Description
This article is from the Outdoor
Activities for Young Children FAQ, by Gloria Logan
glogan@atk.com with numerous contributions by others.
34 GENERAL CAMPING: 3 days and nights camping in Yosemite: Tuolomne Meadows
We recently spent 3 days and nights camping in Yosemite (Tuolomne
Meadows, to be precise). We went with my brother-in-law, Brian, who
is a very experienced camper and rock climber who acted as our guide
as well as supplier of tents, sleeping bags, etc. Our first night
out was awful, as we couldn't set up a tent for fear of being caught
camping illegally (off the road). So, I spent the entire night
warding off mosquitoes, wood ants and comforting Dylan, who woke up
every half hour to hour crying "I want to go home!" The next two
nights were much better, since we had a nice campsite right next to
Lake Tioga, and the tent protected us from the bugs. We were only
in camp to eat dinner, sleep and have breakfast. Otherwise, we had
our daypacks and spent the days hiking.
We had brought our backpack carrier, the Tough Traveler (TT) for
those inevitable times when Dylan wouldn't feel like walking any
further. Little did we know how often those times would occur!
And, we had several stalemates when Dylan neither wanted to walk nor
to be put in the TT. Instead, he whined to be carried chest-to-chest,
which was too much of a strain on our backs and shoulders as well as
too dangerous for the trails we hiked. Since we don't ever give in
to whining, we spent quite a bit of time sitting or standing around
waiting for Dylan to pull himself together and choose one of the two
acceptable options. Oh, and as Gary has a bad back, I was the
designated Dylan-mule.
Aside from the battles over method of conveyance, however, we had a
wonderful time exploring nature. Dylan got into the spirit of
picking wildflowers and having his uncle identify them. And, he
loved the treks to rivers and streams, where he got to indulge his
love of throwing rocks and splashing. Dylan really liked going
three days without a bath, though the same could not be said for his
mother :-0. I even swam in chilly Lake Tenaya just for the
chance to get the top layer of dirt and sweat off!
All in all, I'm glad we went. However, I learned that camping with
*my* kid would have been easier when he was an infant, and thus light
enough to carry all day long without strain. Also, as an infant,
Dylan didn't have as many strongly held opinions about what to do
with his time and energy as he has now :-0. Gary and I have
decided that we will wait at least a couple of years before trying
camping with Dylan again--with any luck, he'll be able to hike
competently on his own by then.
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children, child, kid, Outdoor Activities, backpacking, ski, canoeing, biking, camping, trailer
