Two years ago I would have laughed at the thought of saying that. Now I just see it as wonderfully ironic.
When my wife Tanya decided it was time for us to have children, I panicked. I’d run from any conversation about kids. I avoided any dealings with children that would encourage notions that I’d be a good dad. I experienced mysteriously well-timed debilitating headaches. That summer I rode 1,000 kilometres of rough trails on my mountain bike and drank gallons of coffee, two things I’d read might reduce a man’s chances of having offspring.
Now of course I know what all fathers know: kids don’t ruin an active outdoor lifestyle, they are the reason to have one. A friend of mine sat me down in his garage, looked around for our wives and whispered, “You don’t get it yet, do you? Kids are the ultimate excuse to buy more gear. Kids are the guilt-free card every time. ‘It’s not for me,’ you tell her, ‘it’s for the kid.’ And with all that new gear you’re obliged to use it.”
So I bought a fancy Chariot stroller rig complete with running, ski, bike and hiking accessories. I bought an inflatable canoe so we could float in the lily pads. I started eyeing up tent trailers. I ordered a 14-foot whitewater raft so we can still do whitewater river trips. Rafts, I figure, are floating playpens and the perfect gear boat for family-sized tents, two-burner stoves and massive cooler boxes.
Life is no longer about going light and fast. Camping with kids involves more planning and naps. We’ve applied for a permit to raft the Grand Canyon in the summer of 2016. By then my son will be 10, but he and I have already begun preparing.
His bathtub is full of my childhood Fisher Price canoes and kayaks, with paddles and a fishing rod complete with magnetic fish. At eight months, we swam together through rapids. He loved it. Set up in our living room is a kid-sized tent. Inside, or as inside as I can get, I read him bedtime stories in front of the fireplace. He turns the pages. This summer he’ll be one and half years old when we do our first father–son overnight camping trip. I’ve never been more excited about a ca- noe trip.
As a new dad, family camping for me has just begun. As the new publisher I’m very pleased that with Family Camping magazine comes the experience of founding editor Jennifer Birkby, her gang of regular contributors and seven years’ worth of dedicated readers. Together we will produce the best magazine about the best adventure in life, family camping.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. For more great content, subscribe to Canoeroots’ print and digital editions here.
