Canoeing with a Toddler

We have been actively searching for things to do with our little family on our "days off", which are few and far between with two full time jobs, renovations, a busy toddler and a lovable border collie.

One of our local outdoor enthusiasts maintains an email list called "Peek a Week" that features different hikes and adventures you can participate in throughout the year. Although I follow it and am always intrigued at all the adventures, we had not yet participated. Luckily, one that came up was for a Family Canoe trip, with mention of boats being available, so our family jumped at the chance to get out on the water.

Of course, with a 14 month old, this provided to be an additional challenge and required a little more thought. I know some parents wouldn't even attempt this, but a challenge has never stopped or slow us down before.

Here's what we learnt:

1. Pack smart. Don't forget sit upons, beach towels, snacks, juice boxes/sippy cup, hats, sunscreen, extra set of clothes, water and snacks. Don't bring anything that you would be afraid to see wet (aka your phone or camera!) 
2. Sitting still is not a toddler. And this is one of the main parts about canoeing. Think about your child and how this goes together for your family. For us, I created a place between my legs, by my feet that J could sit comfortably, and I could help him if the need arose. It was also tall enough that he could stand on the padding and see over the boat, and see the other people who were with us on the trip.

3. Think about what you'd like to sit on. The bottom of a canoe gets chilly, and sometimes wet. You need to provide a place for your toddler to sit on. We took an old pillow, beach towels, and my yoga mat (repels wetness) and made a comfortable little nook by layering them on each other.

4. Provide distractions. J loved putting his hand in the water and letting it trail, although he wasn't quite tall enough to do so. We daisy chained some water proof toys together with teething rings, and used a carabiner to secure it. J could throw it overboard, and it would float along beside us. The rope that was attached to the canoe, we could do the same with. I didn't bring any toys I would be sorry to see at the bottom of the river. I imagine a milk bottle or pop bottle would float along with you well too! We also brought snacks and his sippy cup so that J could nosh on the go too.

5. Expect that they will fall in. Because they will. J managed to fall in in the last 3/4 of our journey, and that's why he was wearing a PFD (lifejacket). I expected he would do this, so I quickly dropped my paddle and pulled him out with the hook on his lifejacket. It was over in 3 seconds. He didn't even yell, because I had the towel ready and waiting, and he just got a mouthful of water. I had him dressed in his bathing suit & UV shirt, so he dried out quickly.

6. Expect the toddler may fall asleep. I'll admit it, if someone else was paddling, I'd fall asleep too. J did fall asleep around his regular nap time, and while we stopped for lunch, he dozed on. I used my lifejacket to prop him in the boat while he snoozed.

7. Know your skill. I admit, we did fall down a little bit on this one. We are fairly novice level canoers, and the first part of our journey, we had no problem once we got into a rhythm, however the end part of our journey involved whitewater and was a little above our comfort zone. We also tipped about 4 times. If we knew then what we know now, we probably would have taken the canoe out at the half way point. Without the help we had, this could have spelled disaster for  us, especially had we been alone.

All in all, it was a great family day out and everyone had a good time. We realized afterwards, we had paddled about 12 km by our rough estimating, so that was a great workout too!

I was so happy with how well we had all done, in September, Meagan and I went after a geocache that was on an island in one of the local lakes, and for this trip, we also took our border collie, Milton. God love the woman, she is the best activity partner I've ever had, and like me, she doesn't back down from a challenge either.

Here's what I learnt about caching and canoeing with a dog and a toddler:

 1. Use a dock if you can. We found lifting things in and out of the canoe using a dock was a lot easier. I could hand things into the boat to Meagan instead of having to wade out to it.

2. If you don`t know what the dog will do, put him in last. We worked a system where I handed J baby into Meagan, then I lifted in the dog. Meagan then lifted Jonas into the middle of the boat, and I lifted him between my legs. This worked until the dog scrambled out, so we re-started the whole procedure. Putting the dog in first would have not worked out for us.

3. Be prepared. I know, I mentioned this above, but this day was a lot colder on the water and I was grateful I had remembered a sweater for my small friend. He was also a little fussy so his Nuk came with us, and I was so glad to have stuffed it into my pocket. I frequently dipped it into the water, and this was very amusing for many dips.

4. Bring your leash. We didn`t leash our dog to the boat (in fact, I would never do this), however, we did have a jaunt on the other side  of the lake at the group camp site. You never know when you might need it.

5. Dog`s like footing. Canoes are pretty slippery,  we found this out in the first few minutes of the dog in a canoe. We had to speak to him and reassure him before he would relax in the boat, his toenails didn`t give him any grip. Next time, I might bring another yoga mat for my dog friend or a shower mat would work well too.

6. Relax! Dogs (and toddlers for that matter) will pick up on this if you are stressed. Fake it `til you make it, baby. We talked the while we were paddling and this helped relax everyone in the boat.

Til our next adventure! What is the craziest thing you`ve done with your toddler or dog.