Finding Balance in the Outdoors

So you’ve decided you want to share your love of the outdoors with others, but how do you encourage people to hike with you? Or maybe you have hosted some hikes where no one showed up and are losing motivation to continue to host. Many of us have been there before, and it’s not a good feeling. However, before you throw in the towel, check out these tips and tricks for encouraging others to join you on your outdoor adventures, including input from our awesome hiking community. 1. Reach Out to Those Close to You This is a wonderful place to start, especially if you have friends or family members who have expressed interest in getting outside or improving their health. Something as simple as “Hey, do you want to join me for a walk in the woods?” can go a long way. Encouraging them to invite others can also help spread the word and get people out to join you on the trails. Asking someone to co-host the hike with you is another good option and ensures that you will at least have one hiking partner to enjoy nature with! I have been personally asking friends/acquaintances who have expressed interest and encouraging them to invite their friends. A general post to my Facebook wall followed up by an in-person conversation or even a text. It's worked well so far. – 10,000 Women Trail Project Trailblazer Alex from Columbus, Georgia Asking for a co-host helps get additional people involved. – Natalie from Ballston Spa, New York 2. Advertise Your Hike In the age of social media, we have a lot of avenues to spread the word about events. Submit the hike to the Hike it Baby calendar then announce the event and share the link to the event on your personal or local hiking group social media pages (such as Adventure Mamas, Hike Like a Woman, Women Who Hike, Hiker Babes, Hiking the Adirondacks, etc.) to help spread the word quickly. If you have children, you can also advertise your hike to other parents at your child’s school, at playdates or in conversations on the playground. Also, don't forget to mention the trial membership for new families to Hike it Baby. Here in Florida, it’s a beautiful time of year to be outside. I started hiking alone to get familiar with nice trails in the area. Then I posted in our elementary school's Facebook page to see who might be interested in joining me. I got tons of interest so I started my own hiking group and had our first hike last week! It was great! – Kim from Tampa, Florida 3. Be Inclusive While some of your hikes are likely more advanced than others, hosting hikes that are more inclusive to everyone is a great way to encourage others to join you. This can happen in several ways. For one, be sensitive to those who are just starting to hike and may not know what to expect. When posting about your hike, using language such as “all levels are welcome” or “a great hike for beginners on up” can help reassure anyone who is debating if they are physically ready for your event. Also, if your hike requires special equipment (such as snowshoes, spikes or trekking poles), having extras that you can loan out or host at a location where they rent out equipment can help get people out to your event. As someone BRAND NEW to hiking, I will say that I feel shy about committing to hikes because I would hate to hold people up and interfere with their enjoyment. So, if novices are welcome, please put a big welcome mat out or we might assume we should skip a good time. – Alicia from Northern Virginia In winter, gear is a problem for a lot of people and thinking they are going to be cold. I have two of everything so loaning gear to people before they buy helps a lot. By the second hike, they show up ready with new shiny gear! No one wants to buy before they know if they will enjoy it. Also, keep it fairly easy if you have a lot of new people joining. As a leader, be inclusive ... drop back and talk to everybody and make them feel a part of the group. – Kristy from Spokane Valley, Washington 4. Give Options When Possible I started hosting Solo-Saturday hikes in November with my local Hike it Baby branch, and for the first few months, I would have no-shows or only one person join me. I was starting to get discouraged, but I gave it one more try, and I had a eureka moment. Why not give people options? And I discovered people LOVE options! Letting them choose from a list of times, days and/or locations meant they were more likely to commit to an event. The first time I tried this, I got nine mamas in attendance and it was awesome! You can do this in a number of ways. For example, Facebook gives you the option to post a poll to see what options people prefer. You can even have them add some options of their own! You may not be able to make everyone happy regarding what works best for them, but it will give you an idea of what works for most people. 5. Be Consistent If your schedule doesn’t allow for much wiggle room regarding days or times, consistency can also draw people to your hikes. For instance, if Sundays are your trail days, you can host a hike every first and third Sunday of the month and change up the location to add variety (or give people location options to choose from). When people know that there will be a hike on certain days of the month, they may be more likely to make room on their schedule to attend your hikes. I find consistency to be a huge draw. I host a trail hike pretty much every Sunday morning (and recruit hosts when I can’t). The location varies, but there’s always a Sunday hike on the calendar. I think it also helps that it’s on a weekend when the whole family can join. I’ve noticed that many people bring the entire family the first time but will come solo with kids once they get to know the group. – Corey from Wilmington, Delaware 6. Reminders Leading Up to the Hike Let’s face it, with so much going on in our daily lives, it’s easy to forget things here and there (or everywhere in my case), so finding ways to remind people of your upcoming hike is important. Now, I’m not suggesting that you make yourself a nuisance and post reminders every day. However, posting discrete reminders such as “the weather looks like it’s going to hold up for our hike!” or “I don’t know about you, but I have had a long week! I am so looking forward to our hike on Saturday!” ensures that the event stays fresh in their minds while also amping up the anticipation. 7. Provide Incentives Sometimes people need a little more motivation to show up. For me, this came in the form of donuts. I posted that I was stopping by to pick up some before the hike (my treat) and asked for orders. This served three purposes: It increased the motivation for people to show up, it served as a final reminder for the hike, and it gave me a rough estimate of how many people I could expect. This can also work with healthier options, such as fruit, granola bars, trail mix, etc. Other incentives can come in the form of merchandise or Hike it Baby membership giveaways, or even the promise of a stellar view (with a photo to prove it). Donuts! 8. Don’t Give Up! Even if you end up hiking alone, posting photos from your hike can give people a visual of what they are missing. Plus, it can give you an opportunity to scout out the area and find new routes to try for next time. I recently had a no-show hike at a large nature preserve that turned into a magical experience and the discovery of an amazing trail. The photos I posted from that hike received a ton of comments, and I had a number of ladies join me on my next hike. Sometimes people just need a little push of encouragement to try something new and realize how incredible and renewing a walk in the woods can be. Photos courtesy of Rebecca Hosley. Read more: How to Start Hiking Regardless of Fitness Level 10K Women Trail Project: More Than a Challenge ... It's a Community Who Inspires You: Gaining Inspiration and Perspective on Trail How do you encourage others to join you on hikes? Let us know in the comments below! Anyone can register for the 10,000 Women Trail Project, whether they are part of Hike it Baby or not. Simply go to www.10KWomenTrailProject.org and sign up. Once you log hikes, you will be entered to win cool prizes every month. It’s that easy! Think about friends you can invite to register and get hiking. The project goes through September 1, 2018.

Created in partnership with  You may have heard about the Leave No Trace movement, but what does it mean to “Leave No Trace”? Is that even possible when you have kids in tow? The answer is yes, sort of. The mission of Leave No Trace is to educate and inspire everyone to protect the outdoors by teaching people to enjoy the outdoors responsibly. It isn’t about leaving zero trace; it’s about reducing our environmental impacts whenever and however possible. That may seem like a daunting task when you are attempting to wrangle a toddler on a trail, but we are here to help! We have listed each principle below along with some tips and tricks for following them when you have little ones in tow.   Photo by Jessica Human Principle 1: Plan Ahead and Prepare – Know Before You Go Getting lost on the trail or getting caught in a storm while hiking can be a stressful experience. Add in a few little ones to the equation and things can get downright harrowing. While these experiences aren’t always avoidable (like an unexpected rainstorm), a little planning ahead can help you avoid most of these stressful experiences. Here are some tips to involve your kiddos in this step: Have your kids check the weather forecast with you and help them decide what clothing they should wear. Look at a trail map with your kiddos (a paper map, an online map, or a phone app) and decide together which route you want to take. If they are old enough, let them pick out their own snacks to bring along. Older kiddos can pack their own adventure pack to take along with things like a snack, water, and adventure tools (like a journal and a pocket microscope). Principle 2: Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces – Stay on the Trail Keeping kiddos on the trail can be challenging. They are natural explorers and want to investigate every little thing they discover. However, exploring off trail can lead to trampled vegetation, increased erosion, and damaged animal habitats. A durable surface includes established trails and campsites along with areas with rock, sand, gravel, snow, and dry grass. If you need to go off trail (like for potty breaks that just can’t wait), seek out these durable surfaces whenever possible, and walk lightly avoiding as much vegetation as possible. Here are some tips for keeping kiddos on the trail and decreasing your impact on the trail. Take a potty break as soon as you get to the trail to reduce the number of off-trail excursions. Play silly games with kiddos with the main goal of staying on the trail. For example, you can pretend that the vegetation on either side of the trail is lava, and they have to stay as close to the center of the trail as possible to avoid the heat. You can also play the “ninja” (sometimes referred to as “secret spy”) game where kids have to step as lightly and quietly as possible and disturb as little as they can to avoid “detection”. Have a conversation with your kids about what happens when a lot of people go off trail. Point out signs of erosion and destroyed vegetation along the trail. Photo by Jessica Human Principle 3: Dispose of Waste Properly – Pack it in, Pack it Out Kids are messy creatures. Aside from their affinity for mud puddles, there are also spilled snacks and the occasional diaper explosion. It’s a good thing to remember that anything that wasn’t found in nature (like the mud) should be packed out. This includes spilled snacks. It may seem harmless, but those snacks usually end up in the stomachs of wildlife. This can lead to illness (I doubt any animals have fishy crackers as part of their natural diet) and increased dependency on humans. Once animals depend more on humans, they lose their fear of humans, which can be dangerous for both them and us. Here are some tips for disposing of waste properly with kiddos in tow. Always have a bag on hand to collect your trash (and any other trash you may find) along the way. This could be as simple as a plastic grocery bag or a specific reusable trash bag. Anytime you stop for a snack or meal break, have everyone use their “owl eyes” to find any trash left behind before you head back out. Principle 4: Leave What You Find This is another tricky principle to follow with little ones. Especially if you have a rock collector like I do! While taking natural objects, picking flowers, carving on trees, etc. may seem harmless, it can damage the ecosystem, especially when a lot of people are doing it. Rocks, sticks, flowers, and even pine cones serve as shelter and food sources for a variety of organisms. If the plant you pick happens to be invasive to the area, you could be inadvertently spreading the species as you transport it. That being said, you don’t want to stifle the curiosity of a budding geologist or botanist. Here are some tips and alternatives for keeping your nature collector happy while leaving nature in nature (or at least most of it): Use “do” language to help little ones understand how to interact with nature. Use statements like “let’s be nice with the flowers” or “touch softly”. Encourage your kiddos to use their senses to experience the object IN nature. For example, let them take a few minutes to feel, see, and even smell the object. You can talk about it and then have them replace the object where they found it. Take along some paper and crayons to they can do some leaf or bark rubbings. Have them draw a picture or take a photo of the object. When all else fails, allow them to choose one or two favorite nature finds to take home and replace the rest where they found them. Photo by Jessica Human Principle 5: Minimize Campfire Impacts  Improperly tended campfires are one of the leading unnatural causes of wildfires. If you are camping be sure you know the local regulations on fire and seek out established fire rings when possible. If you need to gather wood, use dead and downed wood that is no larger than the diameter of your wrist and can be broken easily by hand. When leaving, douse the fire with water until it’s cool to the touch. A better alternative would be to use a camp stove for heat and cooking, or a simple lantern for light. Here are a few tips for minimizing campfire impacts with kiddos: Keep flammable objects far away and out of reach from curious hands, and don’t allow kids to play with sticks near the fire. Have children help collect firewood. You can make it a game to see who can be the first to find 5 pieces of dry, downed firewood no larger than the diameter of their wrist. Photo by Deanna Curry   Principle 6: Respect Wildlife Observing animals in the wild is fascinating for both adults and kids alike. Whether you see a deer dash across the trail ahead of you or a woodpecker busily searching for food, there’s just something awe-inspiring about watching wildlife. To keep having these encounters safely, we need to teach our little ones how to respect wildlife. That means keeping a safe distance, never feeding wild animals, and storing food and odorous objects securely while camping. Here are some tips for teaching our kiddos to respect the animals they encounter on their outdoor adventures and to keep the wildlife wild. To help young ones understand what it means to keep a “safe distance”, have them stand with an arm raised to shoulder height with their thumb pointing up. Then have them look at the animal with one eye closed and try to cover it with their thumb. If they are a safe distance away, their thumb should completely block sight of the animal. Remind your kids that insects are wildlife too, and we need to be careful not to harm them. We can admire an intricate spider web or a long line of ants without destroying what we find. Bring along some adventure items such as binoculars and a magnifying glass so that kiddos can observe wildlife safely. Contrary to popular belief, bird feeders can follow the Leave No Trace Principles IF they follow the Audubon Society Guidelines. These include avoiding seed mixtures and cleaning the bird feeders at least every season. If you want to attract a variety of bird species, it is best to have different bird feeders at different heights with different types of seed/food in each of them. Principle 7: Be Considerate of Other Visitors Respecting other people you meet on the trail helps ensure that nature can be enjoyed by all. Modeling and encouraging behaviors such as staying to the right on the trail to let others pass or taking breaks on durable surfaces away from the trail goes a long way to preserving the experience for other visitors. Other good practices include avoiding talking on cell phones or making excessively loud noises while on the trail (when possible). Here are a few tips we use to encourage being kind to others on the trail: If your kids are like mine, they like to pretend to be wild animals when they are on the trail (particularly howling wolves). This can get extremely noisy, so I started challenging them to be quieter animals, such as a bunny or squirrel, or pretend that they are sneaking around like a cheetah. Practice “moving to the right” with your kids while on the trail or on a neighborhood walk. When you practice ahead of time, it can avoid confusion when you ask them to move to the right to let other people or cyclists pass on the trail.   It is important to note that these principles are GUIDELINES, not strict rules. As parents, we know that it is extremely unlikely that we will be perfect at following these principles all the time, and that’s okay! The point is not to strive for perfection all the time. It’s to decrease our impact on the environment whenever and wherever possible and to teach our children to do the same. The tips above can help your family make fewer environmental impacts. You can also check out these other fun resources from Leave No Trace to help your kiddos understand the impact their actions can make on the environment:   Fun Resources from our friends at : Learn the Leave No Trace Hand Motions to help kiddos remember the 7 principles. Check out the Leave No Trace and Bigfoot Activity Booklet for some fun, education activities for older kids. This Trash Timeline Game can be played with kids (and adults) of all ages. Here is a free Online Awareness Course for parents and caregivers who want to learn more about Leave No Trace.   How do you practice the Leave No Trace Principles with your family? Let us know in the comments below!   ABOUT OUTGROWN OutGrown is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to create a world where everyone can enjoy the physical and mental benefits of spending time outside. We are focused on creating opportunities and removing barriers to access so families with babies and young children can take their first steps outside. We believe all families have the right to connect with nature, benefit from spending time outdoors and be inspired to a lifelong love of nature. Since its grassroots inception in 2013, OutGrown is a growing community of 280,000 families and over 300 volunteer Branch Ambassadors. More information on all of our programs can be found at WeAreOutGrown.org    EDITORS NOTE: We hope you enjoyed reading this article from OutGrown. We’re working hard to provide our community with content and resources that inform, inspire, and entertain you. But content is not free. It’s built on the hard work and dedication of writers, editors, and volunteers. We make an investment in developing premium content to make it easier for families with young children to connect with nature and each other. We do not ask this lightly, but if you can, please make a contribution and help us extend our reach.