A Guide: How to Survive Wilderness Trips With Children

Yep, that is Denali. Yep I am backpacking. Yep, this is my job.

Alright. Here it goes. I am going to say it. I HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD. It could be  debated, but I think the only way my job could get better would be if I was a mountaineer getting paid to climb mountains with some sweet pro-deals and sponsors! (im thinking ARC'TERYX!). I'm not quite pro-mountaineer status so I guess I can settle for getting  paid to take children on wilderness trips in ALASKA. Through backpacking, canoeing, and mountain biking I get to share my passion with kids. I have been working as a guide since my days at Northland College, going on six years now. I have worked for Trailside for the past four summers. I could see how one could easily go insane leading trips for children week after week. Yet I keep coming back year after year to Trailside, so here is my survival guide to keeping the sanity while camping with children.

   

#1: LAUGH. Laugh a lot. Then laugh some more.

Number one rule for working with children is to not take yourself too serious, and don't take the kids too serious. Life is way too short and kids are way too ridiculous. Sure you have business to take care of; (safety is #1), but there is a lot of stuff that isn't worth getting stressed or upset about. Kids are funny, especially when they aren't trying to be. Sometimes I can get super stressed and task oriented. Ready to take care of business. I get what I call "Serious Andrea Face," which I have been told is quite frightening, (I even scare myself!) but at times its truly necessary. All it takes for me to break from "Serious Andrea" is for one silly action or phrase by a  little human. It serves as a slap to the face reminder of why I am really there: to have fun and get kids outside!!

"Serious Andrea" Absolutely terrifying..

 Take for example this incident I had on a trip last summer. I was leading a group of 12-14 year olds on a backpacking trip to Kesgui Ridge in Denali State Park. It was the first day, and we were hiking up to the ridge at a the final push above treeline. I was in front and my co-leader was picking up the end. We were spread out but I could see her and almost all the kids. I got up to the ridge and rested while the kids came up one by one. Finally all the kids except for McKenzie (my co-leader) and two kids weren't on the ridge. I was getting a little worried, ready to ditch my pack to head back down the hill. But finally they came into view and a few minutes later they came up to meet us. I asked her if everything was okay, and she said "Oh yeah everything is great! But I caught Jake* napping in the middle of trail!"

 Jake* has been on a bunch of my trips. He is this giant 14 year old, at least 6ft tall, with a crazy mop of blond hair that covers his eyes like a big ol' sheep dog. He has a fantastic sense of humor,l even when he's not trying to be, like in this instance. So, I asked Jake*, "What were you up to? Are you feeling okay?" He replied nonchalantly in his Napoleon Dynamite voice: "Uhh Andrea I was just uhh super tired, so I took a nap."  Jake* took a nap in the middle of the trail while McKenzie and I couldnt see him! That was a first for me. Now I could have easily gotten upset at his foolishness. I was slightly stressed with the late start we had on trail. We needed to get to camp to get tents set up and dinner before the weather changed.  But come on that was way too funny!

#2: Stay one step ahead of the kids.

Kids are smart and they are always plotting evil deeds, especially 8 year olds. As the adult who is in charge of them you have to out smart them, the only way is to think like a kid. Risk management is huge in wilderness trips; you are taking someone's kid in the middle of the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness! So I manage risks by saying to myself: "If I was 8 at this campsite, what would I consider fun?" That list ALWAYS includes; any body of water, trees to climb, places to run and trip, sticks, and FIRE! Anything dangerous of course. My job often includes being a "fun sponge"  The key to lowering risks is developing boundaries before they even realize all the fun dangers that exist. A bubble of safety if you will. Or FORCE FIELD as I call it.

It also means having fair rules and expectations from the get go. Kids are kids. Life happens on the trail; they get in arguments, they can get hurt. You need to be on your game at all times, and that means staying one ahead of the ridiculous things children think of. 

  

Mud is good.

#3:  Get Muddy!

  By Friday you should be as dirty as your participants, but of course maintain hygiene for pete's sake!! If you aren't, you're probably not working hard enough or having the most possible fun. On a canoe trip this past summer for 12-14 year olds, on the first day of a four day trip; my boots were soaked at the end of the first portage and I sunk into up to my waist at the second portage. It also showed the kids that the canoeing and portaging was hard work for me too; I knew where they were coming from.

Naps are rare, but welcomed!

 #4: Bedtime is sacred

My new philosophy this summer was to allow the kids stay up until they were tired. Now this may sound ridiculous, right!? You're probably saying "That is crazy, kids should have bedtime, they are growing and need boundaries!" Now I agree, but let me tell you; it is all a trick! The idea is to let them play super hard during the day, feed them dinner and dessert early, then let them run some more. By a reasonable hour usually 9 pm they are so exhausted that they put themselves to bed. That is the key, let them be kids and get tired, then ultimately they will crash willingly and happily. You and your co-leader then will have plenty of time to talk about gear and mountains and do my favorite task: organize camp! Plus you get a chance to eat that hidden Hershey bar.

 

 #5: Hide a Hershey bar for yourself 

To restore sanity sometimes all it takes is a piece of chocolate and sometimes you need to yell "SERENITY NOW!!!" too.

 

 # 6: 'Unstructured' free time is golden

  Kids don't get enough time to just be kids and play! Creative, unstructured play is so important to childhood. Kids do not need adults to organize activities for them they are damn good at it themselves.

For example the last trip I lead this summer was a kayaking trip for 8 and 9 year olds. We base camped at a beautiful lake in the Kenai Peninsula; a perfect place to take an intro level kayaking trip. We were in the boats for maybe 2 hours at the most on a three day trip. The kids were having WAY more fun playing at the lake catching fish by hand and creating their own games. There was nothing I could have suggested that would have been more fun or valuable for their time then what they were doing. And that is okay! The fact that the kids were having fun outside was what really mattered.

#7: Honesty is the best 

Like I said, kids are smart. They know when you are bull shitting them, so don't. Sure, one of my favorite pastimes is making up superfluous, exaggerated stories on trips especially about my fellow guides. But they are like fairy tales, or super hero stories. Kids want to believe them, but deep down that they know they are just stories. Kids can tell when you are truly lying to them, especially about serious stuff, and they won't trust you. Now in some situations its okay to only disclose some of the pertinent information to them, its all about how you phrase it. You need to keep it as real as possible.

Before I lead my Kesgui Ridge trip this year I was brutally honest with the kids. From a safety prospective, they needed to know what they were in store for. I told them "Life is real on the ridge. We are in a remote location. Weather changes fast, and we need to be prepared. Our number one goal is safety. Hypothermia happens even when you are prepared, you need to take responsibility to keep your layers dry ." Now I didn't want them to be scared to backpack, but I was not about the sugar coat it and say: "Oh yeah Kesgui's no big deal, it is always sunny, and there are unicorns frolicking in the high meadows!" That's a bunch of B.S. and hypothermia would suck. I want them to know that when it comes to safety we need to be ahead of the game, and they totally get it.

Be honest, you need to be positive, even when you know deep down that four days of pouring rain is going to suck and your worry list is crazy long. Tell them the truth, "yep its going to rain, but that is totally okay!" You're there to help them understand that its is alright in life to be uncomfortable sometimes, and help them work through it!

 #8 Make a 'Worry List'

Jedi Master Craig Brown whipped me into guiding shape my first summer at Trailside. When I showed up I was just a puppy: barely 21, never been to AK, and no experience guiding children in the Alaskan Wilderness. He showed me what was up, the tricks of the trade,how to organize myself to set my group up for success. After four summers I still refer to many thing that he taught me. One thing that I do every week is develop a "Worry List." This helps me focus on the big issues for the week, and tie it all together. For example one week this past summer I had high energy group of all 8 and 9 year old boys on a biking trip. Kids and bikes already equals a cluster, but this was definitely going to be a intense week. So my worry list included:

1)Safety! I thought for sure one them was going to hurt themselves just from being a ridiculous little human.
2) Gear: I was quite concerned that the tents were not going to make it through the week because they were ridiculous little humans
3) Arguments: We had some 'strong' personalities and mostly they all were ridiculous little humans

Now it was indeed a crazy trip, but no one got hurt, all the tents survived, and even with a couple arguments everyone still had fun, and they earned icecream on Friday! Success!! Now the week after, my worry list totally changed, I had 12-14 year olds on Kesgui Ridge so my worried list looked like this:

1) SAFETY
2) SAFETY
3) SAFETY
4) Weather
5) Weather
6) Pack enough calories
7) Pack enough calories that are light
8) Pack enough bear barrels

I think you get it. Worry List change every week, and they really help me stay focused.

#9 Fake it till you make it with patience

Alright Ill be honest, I am not patient, I can hardly wait in line at the grocery store. I hate being slowed down for anything. But if there is one thing working with kids has taught me is you NEED to be patient, even if that means faking it. I have waaaay more tolerance to work with a child, say with autism, set up a tent then most every thing else in life. I am getting better in general. I look at as I am there to teach them skills. It is okay for it to take an hour for a herd of 8 year olds to set up a tent.  In fact its awesome, they are learning so many valuable life lessons!  In cases were I start to lose my patience or get anxious, I revert back to my worry list. Sometimes I need to walk away from situations,  and go yell “SERENITY NOW!”and maybe have part of my Hershey Bar, but I always come back (usually) with a smile and move through what ever situation there is. 

There is a situation that is fresh in my brain were I let my anxiety and lack of patience get the best of me though. It was on a four day canoe trip with 12-14 year olds. ALL boys. To make a long story short, we were weather bound one day, and on the last full day had to make up many miles so we ended up paddling for 15 hours. Many of those hours were on a narrow, twisty, river that was NEVER ENDING. I got super anxious. I had crazy thoughts, like we were in the wrong place and lost. What kept me from losing my mind was my "Worry List". Everyone was safe; tired, a little hungry and dehydrated but the situation was not dire. Really, there was no logical way we could have ended up on the wrong river. We just needed to keep paddling. We made it to our campsite late, but everything was fine.  I was worried, and impatient: I was looking for immediate results. For a guide it is good to be uncomfortable sometimes, that’s how you grow.  And while it is good to plan ahead, prepare, and always be thinking of Plan B, what is most important is the PRESENT. Now 8 year olds and bikes is a whole other battle of patience I won't get into…

 

#10: HAVE FUN!

This goes without saying. If you dont enjoy what you're doing, then you shouldnt be there. There are going to be times that its going to be sucky, but that's why life is worth living! Even after the most stressful trips where I am physically and mentally drained, there is no place I would rather be. I LOVE MY JOB! It is the little stuff that makes it the best job in the world!

Make basic tasks into games and challenges! Have campfire dance parties! Give out Mountain Men and Women Points for camp chores, following Leave No Trace and being good humans to each other. Sing songs (expect not Xmas songs in July like my famous co-guide Katherine...)! Tell stories! Tell riddles! Tell jokes! Then laugh! and laugh some more! I would like to believe that I am making a difference. My true love is the Alaskan Wilderness. I care so deeply for it, I want to share! My goal through these trips is to inspire the next generation of adventurers to care for their home too! That alone is worth every "phantom pooper," wet tent, homesick kid, flat tire, and band-aid!!!

Bust a move or two while eatin smores!

Much love for Alaska! Much love for Eklutna! This is my favorite place on Earth! That is Bold Peak by the way ;-)

 

*** Disclaimer: From my experience this is what I have learned. I am by no means an expert, and opinions will vary, but this is what works for me. AND I am still learning new tips and tricks every day to be better at my job! Yay for learning and growing!!!