I have said this before, but will say it again. I never want to use the excuse of “It’s too hard” to prevent us from going, seeing, and doing with Jack while he’s little.

As a first time parent, and especially after becoming a mom during a pandemic, it is easy to get stuck in the mindset that you can’t do certain things because you have a little one. But, Jack deserves to experience new things outside of our home and immediate bubble and we as a family should strive to build memories regardless of how challenging the logistics of traveling with an active toddler might be.

Yes, prepping for a trip — no matter where you’re going — with a one-year-old is a lot of work. Yes, we will spend a majority of the time at our destination chasing him around. And, yes, packing up all of our stuff to go home and unpacking it once we’re there is exhausting.

It’s hard but it’s not impossible. We will never know if we can achieve something unless we try. 

We didn’t have Jack so we could sit at home every weekend. We created a family with the hope that we can gift our son as many new experiences as possible. 

Our family took our first camping trip this weekend and I have to say that it could not have gone better.

If I’m being honest, it was really more of a glamping situation. Nonetheless, we slept in a tent, prepared and ate all of our meals outdoors, and roasted marshmallows around the campfire. All with a one-year-old who can’t sit still for more than a few seconds at a time.

We rented a site at Arrowhead Campground at Badin Lake in Uwharrie National Forest, about two hours west of Raleigh. Our site (No. 36) felt more private than any of the others on Arrowhead. We didn’t have anyone immediately to the left of us and our neighbors to the right were a good distance away (and they were our good friends). Again, this was more of a glamping trip, so our campsite did come equipped with electrical hookup, a picnic table, a grill, a fire pit, and the campground has a bath house.

WHAT WENT WELL

I had zero expectations going in to this trip. I knew if I had a vision in my head of how it would go, I would end up stressed and disappointed.

We rolled with no naps for Jack when he typically takes two each day, but the two nights we spent in our tent were probably the best nights of sleep he has ever had. He stayed so busy running around — literally running through the woods — during the day that he couldn’t be bothered to nap and then crashed around 7 each evening. I don’t think Justin or I sat down for more than 10 minutes at a time and never at the same time. But that’s what it’s like traveling with a very active toddler who likes to be on the move. I wouldn’t change one thing about it, either. 

Jack slept on the air mattress with me (I covered us in quilts) and Justin slept in a sleeping bag on the ground in the tent (this was his preference, by the way). This worked best for our family for everyone to get a good nights sleep, and I fully attribute this arrangement to Jack sleeping so well. I almost brought his Pack n Play to sleep in, in the tent, but decided against it last minute.

The nine-person family tent I bought was huge and comfortable for the three of us. Justin laughed at how big it was when he first set it up, but being able to stick Jack in it midday and let him run back and forth so we could have a break from chasing him was the best. Plus, I loved laying in the tent with the side zip panels open and looking up at the sun dancing through the tree limbs.

Jack loves being outside, so finding adventures to feed that energy and harness his passion from an early age is important to me. We literally let him run and explore on his own (with us following closely behind) for those two days. He trampled through leaves, got dirty digging for rocks, and splashed up to his chest in Badin Lake. Watching him laugh while he played in the lake (which was a short hike through the woods from our campsite) was probably my favorite part of our entire trip. I didn’t expect him to charge into the water in his pants and shirt like he did.

WHAT WE PACKED

We are by no means avid outdoors people. I grew in Western North Carolina and spent a great deal of time hiking and jumping into dirty swimming holes in high school and college. I haven’t been camping in probably 15 years, though. So, this trip with Jack was uncharted territory for us.

In the weeks leading up to our trip I made list after list. I tried to think of anything and everything we might possibly need to take with us while also only packing the essentials. It was a delicate dance with my husband screaming “THIS ISN’T CAMPING” with every item I set out to pack.

We used almost everything I deemed essential, though!

Here is our camping packing list:

  • Camp chairs
  • Hammock
  • Plates, cups, utensils
  • Lighter/matches
  • Allergy medicine
  • First aid kit
  • Infant Tylenol 
  • Diapers and wipes
  • Sunscreen
  • Bug spray
  • Toilet paper (the bath house had toilet paper but I prefer my own)
  • Paper towels
  • Sleeping bags
  • Quilts/extra blankets
  • Cooler
  • Tent
  • Air mattress
  • Food (see detailed list of what we ate below)
  • Water (we took gallon jugs)
  • Coffee
  • Coffee maker
  • Cooking utensils 
  • Cast iron (taking our cast iron skillet was a life saver)
  • Pajamas (extra layers for sleeping — it was in the 40s at night)
  • Clothes (pants, shorts, sweatshirt, long sleeves, and short sleeves)
  • Shoes
  • Socks
  • Towels and wash cloths 
  • Pillows
  • Ice
  • Sun hat and shirt for Jack
  • Bubble machine 
  • Lanterns
  • Trash bags 
  • Hand sanitizer 
  • Hand soap
  • Fire wood 
  • Sunglasses
  • Face wash, tooth brush, tooth paste 
  • Wagon
  • Charcoal

WHAT WE ATE

Since we were camping at the site next to our good friends, we pulled all of our food together for each meal. This family-style feast worked really well for us.

Here is our food list:

  • Grilled burgers and hot dogs with various condiments
  • Grilled chicken thighs
  • Brisket (pre-cooked at home by our friends we were camping with)
  • Pasta salad (pre-made at home before our trip)
  • Strawberries, orange slices, and grapes (all precut at home for quick and easy snacking)
  • Scrambled eggs cooked in the cast iron
  • Biscuits cooked in the cast iron over the fire
  • Various grilled veggies
  • Sausage patties cooked in the cast iron
  • Crackers 
  • Chips
  • Pickles
  • S’mores

WILL THERE BE A NEXT TIME?

As we were driving home on Sunday I asked Justin what his favorite part of the weekend was. He thought about it for a moment and then replied with “all of it.” I agree, babe.

We unplugged from our phones, ate good food, laughed with our friends, watched our son discover new things, got dirty, and breathed fresh air. It truly could not have been a better weekend in the woods, and we will certainly go camping again. We are already planning to return to Uwharrie in the fall and have started scouting camping spots on the east coast for early summer.

I am beyond glad our little family found something new we can enjoy together for years to come.

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