Family Outdoors

"Something as basic and beautiful as experiencing the great outdoors together as a family shouldn’t be so challenging that you don’t even want to try... The physical, spiritual, emotional, and especially relational rewards of family adventures are too great to pass up." - Renee Tougas, More Outdoor Family Adventure With Less Stuff

This page is a summary of all of the family outdoors information that we have posted to date. This page is a work-in-progress and will continue to be updated as new content is added.

One Thing Every Family Needs to be Successful in the Outdoors

Lifestyle

Living an adventurous life.

• Does This Mean We're Minimalists ~ A Tour of Our Chalet - The little cabin where we live in Gaspésie.
• Living The Dream - "People who live good stories are too busy to write about them".
• Three Kids in One Bedroom - Figuring out small scale living with children.
• Thoughts on Simplicity - What do you reclaim by simplifying your life?
• Life 3.0 - A short story of our huge, downsizing, life changing move back to Canada in spring 2011.
• Moving Forward - We announce our plans to leave Maine and move back to Canada. 

Why

Why we should be spending time together outdoors.

• Purpose and Vision* - Can you use your one-day-a-week practice to build something more?
• Hit the Reset Button - Our weekly hikes are like the reset button on our life.
• Biophila - We were made for nature, an Exuberant Animal video.
• Re-entry - Spending time in the backcountry brings us back to the basics. 
• In the Beginning... - How we got started.
• An Adventure Education - The outdoors as a means to educate our children.
• Why We Homeschool - Freedom.
• Disconnect - Re-connecting ourselves with the natural world for which we were designed.
• Let's Talk About the Weather - Being at peace with and appreciating the changes in the weather and seasons.
• Marriage in Progress - Building relationships and marriage.
• The Path Less Travelled - Living life according to your values.
• Loving This Man Means Loving Adventure - Growing together.
• Being Intentional About Activity - The benefits of choosing family activity over individual activity.
• Why Outdoors? Why All Day?* - Why we choose to spend a whole day together outdoors every week. 

What

Things families can do together outside.

• Hiking For the Holidays - We'd rather be outdoors than go shopping.
• Seeking Winter Adventure - Getting out year-round requires being creative in the winter. Our family really enjoys Trail Sledding for Winter Adventure.
• Under The Stars - Go sleep under them.
• Urban Adventure - Learning how to deal with foul weather by practicing close to home.
• "Wiffa" Certified - Take an outdoor first aid course together to build confidence and experience.
• Where is the Green in Your Neighborhood - When you can't get out to the wilderness, explore the green spaces in your neighborhood.
• What to do? Walk Somewhere! - Prepare for the bigger trips by making walking a part of your everyday lifestyle.
  • Along those lines, A Walking We Will Go - A weekly walk to the library.

How

Things that work (and things that don't).

• And Now for The Rest of the Story - Reflections from the summer of Renee's personal hiking transformation. 
• One Day a Week - A practical strategy for spending time outdoors, from the father's perspective. Followed-up by the Homemakers Perspective.
• One Trip a Month - After mastering one day a week, this is the next logical step.
• Family Adventuring on a Budget*  - Gear costs money. Read how we work that in our budget. 
• Getting Out the Door - Tips to make getting out the door easier.
• Encouraging Children to Embrace Lifestyle Change* - Helping your kids be open to adventure and the outdoors (or whatever lifestyle change you might encounter).
• Backcountry Recipes - Some healty trail recipes.
• Traveling Light and On The Cheap - A summer's worth of inexpensive travel.
• Backcountry Poo-Poo Clinic - Once you have made it out the door, spent some time on the trail, and have eaten a healthy lunch... what do you do if you have to go poo?
• Setting the Pace - Ways to motivate children on the trail.
• Spring Transitions - The shoulder seasons are not always easy.
• The Fear of Wild Animals - If the fear of wild animals prevents you from getting outdoors, here are some thoughts on the subject.
• Toothpaste Tribulations - Some ideas for making oral hygene a little easier outdoors.
• Backpacking with your Wife - Tips for for supporting a reluctant backpacker.
• CouchSurfing in Gaspesie, QC - Our experience with couchsurfing and tips for families wanting stay cheap and meet people.

Gear

Because you gotta wear something out there and have a dry shelter.

• Finding Kids Pants - A challenge to outdoor manufacturers.
• Footwear For Fall/Winter/Spring (testing) - An evolving footwear system
• Going Light - Why we like to go light.
• Underpants - Build your chidren's outdoor clothing on a good foundation.
• Footwear - There is a whole section of ADVENTUREinPROGRESS dedicated to minimalist footwear.
• Keeping Feet Warm in Winter - Practical suggestions for a very real concern.
• A Little Secret for Finding High Quality Children's Outdoor Gear* - XS women's clothing has worked for us.
• 4 Reasons we Shop at Patagonia - There is more to clothing than price.
• Making your own gear:
  • MYOG - This article discusses the benifits of sewing your own gear and features one of my early projects - a windbreaker for my daughter.
  • Does this mean I am a sewist? - More adventures in sewing featuring a fleece coat for my daughter, a pair of yoga pants for my wife, and a softshell jacket for my son.
  • Titanium Tupperware - Putting your camping gear to use while at home.
  • Make Your Own Bear Bag and/or Stuff Sack - A great starter sewing project.
• Tents:
  • Have Tent Will Travel - If you are a family who is on the fence regarding why you might want to use a tent when travelling, here are some reasons why we prefer it.
  • Our New Family Shelter - Our current family tent, for both backpacking and everyday travel.
  • Family Shelter Musings - More talk about tents, what works, and what doesn't.
• Wood Stove Testing - The Bushcooker LT III - A great family-sized backpacking wood stove.
• Checklists:
  • Summer Day Hiking Checklist - Our gear list for summer day hiking.
  • Fall Hiking Clothing Gear Checklist - This is what we typically bring with us on a fall hike.

Trip Reports

• Day trips:
  • Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia (June 2011)
  • Winter in Grafton Notch State Park, ME (February 2011)
  • Mad River Rockets, Moat Mountain, NH (February 2011)
  • Backcountry Sledding at Bradbury Mountain, ME (January 2011)
  • Mount Chocorua, NH - A Beautiful Day (September 2010)
  • Spring Hiking is Wet Hiking(March 2010)
  • Finding Snow at Black Mountain (March 2010)
  • Trail Sledding at Bradbury Mountain State Park (January 2010)
  • First Hike of The Winter Season (December 2009)
  • Fall Hiking at Camden Hills State Park (October 2009)
  • Old Spec - Grafton Notch State Park, ME(August 2009)
  • July is for Blueberries(Bald Peak Trail, Pleasant Mountain, ME, July 2009)
  • Treasures from Lord Hill, Stow, ME(May 2009)
  • Latest Adventure: Echo Lake, Cathedral Ledge State Park, NH (April 2009)
  • Latest Adventure: Mount Kearsage North, North Conway, NH (April 2009)

• Multi-day trips:
  • Our First Week on Skis (a dream come true, December 2011)
  • A Summer of Hiking in Nova Scotia (Summer 2011)
  • Milestones (Bluff Wilderness Trail & Cape Chignecto, NS, September 2011)
  • Traveling West (By plane and car, August 2011)
    • Outdoor Retailer & Hospitality
    • Big Sky ~ Big Dream
  • For The Love of Winter and Backpacking to The Ski Lodge, Camden, ME (February 2011)
  • Looking Back on Speck Pond (October 2010)
  • Backpacking Horns Pond, Bigelow, ME (June 2010)
  • This is Why We Camp and Camden Hills Backpacking Trip and Life Reflections (Camden Hills State Park, January 2010)
  • Gentian Pond Backpacking - Successes and Failures and A Backpacking Journal from Gentian Pond, NH (September 2009)
  • Camping at Grand Manan Island (July 2009)
  • First Camping Trip of the Season (White Mountains, NH, May 2009)
  • Thoughts from Camden Hills - First Time Backpacking (February 2009)

Inspiration

• In Search of Backcountry Family Bloggers - A list of other bloggers that do multi-day trips i the backcountry together.
• Books:
  • ​The Winter our Our Disconnect*
  • Hike Your Own Hike
  • Reading Together (Zero Days)
  • A Long Trek Home
  • Last Child in The Woods
• Film:
  • ​Journey on The Wild Coast
  • Earth Expedition Documentary
  • Speaking With Conviction
  • Mt. Solitary Family Backpacking Trip
• Interviews:
  • ​Francis Tappon Interviews Our Family
  • An Interview with a Family on Bikes
  • Checking-in With the Joneses
  • Finding Farley: A Family Journey

* Guest posts at other blogs. 

Updates

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