Fatherhood anonymous; an open discussion on being a dad.

[Dromond]

I took out nearly 2.5 month old out for a night of camping with dad. She is a great camper, so it wasn’t a big deal, but the frogs were pretty loud and she was surprisingly scared by them! I covered it up by reading a lot of books until she fell asleep.

This was also my first opportunity to get her on the kids ride shotgun bike seat. I wasn’t sure how it would go but wow was she STOKED. This little girl loved it and kept asking for me to ride over more bumps. When I said we had to stop riding and go home, it was the worst moment of her life and she collapsed on the ground screaming and crying… I know the feeling!

[The Reverend Floater]

I took out nearly 2.5 month old out for a night of camping with dad. She is a great camper, so it wasn’t a big deal, but the frogs were pretty loud and she was surprisingly scared by them! I covered it up by reading a lot of books until she fell asleep.

This was also my first opportunity to get her on the kids ride shotgun bike seat. I wasn’t sure how it would go but wow was she STOKED. This little girl loved it and kept asking for me to ride over more bumps. When I said we had to stop riding and go home, it was the worst moment of her life and she collapsed on the ground screaming and crying… I know the feeling!

Love those moments where it could go either way and ends up being 100% stoke. Of course, that's not always the way it goes...

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[bfree]

I took out nearly 2.5 month old out for a night of camping with dad. She is a great camper, so it wasn’t a big deal, but the frogs were pretty loud and she was surprisingly scared by them! I covered it up by reading a lot of books until she fell asleep.

This was also my first opportunity to get her on the kids ride shotgun bike seat. I wasn’t sure how it would go but wow was she STOKED. This little girl loved it and kept asking for me to ride over more bumps. When I said we had to stop riding and go home, it was the worst moment of her life and she collapsed on the ground screaming and crying… I know the feeling!

I'm going to guess you didn't sleep the best if you're calling her a 2.5 month old [emoji6]

Good stuff. I have a shotgun seat but I'm actually kind of reluctant to start using it with my 3.5 y.o. because he's really starting to get quite confident and happy on his pedal bike and I fear he's just going to want to get pedaled around by me when he learns that's an option.

[ghosthop]

Good stuff. I have a shotgun seat but I'm actually kind of reluctant to start using it with my 3.5 y.o. because he's really starting to get quite confident and happy on his pedal bike and I fear he's just going to want to get pedaled around by me when he learns that's an option.

Just an anecdote, my boy is almost 21 months and has been riding on the front of my bike since 10mo. He still likes to do it but since he got his balance bike he prefers to push himself whenever he is given the choice. I wouldn’t be too worried, riding bikes with my son is the best.

[Dromond]

I'm going to guess you didn't sleep the best if you're calling her a 2.5 month old [emoji6]

Good stuff. I have a shotgun seat but I'm actually kind of reluctant to start using it with my 3.5 y.o. because he's really starting to get quite confident and happy on his pedal bike and I fear he's just going to want to get pedaled around by me when he learns that's an option.

Hah! I'm at the months/years age transition point. She really likes riding on my bike, so I can see her wanting to do that over riding her own bike since she is just barely pushing her strider bike around. Eventually she will just get too big for the shotgun seat and have to ride her own anyways, so as long as she is excited about bikes in some fashion it is a win to me.

[Boissal]

I took out nearly 2.5 month old out for a night of camping with dad. She is a great camper, so it wasn’t a big deal, but the frogs were pretty loud and she was surprisingly scared by them!

I'm going to guess you didn't sleep the best if you're calling her a 2.5 month old [emoji6]

Bwah!

We took our 10 months old on her first camping trip this weekend. Ms Boissal bought a castle of a tent, enough for an inflatable twin-size mattress and a pack and play. When I made it to bed they were both in the 2-person sleeping bag, apparently she wasn't psyched about her sleeping quarters and wouldn't stop wailing until she got into bed with her mom. I think the wind and tent flapping around scared her. Fortunately I was able to squeeze in the bag with them, sleeping in the pack and play would have been rough.

The little one had the time of her life otherwise with so much novelty. She ate sand, rocks, sticks, juniper berries, lots of dog fur (she gets that at home but there were other dogs to snack on). First time bouncing around on nasty dirt roads, seeing climbers, experiencing big exposure (the crag has a giant ledge system about 300' off the ground with huge views), staring into the fire at night, hearing owls call to each other, seeing a rattle snake and a desert tarantula. Crazy to think how much their world expands in 2 short days.

[Dromond]

Camping is so stimulating for the little one (and me too) so I’m much more motivated to go. Just picking up new and different sticks, rocks and pine cones is a huge deal!

[Boissal]

Camping is so stimulating for the little one (and me too) so I’m much more motivated to go. Just picking up new and different sticks, rocks and pine cones is a huge deal!

I was a bit worried honestly. It was my first time camping with her, and my first time going back to that spot as a dad. Before the baby I probably did 30 multi-day trips out there with a solid group of friends to develop climbing routes. It was a huge part of my life, I sank countless hours and $$$ in that corner of the West desert, and in my mind it's come to represent what life was before the big change. Granted I didn't stop going because of the baby, I just fell out of love with climbing, but I was curious to know how I'd react going there with the same crew but a completely different life. There was a bit of apprehension about staying in camp while all my buddies race up to the crag to keep doing their thing.
But it turns out hanging out by the tent picking pinecones and chasing beetles is a shitload of fun. I didn't miss the old days much, schlepping a 70 lbs pack up 600' of talus then spending all day getting scared on some new line doesn't seem quite as meaningful at this point.

[SchralphMacchio]

My partner and I also went from a 2 person mountaineering tent to a cavernous REI Kingdom 6 for dog and 1 kid (with plans for an eventual second) … sure it’s nice to stand up and set up an Pack and Play but those giant tents get cold! We damn near froze our 8 month old during a September night when cold air pooled under a super clear sky and local temp fell far below the forecasted low. When the second kid was born we said F it and bought an RV trailer [emoji23]
Of course the plan was to use that for ski camping, of which we now have 3 winters done with our two kids and dog in the RV. But we haven’t tent camped since.
I’ve been talking with the 5 year old about doing some summer tent nights in our backyard. She’s also kind of excited about towing the RV somewhere and then she and I can sleep in a tent next to the RV while mom, little bro and the dog sleep in the trailer.
Definitely picking up pine cones and throwing rocks in a creek are all toddlers need to be entertained for hours when camping.

On the shotgun/Macride seats, whether or not the kid has a preference, the reality for most kids is that by the time they become proficient at pedaling their own bikes, their helmets will be smashing your chin on every “landing” and G out. My 5 year old is median height and she still fits on the Shotgun, but not for much longer …

[jackattack]

I took out nearly 2.5 month old out for a night of camping with dad. She is a great camper, so it wasn’t a big deal, but the frogs were pretty loud and she was surprisingly scared by them! I covered it up by reading a lot of books until she fell asleep.

This was also my first opportunity to get her on the kids ride shotgun bike seat. I wasn’t sure how it would go but wow was she STOKED. This little girl loved it and kept asking for me to ride over more bumps. When I said we had to stop riding and go home, it was the worst moment of her life and she collapsed on the ground screaming and crying… I know the feeling!

Wait. 2.5 months on the shotgun seat? Is that a typo?

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Wait. 2.5 months on the shotgun seat? Is that a typo?

She’s developing rapidly


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[skinipenem]

I'm afraid my 4yo won't fit on the macride this spring. If she does, it won't be for long since she is well into the 90th percentile for height.

She and I had insane amounts of fun on it the last couple of seasons. When she's motivated, she yells, "Jump, daddy! Faster faster!" Until she gets scared and then yells, "No fast! No jump!" Most of the time, she just laughs and sings. Truly awesome times!

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[SchralphMacchio]

I'm afraid my 4yo won't fit on the macride this spring. If she does, it won't be for long since she is well into the 90th percentile for height.

She and I had insane amounts of fun on it the last couple of seasons. When she's motivated, she yells, "Jump, daddy! Faster faster!" Until she gets scared and then yells, "No fast! No jump!" Most of the time, she just laughs and sings. Truly awesome times!

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You’ll be pretty pumped when you see the Family Man trail (and all the others) at Post Canyon in HR.
My 5 year old is just now able to get started pedaling on her own. She’s on a Commencal Ramones 14 - she’s not (yet) a shredder but I’m looking forward to seeing how she likes flat singletrack once things dry out here in the PNW!

[Dromond]

Wait. 2.5 months on the shotgun seat? Is that a typo?

Of course it is

[Dromond]

You’ll be pretty pumped when you see the Family Man trail (and all the others) at Post Canyon in HR.
My 5 year old is just now able to get started pedaling on her own. She’s on a Commencal Ramones 14 - she’s not (yet) a shredder but I’m looking forward to seeing how she likes flat singletrack once things dry out here in the PNW!

Do you camp near Post Canyon? I rode there for the first time last spring and it seemed an ideal beginner/shotgun seat spot since there were a lot of very smooth trails that aren’t super steep.

Our cheapskate RV substitute has been sleeping in the back of a Suburban. While not overly spacious, it’s fits similarly to sleeping in a teardrop, with comfortable mattresses, and having some sound/wind insulation from the outside can be nice. We’ve had a lot of fun nights and little one looooves bouncing around and playing in there. I can see the RV appeal, but we just don’t have that much space, free cash/time to devote, or vehicle.

We have the huge tent you can stand up in, but agree they can be super cold. For anyone trying to make the tent experience more comfy, you have space to haul them, laying down tri-fold memory foam mattresses in the tent is extremely plush. Just getting a comfortable place to lay down is half the battle to me. It’s still nice to tent camp when it’s pretty dry, mild, we are going to be there two or more nights, and it’s not super noisy. So basically family tent camping is a fair weather sport for me…

[skinipenem]

You’ll be pretty pumped when you see the Family Man trail (and all the others) at Post Canyon in HR.
My 5 year old is just now able to get started pedaling on her own. She’s on a Commencal Ramones 14 - she’s not (yet) a shredder but I’m looking forward to seeing how she likes flat singletrack once things dry out here in the PNW!

Sweer! Thanks! We will definitely make it out to family man some.
I'm super stoked for gateway green for my 8yo. Hopefully, it has something for our 4yo too. I think my wife and I will like it too .

I am very stoked on the almost 100% probability of moving back to the pnw.

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[SchralphMacchio]

Do you camp near Post Canyon?

My wife has, we haven’t done it as a family yet because one of the closer CGs is non reservable, and the bridge from HR to White Salmon is legendarily narrow to the point where towing an RV can be an issue. There are reservable CGs that are right off 84, just haven’t done them yet.

I'm super stoked for gateway green for my 8yo. Hopefully, it has something for our 4yo too. I think my wife and I will like it too

Gateway Green should be entertaining for both kids - I’ve only been there once. It will however also be an educational opportunity for the 8 year old when he asks what’s up - to opine (however you feel) about the struggles of Portland, and basically every other decently sized city in the west, with lack of housing supply, addiction, and the vast populations of people who have fallen through the cracks of the system … the only way to get to Gateway Green is to drive through or pedal past some massive homeless encampments. The transit station is located on a street that is completely lined with folks living out of tents and cars and neglected RVs. Pretty jarring but that’s what happens when you build a recreational playground in a neglected triangle between three major highways.

[skinipenem]

My wife has, we haven’t done it as a family yet because one of the closer CGs is non reservable, and the bridge from HR to White Salmon is legendarily narrow to the point where towing an RV can be an issue. There are reservable CGs that are right off 84, just haven’t done them yet.



Gateway Green should be entertaining for both kids - I’ve only been there once. It will however also be an educational opportunity for the 8 year old when he asks what’s up - to opine (however you feel) about the struggles of Portland, and basically every other decently sized city in the west, with lack of housing supply, addiction, and the vast populations of people who have fallen through the cracks of the system … the only way to get to Gateway Green is to drive through or pedal past some massive homeless encampments. The transit station is located on a street that is completely lined with folks living out of tents and cars and neglected RVs. Pretty jarring but that’s what happens when you build a recreational playground in a neglected triangle between three major highways.

My wife is gonna love that. I half expected homelessness to be a part of the green. We'll see how many times she lets us go [emoji38]

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[bfree]

Riding bikes, and a little motivation to be successful in life, hey what more could you ask for?

[skinipenem]

Riding bikes, and a little motivation to be successful in life, hey what more could you ask for?

I will employ this rationale for wife

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[doebedoe]

Wait. 2.5 months on the shotgun seat? Is that a typo?

This was my immediate thought.

Anxiously awaiting to get my lil dude on the back of our e-cargo bike in a Thule seat. But pediatrician says at least 2-3 more months.

[Dromond]

Where in the greater PNW area have you found decent camping very close (pedaling distance) to decent mtb trails, including easier, kid friendly ones? Actually I’m curious to hear of spots outside the PNW as well. In my limited experience, most of the good trails systems with both short and long loops do not tend to have camping very close.

[skaredshtles]

Where in the greater PNW area have you found decent camping very close (pedaling distance) to decent mtb trails, including easier, kid friendly ones? Actually I’m curious to hear of spots outside the PNW as well. In my limited experience, most of the good trails systems with both short and long loops do not tend to have camping very close.

Fruita, CO

[highangle]

Fruita, CO

Campo is much nicer!

[carlh]

Interested to hear answers on this as well. What’s your definition of kid friendly?
Larabee was perfect for a toddler who napped since the nap and a double down lap took the same time.

Where in the greater PNW area have you found decent camping very close (pedaling distance) to decent mtb trails, including easier, kid friendly ones? Actually I’m curious to hear of spots outside the PNW as well. In my limited experience, most of the good trails systems with both short and long loops do not tend to have camping very close.