Interview: Penny Hutchinson (camping, backpacking skiing, hiking, cycling, paddling)

I am excited to share an interview with my friend Penny this week. What has impressed me the most about the outdoor adventures she goes on with her family are all the trips she takes in the winter. I haven’t taken our kids snow camping yet, but hopefully we will try it this winter and I will be asking her for advice. I hope you enjoy the interview!

Transitioning to parenthood:

1. What outdoor activities did you do before you had kids? Backcountry skiing (multi days). Not much backpacking in the US but we did lots when we lived in Australia. When we first moved here we were too scared of bears so we never went out in the summer. I lead backpacking trips in the Santa Cruz mountains but that was it. 
2. When you were pregnant, did you continue any of the activities and how did they modify the activity while pregnant?  Kid one: I skied up till about 32 or 34 weeks pregnant. I mostly skied in the backcountry and skied through a resort a few times that season. I was always worried someone would run into me. I also rode my bike up to about 36 weeks. Kid two: We did a couple days of backcountry skiing, but with a toddler it was hard. She would ski for about 20-30 mins. I rode my bike up to 32 weeks. Kid two was big and it was hard pulling a trailer and being pregnant so I gave up.
3. If you do different activities after having kids, why is that? We have changed the way we do our adventures. When we were “training” our kids for snow camping we just car camped in Yosemite valley. One year we did this a few times. Then the following year we did a one night out ski tour. Then a few weeks later we did two nights out. If we didn’t have the kids we would just go out for several days. This is the same with backpacking. Started hiking then graduate to one night. 
4. How old were your kids when you started doing outdoor activities with them? Kid one we had her out in the backpack skiing with us at 6 months.  We would mostly do short trips into the backcountry. Then when she was about 18 months old we had her on cross country skis. There was always lots of hot chocolate and treats when we were out. Call it bribery if you like. She was never allowed to have sweet things at home. Now that they are bigger it’s all out the door. 
5. What was your biggest challenge when you started doing outdoor activities with the kids? The cold. About 4 or 5years ago we got a nice tent and it’s very toasty. But getting kid two up in the morning was hard. Recently it was getting lost – we lost the trail.  Miss 13 year old was totally freaked out. We knew where we were but just couldn’t find the trail. Dealing with her was challenging. 

Outdoor parenting:

1. How have these challenges changed as the kids got older?  I think COVID has made them just want to be home or given them the excuse to be home. Sports have gotten in the way a little but we always try to carve out time to be out on the weekends.
2. Do you have trouble maintaining the kids interest in the activity (ie during a long hike) and if you do, how do you keep the kids interested?  We have found that if we are going to a nice alpine lake and it’s not too far in they are on board. Also getting them to choose the hike helps too. We also treat the kids to a yummy dinner. After Yosemite it’s always the Bug in Midpines. 
3. How do you fit the activities into your working life?  We try to escape the Bay Area at least once a month. During the ski season it might be a bit more often. We will either go camping with other friends, or backpacking or skiing either in the resort or backcountry. 
4. How do you balance outdoor activities with kids activities (organized sports, music, school)?  Because I coach swimming in the summer there are 6 weeks where we have to be home for the Saturday morning swim meets. (Not this year). The kids swim on the team too. All of our travel is around skiing, camping or backpacking. We are not the family that goes on cruises or sits by a beach for a week. We love doing national parks trips so we fly and then drive and camp.
5. How do you ensure that both you and your husband can keep doing your outdoor activities? We do outdoor activities together. He isn’t going backpacking without me. I sometimes go hiking with friends but they are usually just day trips. We really enjoy getting the kids out and it’s really important to get the kids connected to nature. 
6. Have you ever received pushback on outdoor parenting from family, friends, or community? If so, how have you handled it? No not really.

Summary/Conclusion:

1. What resources helped you figure out how to do these outdoor activities with your kids? (books, friends, groups, blogs, etc).  We have used AllTrails the last few backpacking trips. When we first moved to California, we joined a ski patrol. We made friends through this and learnt a lot about skiing with feet of snow not centimeters like we were used to in Australia. We also did some amazing trips with these people.
2. What is your favorite outdoor parenting hack? Selling the trip to the kids. Get them involved on the planning. 
3. If you could give one piece of advice to other outdoor families, what would it be?  Start small. Getting kids organized to go skiing/winter activities takes longer than you think. Have treats with you.
4. What is your favorite piece of gear for outdoor parenting? We have lots of them. We decided a few years ago (2016) to get the kids winter bags. When making this decision we got them adult bags. I have had my sleeping bag for 20 plus years and it’s still good so we figured they would too. 

   Our 4 person 4 season tent: Hilleberg. One day we were coming into camp 4 in Yosemite and we were putting up the tent and someone came to ask us if it was a 4 person tent. This guy had to check it out. It’s a great tent and it has traveled with us all over. Even in the summer. 

   The sled. Skiing with a pack is hard. Being able to load most of the gear on the sled is awesome. The kids usually don’t carry much when we are skiing so it helps. We still carry full packs.