Enjoying Hiking at Any Age

My wife has accounts on a couple of national park forums. First of all, she loves looking at photos, whether from places we’ve been or places we haven’t (yet). Second, there are plenty of people who are seeking advice; these tend to be those who are planning to visit a given national park for the first time. My wife enjoys telling such people about some of our favorite places to visit as well as the best times to do so. She has also gotten advice about places we haven’t found yet.

Some of the most interesting posts that my wife has told me about are those in which the poster is a parent who is planning to take their teen(s) hiking–and perhaps camping–but the teens have little or no interest in doing so. One mom, for example, wrote excitedly about how she was planning a trip for her family, including hiking at a national park they had never been to; this was especially to celebrate her daughter’s birthday. However, she admitted that her daughter didn’t enjoy hiking. Another mom wrote that she was planning a rather major vacation to the other side of the country–but neither her husband nor her son had much interest in hiking, which is something she wanted to do.

When I have talked to people about some of our favorite places to hike, it usually doesn’t take long to figure out whether this is a topic they’re interested in or not. For some, their vision of hiking is something long, laborious, and tiring–and possibly dangerous; even just driving there in the first place can be time-consuming, which I don’t deny. Some have the idea that hiking means overnight backpacking in the wilderness with no restrooms and a lot of discomfort. Some have said they would like to, but they have teens who have no interest in doing so; others have said their kids are “too young.”

I grew up in a family that went camping and hiking almost every summer; my wife grew up in a family that never did, although thankfully, she had other opportunities for hiking with others. Interestingly, when our kids were very young, my wife was the one who wanted us to take them not just hiking, but camping. I thought it would be a lot of work, especially since our daughter was not completely potty-trained yet. However, she coaxed me into a one-night tent-camping experience about an hour away. It was OK except for my sore back, so we bought a large foam camping pad for our next time, which happened a year later and was for two nights. In contrast to the year before, it was very cold and rainy–and by the time we left for home two days later, it was hailing. To top it off, there were a lot of mosquitoes, and after our first night, when I took our three-year-old daughter out into the sunlight, she started crying. In spite of all the discomforts, my son (six at the time) still says that was his favorite camping experience! A lot of that had to do with the fact that we were camping with two families (including my sister’s) who had a lot of experience. They were able, for example, to make campfires in spite of the rain.

Over the following 13 summers, we camped–and hiked–in almost every one of them, in various parks in various states. Over time, of course, we became more experienced, and we learned various things to make it more enjoyable. One non-negotiable: we always camped at a campground so that we would have easy access to restrooms and showers. Another non-negotiable, unless they weren’t allowed, was campfires. Some of our trips were enhanced by taking other families with us, often ones that had never done it before. We also learned the importance of not always “finishing” a given hike, depending on the ages of our kids and the experience, or lack thereof, of others that we had with us.

The summer before our son started college was the last time we camped. (My wife and I were starting to feel old!) The following summer, he and two of his buddies did it on their own; that was when I knew he had made camping, and especially hiking, part of his life.

I realize tent-camping is not for everyone, but I think hiking can be–even if you have grumbling teens who have never done it! Here are a few suggestions if you have never been hiking:

• Plan where and how far you’re going to hike–and remember that it’s usually a round trip! Consider not necessarily “finishing” a hike, depending on the people you have with you.
• Have a “payoff,” also known as the “wow factor.” Almost everyone, for example, enjoys a waterfall; I enjoy any water, whether it’s a waterfall, a river, a stream, or the ocean–not just the sight, but the sound. Awesome scenic lookouts are also a major plus. “Maximum ratio of beauty to effort” is the way my math-teaching wife puts it.
• Seeing animals in their natural habitat is another major payoff. It always gives me a thrill when I see them while hiking; the three bull moose on a trail at Glacier NP in Montana come to mind. Sometimes we make a special trip primarily to see animals; the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas (CA coast) come to mind.
• Encourage putting away phones; this may save someone’s life (!) as well as enhance enjoyment of natural beauty. Besides, in some places, there’s no or intermittent cell reception.
• Stop often enough, especially for snacking, and take plenty of water.

I have met many people who have enjoyed being in nature just for the beauty of it, in and of itself. For me, it has been an opportunity to give praise to the Lord God, the Creator of it all; in fact, some of my best times of worship have been in nature. Psalm 104 is a marvelous chapter in the Bible which gives a lot of specifics about His creation. Here are just a few in verses 10-13: “He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.”

If you have young kids (or grandkids!), I can almost guarantee their delight in being out in nature. And even if you have teens who don’t seem interested, they may grudgingly admit later that they enjoyed it, especially if you include the “wow factor.” And the same can be true for you even if you don’t consider yourself a “hiker.”