Quick Fire Travels: Baby Alpine Style

Yesterday, Jordi & I marked our 70^th mile of hiking together this Summer. We did it by doing an 8 mile round-trip hike up to Hope Lake (@ 12,500 ft) here in the San Juan Mountains. Breathtaking. J

Jordi has done just fine with the altitude. He is alert and loves to watch the trees go by from his Baby Bjorn perch. It’s a good life if you can manage it. And for me, our daily jaunts into the Uncompahgre National Forest has been good marathon training in disguise. The New York Marathon is about 15 weeks away.

I do get occasional glares and whispers from fellow hikers on the trail for bringing an infant up into the mountains. Usually these people are wearing jeans, sneakers, and a beer belly. For the first 25 miles, I listened to them and started to question my sanity a bit. What was I doing up here in high-altitude, alone with a 2 month old baby? There could be rain-storms, and maybe bears and stuff?

Having just finished our 16^th hike, I am more confident in what I’m doing. We do get caught in almost daily mountain rain showers, but I just throw an extra water resistant layer over him and he isn’t bothered. We are out in the crisp mountain air where there is no threat of picking up colds or coughs from people in enclosed spaces. It’s not much different than what Roger & I would do before baby arrived.

I do think there however that there is a niche market for a ‘light and fast’ mode of baby care. Most people opt for ‘expedition style’ which is heavy, unpleasant, and you are mad at yourself for lugging all that unused gear to the scenic viewpoint.

For Jordi, I have used a waterproof lumbar pack which fits my water/food, wind-breaker, baby blanket, and clean diaper. The lumbar pack nicely distributes the front weight that I carry with Jordi. The baby blanket works well for sun-screening him.

We have changed many of diapers (one on the side of a steep 4x4 Jeep Trail), so I just use the Baby Bjorn and my jacket as a changing table. Eat lunch first, then change diaper, and bring a small bottle of Purell just in case. Nursing him is as easy as finding a semi-comfortable spot to sit down – it is also a great opportunity to snack, drink water, and admire the view.

It’s been the best way to bond with the little dude, many hours of snuggle time with him, and me hiking us up the beautiful trails here.

Some pictures from our hikes over the last week (July 18th)