Taking a 3yr old to elk camp….

[Invisiblecreek]

My father in law has a good elk tag in central Wa this year will be around 6k feet elevation first week of October….

I plan on bringing my 3 year old son ( I will not have a tag but going for memories and a multi generational camp/hunt) at the time up to camp for a night or two. Going into it with the expectation of hanging at camp and maybe do a little exploring with him all at his pace. Wanting to mainly get him out camping and in the woods and hopefully hear some bugles and see some critters…

We will have a wall tent with stove and be able to drive to camp…
I will share a large size insulated sleeping bag with him…

Looking for your insights and advise on clothes/shoes and any other ideas from dads who have done it before…. Fun things to bring to play at camp.

I’m sure we will do some cooking and simple camp chores and he will want to bring his bike too

Looking forward to hearing your experiences

Thanks in advance!


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[HiMtnHntr]

Sounds like a great time. I brought all my kids on hunts from infants on up. The biggest issue I found with little kids is quality footwear. Basically need a few options including a pair of snow boots in case things get wet. I had little backpacks for mine, binos, etc… I would not have had it any other way than to get my kids out and about on hunts early on.

 

[rclouse79]

My advice would be to take your son if it is his trip and not your trip. I always looked at trips with my son as he was the hunter and I was the guide. I did my best to overdo the patience and treats, in hopes he would want to go with me the next time. The patience thing was not always easy.
My son has mastered the art of hiking to our glassing spot, pounding most of his food, taking a nap until I wake him up with a buck spotted, and then talking trash about how his deer is bigger than mine. It still beats shooting the deer myself.
Enjoy the years when they are young. They go fast and it gets harder to compete for their time with sports, friends and girls once they hit high school. My son will be a junior and is on the varsity basketball team. He says he wants to go deer hunting with me this year, and I don’t take that for granted.

 

[Invisiblecreek]

Awesome thanks for the experiences shared! I plan on bringing a few options of footwear for him and plenty of snacks and food!


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[Slickhill]

I’d say get him his own sleeping bag even if it’s on the same bunk as you. I tried the both of us get in the bag when my boy was little and it ended up with neither of us getting any sleep.
Otherwise have a blast and be sure to pack him up the mountain to get a picture with all three of you when Gramps kills his bull.

 

[Timplant]

agree with a above. You'll either end up too hot with the stove and two of you, or too cold because one or neither of you will have the blanket, someone is moving cause their hot and someone is moving cause their cold. Get him a cheap walmart sleeping bag even if you share a bed.

DEF let him explore the dead animal should the hunt be successful. He is going to want to touch and grab and squeeze it and poke the eyes probably. Thats our natural human instict to be curious about dead stuff. let him get some blood on his hands and mess around before anyone cuts it up IF thats how the trip/harvest lays out. He may just become addicted.

 

[Frozenlead]

I agree with bringing his own sleeping bag, it’ll possibly help you get a good sleep as well. Worse case he ends up in yours.
The standard road trip stuff like snacks and toys for sure. Things like his own flashlight and glow sticks generally seem to make bed time a little easier. Footwear can be tough for options, luckily kids usually are pretty carefree as long as they stay dry and the pokies stay out of their shoes. They like to copy dad usually, so if you’re wearing camo, maybe grab them a cheap sweater or sweat pants as well.
A couple of things I’ve done in the past
- get them their own cow call, primos makes some easy to use mouth and squeeze type calls. It’s great entertainment for them on hikes.
- they make these little wooden or plastic build a knife kits. They are easy to assemble in camp, kills some time and they can practice knife handling without worries.
- I’ll usually take them to somewhere like the dollar store let them pick out some sort of new toys, games, colouring books etc that are only for the trip or camping. It’s something new and exciting for them.
- some sort of toilet solution, whether it’s a seat on a log or a bucket or whatever. They’ll need to take a dump eventually and it’s way less headache with a solution that they are comfortable with.
- make the build up to the event part of the experience/ excitement. Take the shopping, let them pick out gear, food or whatever(even if you steer them in the needed direction). Let them test their sleeping bag at home, etc. Talk about things you will do out there and help to build up anything where they might show some hesitancy.

- Lastly, be prepared to pull the pin early or have a solution if things go sideways. If the kid gets sick or has a complete meltdown, you don’t want it to forced experience and have a negative connection attached to it.

Best of luck, the memories are just starting.

 

[MTBackroads]

Snacks and lots of patience. Definitely get him his own sleeping bag, you might get some sleep.
My kids went everywhere with me, just set some realistic expectations for the trip.
You usually can go about half as far as you think and it will take twice as long.

 

[rclouse79]

Snacks and lots of patience. Definitely get him his own sleeping bag, you might get some sleep.
My kids went everywhere with me, just set some realistic expectations for the trip.
You usually can go about half as far as you think and it will take twice as long.

Well said. I learned to ditch the unrealistic expectations real quick.