Have you ever been told that with the arrival of a baby, many of your activities will be over? Naomie Veillette from ActivMom* tells us otherwise.
It is not so difficult to go on a long hike with baby. Everything obviously depends on preparation, risk management, knowledge of the characteristics of the trail and the equipment!
I am Naomie Veillette, founder of ActivMom and mother of Malik, 19 months old. We are both passionate about hiking! Together, we climbed just over 45 mountains, including several long hikes that involved sleeping in tents or huts.
I then decided to create my own Facebook page and an Instagram profile to inspire families, but also to provide tools and ideas to guide them when they're wondering if they should keep pursuing their passion for hiking!
People often ask me how I prepare to leave for two days and one night with my baby and all our equipment on my back! I start by breaking everything down into categories (food, clothing, safety, etc.) and then go in chronological order. So I make up a story in my head: “We're going to get there; we will need that; then we'll have a snack; we'll take that; we will arrive at the refuge; We're going to light the fire..."
The musts for a hike with a night in a refuge
Over time, I ended up knowing the essentials and above all being able not to bring TOO much! (Which can be very damaging for the back, especially if you go alone like me!)
- Enough snacks and meals for your hike and overnight stay
- Water container and filtration system so you don't drag five liters of water on you
- Burner, propane and mini-kit for cooking
- Sleeping bag (I use a warm baby sleeper!)
- Spare base layer to change into when you arrive at the refuge if you were hot during the hike
- Headlamp and auxiliary lighting
- Emergency blanket
- Hand and foot warmers
- First aid kit
- Touque and multi use headdband like PEAKBWA's
- Fire starter kit
For my full lis, click here and download it for free!
Finally, know that there are places where you can park your car relatively close to the refuge or have access to luggage transport! Many possibilities are available to you in the greater Montreal and Quebec area: Ouareau Forest Regional Park, Montagne du Diable Regional Park, Mont-Saint-Joseph Regional Park, Mont Gosford, Massif du Sud Regional Park and much more!
If you are well equipped and prepared, the only thing you need is the little kick to go! When you do it the first time, you quickly realize that it goes smooth!
If you want to follow our adventures at Malik and me, have even more tips and tricks and a lot of motivation, it's over here!!
Enjoy your time outside!
Naomie Veillette
*ActivMom organizes a large number of events, group outings in the mountains, and workshops-conferences on carrying and tools for going to the mountains with children.
