How do you choose your hikes?
Well, we did have to tone it down. It took till Bethany was closer to twelve months old before we took her out on a multinight tramp, as winter did make us a bit more hesitant, but with more knowledge now, I definitely think we could have taken her out on multi-nighters in winter earlier!
We were used to picking huts with about a dozen visitors a year - but now we were pretty much picking the more popular trails, as we knew these would be better maintained - and there is so many places to go that return visits aren’t high on the priority list yet!!
The younger Bethany was, the easier distance was to cover. When she was little she just slept. And she loves sleeping in the carrier! So, we didn’t have to stop as much or for as long as when she got older, and just wanted to explore for herself! Then we started having longer breaks so that she could enjoy the scenery and feel it in her own toes!
The hardest bit was definitely when she was getting quite big to be on the front, but was still not big enough to go in the tramping carrier! When you’ve got a baby on your front, it’s quite hard to see your toes! (Even worse than when pregnant! ) So we had to go on flat well-trodden walks till B was big enough to go in the backpack.
Toning it down is something I am still working on though. There have been days which have been longer than expected - 13 hours from hut to hut?! - but taking it at Bethany’s pace has meant she’s been happy, even if I’m exhausted! That’s the challenge lover inside of me!