Welcome to Trip Reports, where we invite real families to share their stories of adventuring with their kids. Today's report comes from The Roberts Family from British Columbia, Canada. Have a story you want to share? Email us at hello@morrisonoutdoors.com !
Distance: 46km round trip
Elevation Gain: 1,200 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Weather: Sunshine with highs of 6°C and lows of -3°C
Waking up in the depths of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World to welcome in a new year sounded like the perfect way to spend New Year's Eve. My husband’s birthday also falls on December 31st, so this would be both a New Year's and a birthday backpacking trip combined. Five hours of flight time and 3.5 hours of driving time, and we found ourselves standing on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
The highlight of our trip was that we now got to bring our daughter along (1.5 years) to share in our backcountry experiences as a family. We took her on her first overnight backpacking trip when she was just under 3 months old so she had had some experience being on the trail and snuggled in the tent in her sleeping bag with mom and dad.
Sharing experiences in the backcountry had become our favorite way to get grounded and connected in our relationship, and now we felt the same way about being out there as a family. In 2021 my husband and I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, and it was an experience that shaped each of our lives, and our relationship. There is something so unique about being fully immersed in nature, having the time and space to be completely present, and let’s be honest – coffee just tastes better outdoors!
We live in Northern British Columbia, so December is a cold and snowy time of year and we were excited to escape winter for… a milder winter at the Grand Canyon. Our sights were set on doing Rim to Rim to Rim over 3 days, and 2 nights, but a portion of the North Rim was closed due to construction, so we were able to do Rim to (almost) Rim to Rim. It was an awe-inspiring and unique experience.
On day 1 I carried my daughter down to the Bright Angel Campground covering 11km. We use the Trail Magik Carrier and love how easy it is to switch her back and forth between us. We can continue to use our usual backpacking gear, and it is incredibly lightweight to carry when she decides to hike some of the trails herself one day.
We stopped many times along the way down just to really soak in the views and take in the overwhelming feeling that we were really there as a family of 3. The trail was easy to cruise at a good pace and the further we went down the lighter the crowds of other people. When we arrived at the Bright Angel Campground we were shocked at the quality of this backcountry campsite – flushable toilets?!?! Talk about backcountry glamping!!
Our daughter stumbled around throwing rocks and collecting sticks while we set up camp along the creek. A deep darkness settled over the canyon and we were gifted with some of the best stargazing we’ve ever seen – only comparable to our experience of being in Death Valley at night.
In the tent, the temperatures dropped to 0 degrees Celsius, but our girl was warm layered in a bamboo sleeper, a fleece onesie, a toque, and her Morrison Outdoors sleeping bag. We’ve used the Z Packs Triplex tent for years and adding our daughter to the tent with us hadn’t felt cramped at all. We’ve nicknamed the Triplex the “Taj Mahal”.
Day 2 we hiked from Bright Angel Campground to Cottonwood Campground covering 12km and only sharing the campsite with two other tents for New Year's Eve. The sun shone on us throughout the day, and again the stars lit up for us at night. A side quest to Ribbon Falls made for the perfect break spot and getting to climb up behind the waterfall was a highlight of the day. We made a chocolate pudding dessert and sang Happy Birthday to my husband, igniting our lighter for him to blow out as this year’s birthday candle. The three of us all cuddled into the tent at 7:30 pm – our earliest New Year’s Eve ever! Temperatures dropped to -3 degrees Celsius, our girl’s coldest night in the tent to date, but again she was warm tucked in her sleeping bag between us.
On Day 3 my husband carried our daughter most of the day as we made the 23km trek back to the South Rim. We came across no snow on this trip and we were surprised how much it looked and felt like fall in the depths of the canyon. We took lots of breaks to let our daughter get her energy out, and she would walk along the trail, covering very little ground but having fun pointing out the prickles on the cactuses, finding leaves to rip up, and rocks to collect.
In the carrier we had her dressed in an Iksplor Base Layer, Patagonia Baby Baggy pants, a Patagonia Sun Hoodie, Smartwool socks, Stonz Shoes, and a MEC fleece sweater. In the early mornings and later evenings that were extra chilly, we also added a Calikids rain suit and Stonz mitts and booties for extra warmth.
We’ve now been on 10 backpacking trips with our daughter (now 2.5 years old) and soon will be welcoming another little one to join our crew. Our best piece of advice for getting into the backcountry with a little one is to adjust your expectations. It matters much less how quickly you are covering the miles, and much more that everyone is enjoying the experience of being out on the trail together. We know that she won’t remember these experiences, but we believe that her soul, her body, and her spirit will. And these memories have become some that we will never forget.
Bethany is a self-employed Personal Trainer and stay-at-home mom. She lives in Northern British Columbia, Canada on 7 acres with her husband, 2.5-year-old daughter, and another one on the way. They have a 1975 Airstream and love to fill their weekends with camping adventures, backpacking, hiking, biking, and drinking coffee outdoors. In 2021 she and her husband thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail for their honeymoon, and since then they are always on the hunt to add more nature and adventure to their life. You can find them on Instagram @robertsfamilytrail
