that you were never interested in because they were small or on dead end routes are perfect for families.


(*maybe this is a rant from pent up anger over the amount of generators I had to deal with last weekend)
 
andym
07/19/2020 07:58PM
  
Fortunately, the Judge John Hodgman column always seem to be meant more as humor than an informed look at a question. The person who submitted the query would have been better off asking on this forum.
 
DanCooke
07/19/2020 08:15PM
  
I believe he is correct in that before the child can remember it, it is about the parents. Maybe the parents want to be not defined or limited by the child, or insert your insight here. There are as many opinions as their are people.

As far as diapers go, cloth existed before there was disposables. Diapers are manageable, and the impact of the infant is less than my LNT practices, as less passes through the kid than gets left behind.

Kids were around long before there were diapers. It is the adults that have lost the will and what it takes to raise a child without our modern conveniences. It is hard to go back to a harder way once you have experienced or have knowledge of an easier way.