What ages are appropriate for camping?
- Thread starter jason
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There is no age limit for camping.You can camp at any age you like.Only this is that you should be fit enough to walk and climb.I have see people of age 58 come for a camp.But it also depends on that particular person.Hope many will agree with me.
thank you
thank you
JohnyWalker2000
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i think that 7 years old it's enough to camping. the chirldren must be accomodate for nature. the children under 7 years could be scared and the parents it must take care very much. I started camping at the 10 years old and the first time i didn't like because i was scared of loneliness . At 12 years i started to love the trips .
There is no age limit in camping but child should know about camping that means they should proper knowledge of forest like swim,jungle area and they should know about animal.and any one can go for camping they can walk on mountain.people who go for camping they don't have fear.
Interesting to read some of these old threads with posts written by people who are long gone from the forums. Either I am strange or some of these people had strange ideas about the capacity of youth and us old folks to enjoy the outdoors.
Lamebeaver
New Member
Children are born ready to camp. Personally, I'd wait until they're at least 6 months, as it makes your life a little easier.
ppine
Forester
I am surprised to hear so many people put limitations on the ages deemed appropriate for camping. The answer is any age. We started as infants, and so did my father, grandfather, and great grandfather before us.
I was born in Puerto Rico. My Dad used to take me out in the military issue jeep and sling a hammock made from a gunny sack between the windshield and the roll bar. When my Mom stopped breast feeding, they warmed up the formula on the exhaust manifold. My first solid food was little red bananas.
I have been in plenty of hunting camps with guys over 90. They need thicker beds than they used to, but real hunters know that there is no place they would rather be.
I met a guy on a trail ride with the Skyline Trail Riders of Oregon named Ike who was 94. He had been a professional packer in the 1930s and 40s. I asked him how many mules they had in a string in those days. He said "Anything less than 12 was a partial string."
We started backpacking at age 11 without adults. We spent a week on an island without adults at age 12 and 13.
Lots of cultures still raise their kids in the bush. Those children are good with donkeys when they are 5 and can handle a knife by 6 or 7 to skin dinner.
I was born in Puerto Rico. My Dad used to take me out in the military issue jeep and sling a hammock made from a gunny sack between the windshield and the roll bar. When my Mom stopped breast feeding, they warmed up the formula on the exhaust manifold. My first solid food was little red bananas.
I have been in plenty of hunting camps with guys over 90. They need thicker beds than they used to, but real hunters know that there is no place they would rather be.
I met a guy on a trail ride with the Skyline Trail Riders of Oregon named Ike who was 94. He had been a professional packer in the 1930s and 40s. I asked him how many mules they had in a string in those days. He said "Anything less than 12 was a partial string."
We started backpacking at age 11 without adults. We spent a week on an island without adults at age 12 and 13.
Lots of cultures still raise their kids in the bush. Those children are good with donkeys when they are 5 and can handle a knife by 6 or 7 to skin dinner.
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I liked the 16 years old thought. Considering my Dad was a wilderness packer to the sheep camps at age 14 and my son and grandsons were backpacking independant of adults by age 10-11.
By the way Ppine, my Dad's string was based on what was needed to resupply the 2-3 camps he would be restocking but it usually was 10-12. The thing that amazed me was how he would travel 100 miles deep into what is now the Frank Church wilderness based on verbal instructions and 50 years later tell me creek and ridge his entire routes. He didn't need maps or compass either.
By the way Ppine, my Dad's string was based on what was needed to resupply the 2-3 camps he would be restocking but it usually was 10-12. The thing that amazed me was how he would travel 100 miles deep into what is now the Frank Church wilderness based on verbal instructions and 50 years later tell me creek and ridge his entire routes. He didn't need maps or compass either.
I would think any age will do. It would depend on the amount of time you can spend close to them. I do agree with SarahLorrain that if they should be able to understand dangers, but you if you can be close enough for strict supervision you should be able at just about any age.
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ponderosa
Active Member
No kidding, I had a hard time believing some of those responses were serious. The answer in our family has been, the babies are camping as soon as I'm recovered enough to sleep on the ground, and then we never stop. They both tented in primitive camps by six weeks of age. My older daughter was about 18 months the first time we took her backpacking for several days. I'd rather take my kids to the woods than the mall by myself, any day of the week.
On the other end of the spectrum, my 86 year old grandmother quit backpacking 3 or 4 years ago, but we have a camping trip planned with her for this summer. She doesn't hike alone anymore, but did 8 miles with my dad and uncle for her birthday last April.
ppine
Forester
Grandpa,
You make a good point about people knowing the country like the back of their hands. They lived out there back of beyond, they did not go twice a year to recreate like a lot of people do now. Their lives depended on making the right decisions, and so did their critters and people running sheep.
I liked Ponderosa's post. It makes the same point about the way of life people chose, not their hobbies.
There is a famous story about an old cowgirl from Texas who went out riding by herself at age 94. Her horse threw her and she was killed. The doctors at the hospital and the police lambasted the family for letting her ride, especially alone at her age. You don't understand they said, she used to ride rough stock, was a trick rider for many years, and she rode everyday of her life. Riding was her life. That was a life well lived.
You make a good point about people knowing the country like the back of their hands. They lived out there back of beyond, they did not go twice a year to recreate like a lot of people do now. Their lives depended on making the right decisions, and so did their critters and people running sheep.
I liked Ponderosa's post. It makes the same point about the way of life people chose, not their hobbies.
There is a famous story about an old cowgirl from Texas who went out riding by herself at age 94. Her horse threw her and she was killed. The doctors at the hospital and the police lambasted the family for letting her ride, especially alone at her age. You don't understand they said, she used to ride rough stock, was a trick rider for many years, and she rode everyday of her life. Riding was her life. That was a life well lived.
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Hikenhunter
Well-Known Member
Babies and toddlers can camp in organized campgrounds and it is there that you can teach them some of the things they will need to know on back country trips. At about 7 or 8 years of age they should be ready to do some short back country trips. At 11 years they should be able to do longer days in the back country, I would say 6 to 10 miles depending on the child.
ponderosa
Active Member
My profile picture shows me carrying backpacking gear and my older daughter, somewhere between 16 and 18 months of age at the time. We were heading out on a three day trip in the Sawtooths (Idaho), which included a pass at about 9500 feet. I was a few months pregnant, so we only did about six miles a day. The only real challenge was that she had recently stopped breastfeeding, and wouldn't drink formula or powdered milk. I carried fresh milk for her the first day, and we were back at the trailhead by noon on the third day, with milk waiting in a cooler. The middle day, we were able to keep her hydrated with water, but she really wanted milk, especially at bedtime. Other than that, we were all very happy campers. She loved wading in the sandy-bottomed little springs that flowed into Toxaway Lake, watching for squirrels, jumping off rocks, rearranging the sticks and pine cones, getting dirty. My own childhood was the same, hiking with my dad and grandma as soon as I could walk. I know a guy from another forum who takes his kids on little backpacking trips several times a year. He has six kids, and the oldest one is seven years old (a few of them are adopted, so most of them are four or five years old). I'm amazed that he can pull it off, but they always have a good time. Every parent has to stay within their own comfort and skill level, but really, there is no age limit if the parents are competent in the woods.
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Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I'm new around here and I never would have known that I shouldn't take my kids or "elders" camping. :tinysmile_fatgrin_t I guess everyone has their own ideas. Personally I would take a baby of just about any age camping as long as I had someone to share the workload with.I Think people with age in range of 14 to 45 are suitable for camping.
small children's may be taken to camping, if you take the responsibility to take care of them seriously. Basically elders like resting and wont come for camping.
In another post I mentioned backpacking with my oldest daughter into the Sawtooths when she was six months old. Why six months? Because she was born the end of Dec and the end of June was the earliest we could get into the high country.
ChadTower
Active Member
IMO, age limits are on the parents, not the kids. If the parents can handle the kids in that environment at that age then they're good to camp. If the parents cannot handle them, or do not want to, then they cannot camp. The kid is not the limiting factor. It's the person who would be responsible for their well being.
ppine
Forester
Hikenhunter,
By 11 we were going on our own backpacking trips.
By 11 we were going on our own backpacking trips.