The Adventure Mom Gear Guide

June 16, 2016 ~ Crystle ~ Leave a comment

The Adventure Mom Gear Guide | Yea Yea Pueblo - WeeHoo We Go Margot is now 3 years old, and Woods is about to turn 2. The time has flown! We’ve been on a few adventures while slinging along babies, and all their baby stuff. The most important aspect of bringing kids along in the outdoors, is transport! How are you going to get a 9 month old to the top of that mountain? How do you plan on running with toddlers? Family bike rides sound fun, but what if my kids are too small to ride a bike? How am I going to carry all their baby gear? I’ve compiled a short list of my favorite adventure mom gear for awesome family adventures, either in the city or on the mountain.

Keep in mind, baby/children’s gear is expensive! Many of these items can be found on the cheap at yard sales, thrift stores, consignment shops, or on sale. Diligence is important if you want to keep the costs down. Scour those Facebook sales pages, craigslist listings and browse thrift/consignment stores often.

One consideration that did not cross my mind when buying baby gear for Margot was the prospect of having a second child shortly after the first. I had zero foresight that I’d need double-everything because I had two kids close together. That really put a wrench into things when I suddenly needed a double jogging stroller, a second hiking carrier, etc. So I recommend having a 5 year plan for having kid(s), it will make your baby gear purchases much more streamlined, and avoid unforeseen expenses.

Here goes!

BABY WEARING – THE SOFT STRUCTURED CARRIER:

I really love my Ergo Baby Carrier. I had one with Margot, but I didn’t use it long because I got pregnant quickly after having her. The belt on the Ergo was uncomfortable on my baby bump, and so I sold it, only to re-buy it after I had my second child. It’s a great carrier for nature walks, short hikes, and grocery store trips. You’ll also remember I love my Sakura Bloom Ring Slings – those are great for quick-ups, city trips, and daily use. They also allow for pregnant mamas to carry their babies comfortably! They are not, however, great for hiking or long distance walks because they don’t distribute weight as well as the Ergo does. I have the original, but wish I had opted for the performance, which provides better wicking for those hot sweaty hikes.

The Adventure Mom Gear Guide | Yea Yea Pueblo

Again, buy used! These things are considerably cheaper used, and many of them have seen hardly any use.

BABY WEARING – THE HARD STRUCTURED CARRIER:

We don’t own this particular Osprey model. We have an old REI version of this that we picked up at a yard sale for $25. Trust me, that’s the way to go! Don’t spend retail dollars on a hard structured carrier. For most city folks, hikes in the mountain are few and far in between. If you plan to hit the trails every weekend, by all means, grab yourself a brand new carrier. Otherwise, check out yard sales, sales pages, and consignment stores for one of these. You can expect to pay anywhere from $25-100 for a used one (versus $250 brand new). It’s worth it for those long hikes with heavier kids.

The Adventure Mom Gear Guide | Yea Yea Pueblo

Strollers are a tough area, you’ll need different ones for different purposes. What you purchase will ultimately depend on whether or not you’ll have two children close in age (0-2.5 years age difference). For simplicity purposes, let’s assume you’re having two children relatively close in age. This was my experience.

ALL-PURPOSE STROLLER FOR TWO KIDS:

A note on click-in car seat stroller systems: they’re handy but they’re actually rather impractical long-term. You’ll end up buying a convertible car seat later on down the line when they’re about 11 months old, so skip the click-in, and get the convertible car seat right off the bat! Wear your baby when you run errands, and you’ll save tons of shopping cart space.

The Adventure Mom Gear Guide | Yea Yea Pueblo

We have the Delta double umbrella stroller that is so handy for outings in big crowds. My husband has said many times that it was the best stroller investment we made – and we happened to score ours from Sears on clearance for $45. They’re currently on Amazon for $89.

If your baby is too small to ride in the double umbrella stroller (at 6 months old they typically have enough head control to do so), no problem – wear them in your Ergo. It’s no big expense to buy a cheap single umbrella stroller to cart around one child while you babywear, or one single child. Trust me on this one! You’ll be bonding with your baby, and you’ll be burning some extra calories carrying around your little one, or saving money by not buying into the click-in car seat system (we had the Britax system – $$$).

SPORT STROLLER FOR TWO KIDS:

I didn’t run much with my Single Bob Revolution Stroller when I had only Margot. Again, I was pregnant again when she was 9 months old — it was also winter in Alaska. Not many opportunities to take the stroller out. Many people swear by their bob double strollers, and I wish I had the serious dough to drop on one! We unfortunately had already gone through so many strollers already, and didn’t have the money to throw down on a Double Bob AND a bike trailer. So we opted to sell our single bob, and purchase the much less expensive double bike trailer/jogger combo– the Weehoo WeGo ($230). We saved roughly $600 by opting for combining the two (money that was better spend on cycling gear). It also takes up much less space in the garage!

The Adventure Mom Gear Guide | Yea Yea Pueblo

I’ve put maybe 75 miles on my Weehoo WeGo jogger, and it does a fine job. Steering is difficult when the front wheel is locked, but when the front wheel is unlocked, there is terrible oscillation over bumps. I don’t think the Bob has these issues, but again, it all comes down to price. Serious runners who log 20+ miles per week, WITH children, or opulently wealthy people, yes, get the Bob. Everyone else, think twice about how much you’re willing to spend on something you may not use much. Injuries, inclement weather, and a variety of other factors might reduce the use you’ll get out of it. I’m currently training for dualthons and triathlons, and it’s summer in Alaska, so my jogger/trailer is getting a lot of use this year.

And the beauty of the WeeHoo WeGo is that it adapts to fit either one or two children! So no need to have a single bob, then a double bob, plus a bike trailer. This one unit does it all.

DIAPER GEAR BAG:

I had the Skip Hop Diaper bag, but found it useless for two kids who needed extra stuff, and it bothered me that it was only useful as a ‘diaper’ bag. I noticed that more seasoned mothers (with 2+ kids) didn’t have diaper bags, they used other multi-purpose bags to cart around their stuff. That was pretty brilliant to me, so I sold my diaper bag, and bought a used Lululemon Gym Bag on Ebay. Now that my kids don’t need breastfeeding accessories, backup outfits, burp rags etc, I use the bag to cart around my fitness gear, or I use it as a weekend bag. Luluemon bags are also great if you have a Babywearing or Mommy and Me Yoga class in your area (most of the bags have mat dividers). I used to take my kids to Babywearing Yoga classes before they started running amok and made too much noise and pierced the serenity one-too-many times. Anyway, these types of classes are a great way to get additional use out of your Ergo!

The Adventure Mom Gear Guide | Yea Yea Pueblo

This bag is the modern equivalent to the bag I have, at least in dimensions and color. You can find older versions, and used bags on sites like Ebay, Poshmark, and Mercari. For reference, I paid $55 for mine.

I hope this guide will help steer you in the right directions when buying baby adventure gear, and in a way that your bank account will appreciate. Those first few years are so expensive, without the added cost of unnecessary gear! And to see some of these in action, follow me on Instagram! @thatyeayealife

Talkeetna, Alaska: A Solo Vacation

May 10, 2016January 25, 2023 ~ Crystle ~ Leave a comment

I kid you not, I almost forgot how to log-in to this blog. I’m here, albeit sporadically. I’m currently caught up on all my paid-photography, so I’m finally chipping away at all of my personal work.

I think I need to get everyone up to speed on what’s been going on in my neck of the woods. First, my dear husband Isaac has been in the process of applying to Officer Candidate School (OCS); a process proven to be quite grueling in both the volume of paperwork required, and the demanding prerequisites required of all applicants. It has been about 8 months since he started the process. For months we sat around, twiddling our thumbs, waiting for our orders to Korea to come down (it was the only place with open slots for his MOS), or waiting for an acceptance to OCS.

Second, we recently we heard that he was accepted! Instead of the year-long waiting period for the class date to roll around, Isaac was notified that he would have only 6 weeks to prepare for his departure. Normally this wouldn’t be too problematic, however OCS requires a 3 month training period at Ft. Benning, Georgia. That’s a really long distance from interior Alaska, and a long period of time to be solo-parenting on my end.

Hence the solo vacation (the third order of business). Knowing a summer without Isaac assuredly means very few outdoor opportunities; remember when we attempted Granite Tors, a 15 mile hike while babywearing? Yea, not so successful, I wanted to take off on my own for a little bit, as a sort of motherhood Rumspringa.

I almost went to Ecuador, but I’m certainly glad I didn’t because the earthquake that hit there recently would have definitely occurred while I was there! I fortunately opted instead to stay closer-by, and headed south on a 5 hour drive to Talkeetna, Alaska; my favorite town in Alaska.

Far too much time was spent in my car (my new car, a 2016 Subaru Outback! – so much new information for you all if you don’t follow me on instagram) the first day. The Denali Park Road was open to personal vehicles to mile 30. Typically the park road is open to Savage River at mile 15. I was excited to go further into the park from the comfort of my own car as opposed to a bus, but I didn’t take into consideration the 35 mph speed limit. This added about 2 hours of drive time to my road trip. Well worth it since I saw three grizzlies and a small caribou herd and still made it into town in time to grab food and meet up with my dear pal Jo of Oma + Jo. We’ve bonded a lot over the last year and I count her as one of my closest friends. Anyway, I arrived in Talkeetna a little stiff, but eager to start my vacation.

Jo taught me how to play cribbage, an incredibly archaic yet fun game that probably had originally asinine, made-up rules. I caught on quicker than I would have expected myself to, given my poor math skills, and enjoyed playing rounds at the Pizza place patio over beers and Hummus platters. We had fun drinking, and chatting, and visiting the historical museum. Good company, and the only (temporary) company I’d have the entire trip.

I booked a room at the Talkeetna Roadhouse. Central to all town activities, I was able to watch the tourists and locals walk the town from my window. I was in walking distance to everything except for my massage which took place up the Spur road and in a blue Yurt, of all structures. So cool.

Despite a wonderful time at the local eateries, bars, museums and hiking trails, the main event was reserved for one of my final days in Talkeetna.

I purchased a flightseeing tour over Denali which included a Glacier Landing on the famous Ruth Glacier. The morning of I took a trail run along the river, ate a big breakfast at the Roadhouse, and got a call from K2 aviation about my flight; would I like to come in an hour early and get an upgraded flight for a longer tour with a glacier landing? Sure! I showered and rushed over to the ‘airport’, eager to gain some life changing perspective about the land I intend to call home for good.

I don’t want to bombard you all with a basketful of cliches about how my life has changed from a single flightseeing tour, but I really want to emphasize how mind-blowing this experience was. Alaska is vast, I knew that empirically before this trip, but I didn’t understand it in practice. Flying at low altitude, through the neighborhood of Denali, among the monsters like Mount Hunter, and Mount Foraker and then Denali, I finally understood the gravity of the mountaineering undertakings from the adventure books I’ve been reading for a year, and understood the zeal everyone holds for this mountain range.

Don Sheldon’s Cabin is over my Right Hand!

Structures that looked to be the size of small stones were in reality the size of ranch style homes. Ripples in the glaciers were evidence of crevasses deeper than the the tallest skyscrapers in midwest cities. My mind still has trouble comprehending the scale and scope of the experience, but I’m still contemplating it regularly.

Of course I had all the confidence that our pilot would get us through the tour unscathed, but a naive (or pragmatic?) part of me felt I would probably die on this trip. I was super relieved to land safely on the glacier, to pose awkwardly on it for a photo, to walk around suspiciously on its crevasse-riddled surface, and ultimately re-board the plane, this time riding shotgun.

We flew back the way we came, over semi-frozen tundra. The twisted rivers, partially melted, gave way slightly to spring. The landscape has since turned lush and green.

Homesteads below spread far and wide, connected sometimes only by rivers.

I was exceedingly happy to disembark the small aircraft, if only from a place of self-preservation. I’m an anxious person, and prefer to have my two feet on the ground, fair enough?

I spent the rest of the day decompressing, playing over and over again the sights and sounds of the day in my mind. I went to happy hour, read a book and kicked around some local lakes for a quick hike. My trip ended with a cinnamon roll from the Roadhouse and a long, contemplative ride home to my family, presents in hand; ready to start my summer of solo-parenting.

Granite Tors Trail

June 5, 2015 ~ Crystle ~ 2 Comments

Granite Tors - Fairbanks, Alaska | Yea Yea Pueblo

Oh, I certainly wish I had the stamina I had when I was in my early twenties. There’s something about carrying and delivering two children, and then once again carrying them on a mountain that really wipes a mother out. Younger, unattached hikers could probably accomplish the 15 mile round trip hike to the Granite Tors in a day, but we Ardoin’s, toting two small children, cannot. We did make it eight miles, though! Hooray!

Our first day camping, we took the short 2 mile loop at the Granite Tors trailhead, just to scope out the scenery. A wildfire cleaned out the clutter of the forest back in 2009, leaving a charred landscape in its wake. New growth has taken over. Bright green buds burst out of the black spruce like fireworks; their neon needles contrasting sharply with the burnt trunks at their center. The brush underfoot looked as though nothing had happened. It was springy and marshy with snow melt, and saturated in color — not scarred like the tall trees above.

Truthfully, I cannot remember a time when my shoulders were that sore. I had Woods in a front carry in the ergo, and Isaac had Margot in the REI structured hiking carrier. Both of us had day packs in addition to the kid weight. After an afternoon of my shoulders being pulled in two opposing directions, and a steep climb up toward the Tors, I was completely wiped. The tors are large granite protrusions popular with climbers. They’re unfortunately just a few miles too far for the burdened day hiker.

The trail starts out as a leisurely stroll along the Chena River. It splinters off into a boardwalk trail that steers you over to the fork where you can either elect to take the shorter two mile loop, or carry onward to the long trek to the Tors. The boardwalk ends abruptly when the foothills meet the valley. Then a quick ascent along a trail that runs through a birch forest. On the right in the distance, a large beaver dam (not pictured) created its own pond. The occupants where nowhere to be seen.

The slow lumbering mosquitos of early summer were slow to get us, unless we stopped. Sally was unable to keep them off of her, unfortunately. Her furry hide twitched and flinched the entire time.

Once the elevation plateaued, we entered a more exposed terrain, with lower brush and more of the charred remains from a wildfire past. The sun barred down on us, but the cool temperatures kept us from roasting in the high-noon light.

At this elevation we were able to see a great distance in every direction. The lush green hills, with their tiny freckles of unmelted snow, seemed to roll on forever. We found a clearing where we could eat our packed lunches in peace. Margot fed her crust to Sally, who was just as hungry as the rest of us.

We made it to a back country campsite with sweeping views of the Tors (still a few miles away). Although the daylight hours stretch long into the night, our kids’ happy dispositions do not. Opting to head back to the camper to clean and rest up before bed, we headed back down the mountain at a much quicker pace.

On our descent, Margot sang songs about quesadillas to keep the bears away, and Woods slept soundly against my chest. We all had an incredible night’s sleep.