Learning the Hard Way: Ten Hiking Essentials Every Adventure Mom Needs
Failure into Fuel series featuring Tiffany from The Stoke Fam
Being an adventure mom means you willingly put yourself out there, subjecting yourself to the unknown. You’re dealing with Mother Nature after all, right?
But what happens when that unknown pops up and now the kids are in danger? Major mom fail. Right?
I recently spoke with my friend and fellow Pacific Northwest Adventure mom, Tiffany, CEO of The Stoke Fam, who shared with me a time she failed out on the trail and inadvertently put her kiddo at risk. As she shared her story, I couldn’t help but think - that could’ve been me. That could’ve been most any momma who just wants to get outta the house in an attempt to calm the chaos and keep the wild things from climbing the walls. You’ve been there, right?
Tiffany from The Stoke Fam. Photo courtesy of The Stoke Fam.
Tiffany and her family (and three dogs) headed out for a short Fall hike in an area they were familiar with and estimated the hike would take them about 2 hours. After hiking for about 1.5 hours they realized they’d missed a sign and were now lost. After retracing their steps and burning daylight, the temperature was quickly dropping. Because they hadn’t intended on being on the trail so long, they were without jackets and the toddlers were freezing. And hungry. They had already depleted their trail snacks and water and Tiffany was beginning to worry that they’d be stuck in the wilderness without shelter, food, water, or cell service to call for help.
Luckily, they gained a cell signal at a crest and were able to send a friend a text asking to send help if they were not back to their car in 30 minutes. Using the flashlight on her phone (all 5% battery left of it), they were forced to cross a river that was quickly rising. Passing kids, dogs, and gear above their heads to keep them dry, they safely crossed the river. Still not confident in their path, they trudged forward and amazingly, right at the 30 minute mark when that friend was getting ready to send for help, they made it back to the trailhead safe and sound.
While she’s the first to recognize they got lucky and this story could’ve ended differently, she committed to learning from her “failure”. Tiffany vowed to never again be underprepared for a hike - even one that claims to be easy and quick. The fact is - you just don’t know what you’ll run into out on the trail, so she now is that adventure mom who packs a puffy jacket for a midday summer hike because she’d rather be over-prepared than to ever put her family in danger like that again.
Tiffany’s best advice is to look around your house and use what you already have on hand to prepare your 10 essentials before hitting the trails. She says that as an adventure mom, it's important to “Have that peace of mind should something go awry. That at least you've done what you can do, what you can control.”
So, we’re taking Tiffany’s advice and helping you pack for your next hike with the kids. Here are the ten essentials to take with you on any hike - no matter how short.
Ten Hiking Essentials
Navigation
Headlamp
Sun Protection
First Aid
Knife
Fire
Shelter
Extra Food
Extra Water
Extra Clothes
Thanks to Tiffany for sharing her adventure mom “failure” and how she’s used it to fuel her preparedness skills for many more family adventures and hikes. You can learn more from Tiffany and grab her Outdoor Adventure Resource Guide here.
Head over to my instagram to listen to the full interview and while you’re there, snoop around to gather more family adventure inspo and tips!
Don’t forget to pack road trip kits for the kids the next time you road trip to hit the trails! Keeping the kids happy in the backseat is as easy as Click, Print, Play!
