We own 10 pairs of snowshoes, four adult pairs and 6 children's. My children love getting out in the wild and had been begging to go snowshoeing all week. With nostril freezing temperatures for weeks, it had been too cold. last Saturday seemed perfect so with the three youngest in tow I headed up south fork in Provo canyon, a great place for snowshoeing with kids.
Properly suited, snowshoes on, and ready to go. I like the kids MSR for children over 7 and the tubbs bear paws for kids under 7. The can walk in them with little tripping.
We headed up the trail for about 5 minutes, but much like their father, they became bored as it was "too easy". So we headed up a drainage.
After ascending the drainage, imaging survival situations (they love Bear Grylls, survivorman, etc.) My ten year old pointed to a small chute and asked if they could climb it, always the adventurer lovers, we started our way up.
It was S's birthday (in Red) and he proclaimed this the best celebration ever.
Our six year old thought we were going too slow, so she passed us and paved the trail. She is the most energetic, fearless and fun loving girl I know.
After climbing to near the top, where the rocks began, we slid down. They wanted to slide down first, then me, so the snow would cover them like an avalanche.
After about an hour we headed back to the car, drank capri suns, then headed home, exhausted, they all fell asleep. Upon arriving home they re-counted to their mom all their adventures. I was all smiles as they helped me put the snowshoes away, you would have thought they just climbed everest.
Some tips for snowshoeing with little children.
1. Buy snowshoes that work for them.
2. Go where they want to go. We wandered through the trees near the parking lot for quite some time. It has to be fun for them.
3. Bring snacks and drinks. We snowshoed for about an hour. We had caprisuns after 20 minutes, then little treats then another caprisun at the car.
4. Keep it short. When they are done, head back.
5. Remember it's their trip, not yours.
