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Growing up in Alberta, with parents who loved being in the mountains, we spent a lot of family time hiking in the Rockies. While we may have complained once or twice as kids (well, maybe several hundred times if the truth be told), the many days (and nights) we spent in the mountains helped us develop a real appreciation of the awe and grandeur of the Canadian Rockies. Now, on our summers out west, my husband and I are trying to pass on our love of the mountains to our own children—and we’re doing our own cajoling and convincing to get them up and down the very same trails.

Happy HikersAnd despite the crying and complaining we’ve endured, we can already tell they are developing that same sense of appreciation, at the tender ages of age 8, 7 and 5. They’ve named their favourite mountains and they will happily hike when distracted by interesting things along the way (streams you can throw rocks in are a fave). We’ve developed a few strategies over the last few years to get them to the end of the trail and back too:

  • Kids hike longer carrying a big stick (so invest in a walking stick or find a suitable branch by the trail before you get started)
  • Candy comes in handy—stash a few kinds of candy away to bring out at strategic moments. Think “if you make it to that big rock up there on the hill, you can have another [name of favourite candy goes here].”
  • Those same songs you used to sing on the bus on the way to camp (99 Bottles of…) are good for passing the time on the trail
  • Avoid numerous water breaks by getting everyone to carry their own water. Our kids happily sport their Camelbak packs and merrily sip along.
  • Kids can manage their age in miles per day.

Happy trails!

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