Backpacking with a Baby @ Six Months Old

We searched "How to Backpack with a Baby" and "How to Backpack with an Infant" and found that there is not much information out there, so after our recent trip to the Lost Coast & Sinkyone Wilderness we decided to share what worked for us. **scroll down for equipment list ** 

(Click Here to Check Out My Short Story Coasting: A Dubious Bike Ride from California to Washington)

Russell was a few days shy of turning six months old. He was just beginning to sit up. The little rambler had been car camping four or five times before and each time was a breeze, pretty much. This was a three day trip where we only hiked in about three miles and then took day hikes from there. Staying at the same site for two nights simplified everything. Lucky for us, we had the whole cove to ourselves. With miles of black sand beaches and dense green forests to explore, Russell was happy to cruise in the Baby Bjorn or just roll around on the ground.

The major considerations were:
Q: What diapers? biodegradable ….cloth seems heavy and messy
Q: What about water for formula? We brought in a liter and then used the Steri-pen with boiling (and a coffee filter) to make more. This doesn’t matter if you are strictly breastfeeding.
Q: What about sleeping? He slept between us in a fleece onesie, baby suit thing.
Q: What about toys? Don’t bring them. Maybe something to chew on.
Q: Who carries the baby and who carries the backpack? Both of us. The Baby Bjorn is somewhat painful with a backpack, but it gets the job done.
Q: What about ticks and poison oak and mosquitoes and bears and elk and waves and sprained ankles and sunburns and mountain lions? Avoid them. Use a onsie with the footie feet so that ticks cannot crawl in, other than that you are on your own.

Here is a list of most of the stuff that we brought, besides the specific clothes and food (Mom, Dad and Baby):

Camping Gear:

• 2 backpacks
• 2-person backpacking tent
• Ground sheet
• 2 inflatable sleeping pads
• Sleeping quilt
• Sleeping bag
• Steri pen UV water sterilizer
• 2 water bottles
• Ultralight Stove ($10 amazon)
• Fuel
• Cook pot with lid
• Plastic bowl with lid
• 2 spoons
• Small knife
• 2 headlamps
• Camera
• Small first aid kit
• Sewing kit
• Unscented Dr Bronner’s soap
• Hand sanitizer

Baby Stuff:

• Baby Bjorn carrier (we don't have a synthetic one, but I think you can get one??)
• Camp chair (for feeding)
• Playtex Nurser Porte-sac bottle with disposable inserts
• Organic baby formula
• 1 L bottle of water
• 2 of each baby clothes item
• beanie
• 1 burp cloth cut in half
• Sunblock and sun hat
• Biodegradable diapers and wipes (pack out or place in pit toilet)
• Teething toy