bushwalking with the hiking pram

[Moondog55]

My beloved ( who DOES NOT WALK ) took one look at this and said " Oh! A summer pulk" I just had to say she is right,

[igor]

Looks great.

It looks as though it might be handy with a hand controlled brake on for the person/workhorse too. And walking Poles would surely help too.

I agree about hand brakes. Without a person behind helping with the hand brakes very steep descents is a bit of a problem especially for a woman. I weigh 90 kilo and on some of the hills I had to go down quite slowly, bending the knees. But walking uphill is a great exercise. Still we are talking about VERY steep hills. Like the ones where the bikers would normally push the bike, walking alongside.

[Gusto]

The additional cost of the brake would be very minimal. The question is would be brake handle be attached to the bar at your hip or be loose and held in your hand. Or even clipped on to a walking pole.


How about an electric motor to assist with steep hills. Throw a solar panel on the roof too for good measure.

[Onestepmore]

Even though nappies will be a pain, for day walks your can just deal with it. I'd imagine on a multi day walk they would stack up .
I could just imagine a #3 baby poop (you know, the explosive ones that go everywhere) all over the back for a few days.... nice.

I have to say, sometimes you just have to put some things on hold when you have children. You don't know what you'll be dealt with - a vomity colicky one, or one that is content to sleep and feed anywhere. Little bubs don't cope well being hot and sweaty so it depends on the season too. My experience would say don't buy any super expensive things. Keep baby accessories as simple as possible - you really don't need most of the 'stuff' that is out there (and this is coming from a gal who likes her 'gear')

I've had the pleasure of cleaning up the above in a plane just before landing - NOT fun. I'd hate to try and deal with that in the bush, whizz bang cart or whatever.

[elray]

I looked at the Chariot for taking into the snow cross country skiing. big cost when i already had a bike trailer( free). i decided to convert bike trailer. i added some skis strapped to the wheels. first trip away i knew i was onto a winner as the the snow line was 2 km walk. carried skis on pack to snow line strapped onto wheels and we were away. speaking from experience. snowshoeing is a lot easier then cross country skiing with bike trailer. we have macpac carrier as well and love it. We started day walks with pack at 7 months, about the time bub can hold head up. she was happy on 6 hour walk with stops. first overnight at 9 months. went with bush walking club so had lots of people around to help. We did get some negative comments from one walker but most people were excited about having a baby on the walk. As for the nappy problem. i have hiked with poo tube before so was easy. solid dry bag on outside of pack. nappy into plastic bag twist bag but don't tie off bag. into dry bag outside of pack. i have now bought a 3 man tent. a bit heavy but i can see the need for the room. was hoping to snow camp with bub this year but did not happen. hoping on many overnight hikes with wife and bub this summer.

[igor]

We haven't done overnight trips walks yet. We are planning to do that when she is at least 6 and it's going to be summer. Daily bushwalks are no problem for us now. Main advantage of having a hiking pram - is security and comfort for the baby. No problem with flies, direct sunlight, heat or cold. We are currying 3-4 different sets of cloth and depending on the temperature, wind and cloud conditions dress her appropriately. This is the whole point even with the small baby it is possible to continue active lifestyle without giving up and allow baby to be outside and enjoy fresh air.
As I said before the CX1 worth every penny. Typically we go for 3 hrs, then stop, feed the baby, play and stretch her for 15-20 min , change if necessary and then continue again. Not a single time she cried or been grumpy. Most of the time she either sleeps or looks around. Once we got into rain so we've walked for about 2 hrs while it was good shower. Another plus of the pram.
With nappy we do similar stuff - each soiled nappy goes into separate sealed bag, then all of then in large rubbish bag behind the mesh pocket until we get to the car.
So this weekend we are planning 32 km walk along the Old Great Northern Rd, built by convicts, pass Buddhist temple.
Imagine we'd follow the advises of so called experienced people - don't do anything, sit at home, watch TV, and wait God knows what.

[puredingo]

Now get yourself two well trained Huskies and you'll rteally be in business.

[eaglehawk]

Glad to hear it's working out for you.

[greyim]

Maybe better to trailer your gear instead of the tot..
https://www.radicaldesign.nl/en/product ... i-trekking
Gear doesnt mind being bumped about as much?

[igor]

Now get yourself two well trained Huskies and you'll rteally be in business.

Even one be enough.
You may laugh, but this is exactly what we are thinking about. Not now - we live in a townhouse and no place to keep the dog. But we are planning to move to a house on a good block of land and a Siberian husky (wife's choice) or a German shepherd (my choice) will be brought to our family. To give good workout for a dog this size putting him to a harness and make him pull the pram would be an excellent solution. I can't stand lazy dog owners in Sydney with poor pets weighing twice their normal weight. Unfortunately most of the national parks are off-limits for dogs. Even on a leash. So there are only park paths and state forest trails. In the meantime we are pulling the pram by ourselves. Actually my wife started pulling more frequently, as it gives her the necessary exercise to prevent this dreadful cellulite to appear. Because the pram gives the same pull force as say walking with a 30 kilo backpack but without pressure on the spine. So last bushwalk she was pulling the thing almost all the time, just stopping to feed the baby and then continue. I was feeling like an Arab Bedouin who's wives are doing all this heavy duty work and he's just sitting in the tent and sipping coffee.

[igor]

after several months of extensive pram usage decided to post some more thoughts about walking in the bush with really small kids (3+ months).
First of - absolutely no way one can do this kind of trips that we do regularly on weekends covering 30-35 km in 8 hrs.
This typically involves about 6-6.5 hrs actual walking and 1-1.5 resting because of the baby wanting to stretch, eat, play etc.
No way any mom can carry a baby when it is 30 degrees, sunny and flies are just going mad.
The pram allows a baby to sit inside comfortably with no direct sunlight and not a single fly/mosquito bothering.
During the last few months we've done closer to 1000 km of walking and riding with the pram. No complains at all. We've crossed little creeks under a pouring rain, climbed rather steep hills, even managed to pass 6 Foot Track in one day - that was really hard as there was a lot of sections with steps, tree roots and boulders. Most of the time baby sleeps quite comfortably inside or watches the scenery playing with her dolls.
The alternative for active mother is really bleak - staying at home, slow walking in park paths for maybe one hour when it's not too hot. That is sad.

[Moondog55]

First thing; it looks like I was wrong and my congratulations on finding a solution to your problem.
Secondly thanx for the continued updates
Cheers TedM

[Lindsay]

after several months of extensive pram usage decided to post some more thoughts about walking in the bush with really small kids (3+ months).
First of - absolutely no way one can do this kind of trips that we do regularly on weekends covering 30-35 km in 8 hrs.
This typically involves about 6-6.5 hrs actual walking and 1-1.5 resting because of the baby wanting to stretch, eat, play etc.
No way any mom can carry a baby when it is 30 degrees, sunny and flies are just going mad.
The pram allows a baby to sit inside comfortably with no direct sunlight and not a single fly/mosquito bothering.
During the last few months we've done closer to 1000 km of walking and riding with the pram. No complains at all. We've crossed little creeks under a pouring rain, climbed rather steep hills, even managed to pass 6 Foot Track in one day - that was really hard as there was a lot of sections with steps, tree roots and boulders. Most of the time baby sleeps quite comfortably inside or watches the scenery playing with her dolls.
The alternative for active mother is really bleak - staying at home, slow walking in park paths for maybe one hour when it's not too hot. That is sad.

Six Foot track in one day, with a pram?

[wildwalks]

[zac150]

Igor,

I am not sure how I have missed this thread.

I too purchased a chariot trailer (cougar 2) and have used it extensively over the past six years.

A few things, they do need to support their head before you choose to attach it to a bike, even with the sling or neck protector. The additional speed riding can cause shaking issues. I think the best rule of thumb is if they can crawl etc then they are ok.

In response to safety issues with other trail users, the chariots are very visible and funnily enough most mountain bikers etc I have come across stop to chat with us as they think it is great we are still out doing things. But most of this you have probably found already.

For me the limiting factor was always us I.e she was always happy in the chariot listening to music or just playing with pram toys, we tended to tire well before she did.

I have done a few overnight trips mainly in kosciuszko and staying at the huts, we have also done a few of the rail trails. With the overnight trips we used a highly degradable nappy called multex made from tea leaves and degradable paper. We only ever dropped them down toilets that would not be pumped out. To give you an idea these nappies will degrade in half the time of normal toilet paper. I guess we choose walks that we could dispose of the nappies.

One great walk we did was Perisher to charlottes pass, a day in charlottes pass walking out to blue lake etc then onto thredbo. Nice 3 day walk and you can stay at lodges to keep the weight down. My point here was that we tried to think outside the square we planning walks.

I hope this has helped and you continue to enjoy

[Pongo]

I know it's slightly OT but if you're going to get a dog to haul your pram / cart, go with the husky.

I have a German Shepherd and they're amazing dogs. My girl loves nothing more than to clock up 15-20km with me in the wilderness. IMO the breed has limitations when it comes to hauling not the least of which is their hips. Good breeding will reduce this, as will conditioning your shepherd to haul, but generally I don't believe it's something their built for.

Their work ethic and desire to please is second to none however. My brother runs marathons and whilst training took our GSD for a 20km jog, unbeknownst to him, somewhere on the trail she popped her hip and continued to run on it, not a whimper, never slowed down (it eventually popped back in, as it tends to do), boy was she sore for the next few days though. My point being, a GSD with a strong drive will work for you until their a mess, which when hauling can cause some problems. When I take my girl out, I do everything I can to ensure she has as little stress on her joints as possible, which means... I get to carry the dog food

Now if you're an ideas man... you'd think about getting one of each... share the burden around

FWIW I adore the breed, if you have any questions about my experiences with them with kids, temperament etc... you're welcome to drop me a line.

[Onestepmore]

, somewhere on the trail she popped her hip and continued to run on it, not a whimper, never slowed down (it eventually popped back in, as it tends to do), boy was she sore for the next few days though.
.

!!!

Have you ever tried to reduce a luxated hip, in an anesthetised dog??

I politely think a muscle strain or similar was more likely

[Onestepmore]

And that's fantastic you've been able to do so much with your little one. I for one am very happy for you - and jealosly wish I'd been able to do something like that when mine were small, but I was unlucky enough for the first to be a very talented projectile vomiter (read 1 m 'reach' at times), and the second had incredible reflux and colic. And yes, from being mainly active outdoors, and a very competative dressage rider I went pretty much stir crazy locked inside.
If it's working, go for it!

[Pongo]

!!!

Have you ever tried to reduce a luxated hip, in an anesthetised dog??

I politely think a muscle strain or similar was more likely

Did my best to be vague as in the absence of a clear diagnosis I wasn't brave enough to call it a dislocation (or a a luxation ). She did manage to do something to it to improve it rather quickly however, perhaps she's just put up with whatever shes done... she can be a real lug-nut. Regardless, I'm still so impressed that a dog in clear pain would soldier on without so much as a by your leave.

[igor]

I used to have a German Shepherd, they are incredibly intelligent dogs. But now we live in a townhouse and only have backyard big enough for a cat. In Siberia there are actually two variety of huskies. One that is used for hunting and one for hauling. The hunting ones are smaller and wilder so to say. They are periodically interbred with wolves. That is females let go to the woods to get impregnated. These dogs can easily take on a wolf, and not afraid of bear either. But as pets they are pretty useless.
The bigger, stronger and much friendlier hauling ones is the breed that is present in Australia. They are not as clever as hunting huskies and can't be really used as guard dogs, too friendly.
The best breed to be used around the house is IMO Middle Asian Shepherd - they are twice as large as German Shepherds, very ancient breed. A friend of mine has one, the stories he was telling about his dog are just totally amazing. They will defend their owners and anything in the house - even in camping trips they are constantly guarding people as if a herd of sheep.

[puredingo]

My pick would be the Malinois. Everything the german shepherd once was and more. For the most part untouched by the show crowd so you still stand a chance of picking one up without the genetic deficiencies of the more popular breeds. This dog will pull your pram until the wheels melt, guard you like oprah guards the last donut in the box and it'll probably even do your tax return at the end of the financial year they're that smart...true.

Failing that just get yourself a true blue cattle dog, MADE for the aussie scrub, runs on a bickie a day and if your fence is set up right you will never recieve one item of junk mail again.

[igor]

Yes, this is a very good breed. I've seen a lot of them in Israel. They tolerate heat much better than German Shepherds.

[igor]

this is the Central Asian Shepherd dog I was talking about http://www.sirinby.com/our_dogs/srednea ... DbX2ubMK8A. My friend has it and once we've moved into a house with a large enough backyard it is going to be a tight contest between those various shepherds.
The dog by friend owns is huge - 85 kilo all muscles. Very fast and extremely well tolerant to high temperatures. Well it can be up to 45 degrees in the Karakum desert! They are also ok with cold. The only problem with them - they eat A LOT. From this point of view an aussie cattle dog is surely better