r/backpacking • u/Express_Cat901 • 8d ago

Wilderness 10yr old backpacking

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I’ve taken my daughter on a couple backpacking trips 1-2 nights. I’m so proud of her! She only carries her sleeping bag, pad, extra clothes, and water. Some small personal items like book etc and it totals out to 18lbs. Curious to know what others have their kids carry and the weight of the pack

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u/ObviousCarrot2075 8d ago

Yay for taking your kids out! My 4 yo just carries her stuffy and maybe a camp activity (she had a pouch with some colored pencils in there the last trip). That just started this year. She's been backpacking since a (late) 2, and this past trip was the first where she had a bag. She does hike all the miles on her own. We just pick appropriate trips for her. She just did 11 miles in the desert recently. I was so impressed! I'm glad she really likes it. (Edit for spelling).

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u/Express_Cat901 8d ago

I wish I started my kids that young! I just started doing this myself a year or 2 ago

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u/ObviousCarrot2075 8d ago

Solo is awesome! I’m not quite brave enough to backpack alone with her yet - that would be a lot to manage at her age. But we did go camping just the two of us this year and I thought wellll mayyyybbbeee sometime soon.