Early Introduction- A 5yr Old and Winter Camping

What do you get when you tell a 5yr old stories of camping in the Winter and building quinzees?

You get curiosity and enthusiasm, oh ya... and a lot of questions :)

A large part of my Son Hiker's 5 years on the planet have been spent outdoors. We had always went for hikes and spent time in nature. Another part of that, was making sure he was engaged in outdoor activities in the Winter. I was determined to avoid having a child that just wanted to hibernate and hide behind electronics during the Winter months. When he was ready, a backyard snowboard park was built including a 12 foot drop-in ramp as a part of our sloping backyard. Next he would get a Burton snowboard and all the equipment to make the experience comfortable. This gave him an activity in the backyard that was easily accessible providing there was enough snow.

We also spent time making snow forts and small quinzee's in his earlier years. It gave us a chance to bond outdoors over the Winter. Hiker would witness my excitement and enjoyment in doing these activities with him, despite the weather. Usually I would have a fire going outside that we could hover around if we got a little chilled. These experiences set the stage for an early introduction into Winter camping for my now 5 (turning 6 in June) year old boy.

As I continued to plan canoe trips later into the Fall my son had just expected that he would be a part of them and after some deliberating I didn't see why he couldn't. He was becoming more experienced in his young age and showed a real and genuine enthusiasm for tripping, so I planned our first back country canoeing trip outside of the peak season of Summer. The plan was to head to Puzzle Lake Provincial Park in late October.
The video documenting this trip can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlklfCbrMNI

This would test my Son's ability to take direction from me in the cooler temperatures of Autumn when travelling by water and venturing into the interior of the non operational park. I would also be able to get a sense of how he would respond to the cooler temperatures in certain situations. There were a couple incidents where he got wet after not heeding my advice but he would learn quickly by natural consequences, as mother nature would not be forgiving. All in all the trip went very well and was a great learning experience for both him and I moving closer to the Winter months.

This winter I have found that Hiker will periodically ask if we could build a quinzee, however it usually ends up being at the most inopportune time. His desire to is consistent and leaves me feeling upset with myself for not making time. Are you wondering why I just don't make the time to do it with him??? Read on, you won't be disappointed.

 Just recently I went on a three day winter backcountry camp in Algonquin Park with nine other adults. It was organized to be a cold tent/tarp camp and required a level of skill. The night before I was set to leave Hiker was pleading for me to take him. I tried to explain the circumstances and it was hard to navigate a conversation telling him he doesn't have the skill required, without telling him outright that he doesn't have the skill required. He very confidently told me that he can do it, just give him a chance. It broke my heart telling him "No" as we always trip together. He and I discussed the issue for a little while and came to a compromise. I explained that if he missed out on this adult trip that I would take him to Algonquin on the family day weekend to do some cold tenting. He was sold on this idea and it lessened that sadness that I was experiencing leaving him behind and he had  a Winter camp on the horizon to look forward to.

Now back to the topic of the quinzee or lack there of. This past weekend, with the winter camp in Algonquin coming up quick, I decided Hiker and I would build a quinzee in the backyard. Hiker was excited and all for that plan. This would be an opportunity to take his Winter experience to the next level and if things went South we would be just outside the house. So on the Saturday morning we got to piling snow. This was an exhausting task as there wasn't a lot of snow. We used my Pelican Snotrek 60 to haul snow to the site where we would build the quinzee. I even went as far as pulling out the snow blower to blow snow from the property onto our pile. I don't think it would be a stretch to say we had to clear about 1/4 of and acre to get a sufficient amount to dig out our snow cave and sleep in it. This process took a couple hours. We went inside to have lunch and allow the pile to settle for a few hours. In the evening we returned to dig out our home for the night. Hiker was determined to dig and although the process was slow he didn't give up. I helped with shaping and moving snow. After well over an hour in, we were able to put our ground sheet, sleeping mats, blankets and sleeping bags in. Home was setup for the night. We returned to the house for some family time with my Wife as she called us nuts and reminded hiker and I how she would be sleeping in a cozy warm bed. Hiker and I laughed as for this night we would be backyard polar adventurers sleeping in the snow. You could see the excitement written all over Hikers face. That warms my heart and is why I pursue these challenges with him , so we can grow together. I feel an obligation as a parent to expose Hiker to as many experiences as possible in hopes that he is drawn to a passion that carries him throughout life.

Out the door we go to the frozen tundra that is our backyard and into the quinzee. Hiker and I chat about the design and certain features i.e. the air hole to allow CO2 to escape and air to circulate from a crack in the wood door we blocked the entrance with. I not only wanted him to help build the shelter but to understand why it was built the way it was. After our discussion we watched a video on quinzees on my phone until Hiker requested to go to sleep. Headlamps were shut off and moments later Hiker was sawing logs like he was sleeping in his own bed. Before I retired I posted pictures on my personal Facebook account and was surprized at the reactions from friends. I knew that what I was doing was key in Hikers growth but to have friends validate or experiences and follow along was nice to see. Our message is getting out there to inspire.

During the night I woke up twice to go pee and it was a challenge to get out of the small quintzee both times but to my surprize Hiker did not wake up once. It wasn't until 6:30am that he started to stir and eventually woke. This is his normal time to wake during weekday's so he was right on par with a normal waking schedule. I would say that is a successful overnighter in a quinzee. Proud father moment right there as we posted a small video on Facebook of our successful outing. Happy and ready for the day as we exit the shelter and head into the house to make some bacon and eggs and gloat in our experience together. Let us know what you think of our experience in the comments and connect with us on our various social media sites to follow along http://www.two4adventure.com/

Until next time, adventure awaits!

Two4adventure