That's Fit

My son has attended the same summer camp for two years now. Throughout the summer there are specialty camps kids can opt to attend. Last summer he signed up for an intense biking camp. At the beginning of the week, there were more than 30 kids signed up. By day three, the numbers had dropped to about 12. By the end of the week, only 6 kids remained.

On the first day of camp, the kids and their counselors rode a total of 10 miles. But the rides were short and they stopped at several fun locations to play and rest in between rides. Still, my very fit and athletic son needed to take a bath that night to relax his muscles.

The second day, the kids rode about the same distance, but with only one, longer break in between. It was a hard day, evidenced by the fact that more than half of the kids dropped out after day two. My son mentioned that he thought maybe he'd like to quit, too. But day three was too intriguing for him to give up.

This weekend my son and I are going on a vacation. While we're staying in a cabin, we'll be spending most of our time outdoors -- at the beach, sand dunes, nature trails, and hiking paths. Both my son and I love to explore and check out what nature has to offer. A new web portal, Andy Camper, is all about outdoor adventures for kids.

The site offers dozens of how-to videos for kids; from geocaching to watching the stars. The site aims to get kids excited about the outdoors and to reconnect them with nature through fun, engaging ideas and activities.

My son is really into bugs right now (except spiders... they freak him out). Tonight, we're going to make this cool water viewer to help us look for bugs and other critters in the lake this weekend. Check it out! You're sure to find fun activities for you and your kids whether you're heading out on a special outdoor adventure, or just want to do some exploring in your own backyard.

"How am I going to survive without TV and the Wii?" proclaimed our friend's young son as we began a short camping trip with four other families and their kids aged eight through one year this past Sunday. Not only did he survive two nights sleeping in a tent, he thrived.

Most of the time I saw him perched in a tree ... or fishing ... or clambering ahead on a 2.5-mile/1,000 ft in elevation gain hike. My favorite part of this entire multi-family camping trip was quietly observing the kids getting filthy, swimming in the lake, catching baby frogs, scrambling billy goat-style up and down a tough trail and then digging deep near the hike's end even as their legs felt like jelly. How often do kids' legs feel that tired these days?

When we returned to camp for dinner, the kids didn't have a couch to climb upon or a remote to click. Instead they headed to the trees, the tents for imaginary play, the 'secret trail' for a new adventure. If you have the opportunity to go camping this summer, do. If not, unplug your children and head outside your front door. Check out Jennifer Ward's new book, I Love Dirt!: 52 Activities to Help You & Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature.

Parents need a plan when pulling that plug.

Camping -- especially when you hike into back country -- is not only a fun summer activity, it's health-promoting as well. Cooking when you're in the back country can be a bit of an adventure. You need to have food that's easily portable, prepared with minimal tools, has only waste that can be easily carried out with you, and is energizing. On top of all that, you don't want to sacrifice flavor.

The American Hiking Society is searching for your best camping recipes. Submit your recipes with a photo and a short story about how you created the recipe. If your recipe is selected, it will be used in a Volunteer Vacation cookbook. Submissions are being accepted through July 31st.

[via SmarterFitter blog]

I'm an outdoor girl with granola in her pockets. I get excited over a good pair of Merrell hiking boots, not a pair of Enzo flats. A camping vacation is truly a vacation to me. My husband and I spent nearly a month camping and backpacking on our honeymoon. Yes, we're a tad odd.

But what I've realized over the years is not everyone loves camping. Some people hate it. I know people who will intestinally blow-up before pooping in the woods. Yet this does not mean they don't love the stars, fresh air, a crackling campfire and even the chilling call of a coyote in the middle of the night. They'd be willing to camp if their Home Sweet Home porcelain perch was nearby.

Voila -- a solution to this intestinal barrier! Join the festivities this Saturday in the National Wildlife Federation's 4th annual Great American Backyard Campout. You can set-up the tent right in your backyard or hook-up with other close-to-home camping enthusiasts via their campout finder. Over 22,000 are gathering their gear for backyard fun this weekend. I'll be camping, too. We're heading up to Devil's Lake, Wisconsin to camp and rock climb sans kids with the Chicago Mountaineering Club -- our virgin outing with this influential group. See you under the Big Dipper.

Summer may be right around the corner, but the camping season for some is already well underway. Time to take the tent out of the depths of the garage, dust off the sleeping bag, and head out into the great outdoors for an escape from everything and everyone.

Except for the several million species of animals and insects that will be joining you on your trip, that is.

I don't really have much advice for how to protect against a bear attack, but I can suggest that you wear long pants to help prevent against ticks. You should also be aware of what a tick looks like in case you find some creepy crawly thing on your skin. Deer ticks, which can carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, are of particular concern for campers and hikers. These tear-shaped suckers are extremely small; that is, until they've taken up residence on your body and have fed on your blood for quite some time -- at which point they can grow to be almost the size of a dime.

For a comprehensive look at the different types of ticks, as well as some tips on how to best steer clear of them, visit the Tick Encounter Resource Center website by clicking here.

When we checked into a campground last week for a week-long vacation, the owner told me, "You'll like it here, we don't have any bugs." I laughed out loud, because camping and mosquitoes go together like bread and butter, right? I was happily surprised to find out he was telling the truth; the sandy soil meant there was no standing water for mosquitoes to breed. With the exception of a stray fly or bee, the entire week was happily bug free.

After reading this, I'm grateful. The West Nile virus, which has been pretty quiet the last few seasons, has flared this year and this season looks to be as bad or worse than 2003, when West Nile sickened 2,866 people. Though the virus can be found anywhere, it seems to be the worst in central and western states, probably due to the species of mosquitoes that live there. In addition, irrigation water is popular with the bug, and farmers are exposed to bites during long days in the fields.

There have been 42 reported cases so far this year and whether the trend continues depends mostly on the weather. Hot weather helps the virus grow inside of the mosquitoes, and late summer and fall that are cool in temperature may slow the spread of the disease. The best way to prevent West Nile is to prevent mosquito bites. Take a look at these suggestions to keep yourself and your family safe.

The growing number of overweight children has fostered a small but vigorous burst of summer weight-loss camps opening across the country. And while I endorse these programs for children who have been 20-30 pounds overweight for the past year or more ... I'd love to see more parents encouraging activity before such drastic measures are needed .

Today, kids can choose among adrenaline-pumping, action-packed camps that teach rock-climbing, surfing, and white-water rafting. They can master basketball or tennis with world-class college coaches, or they can bike their way up and down mountains in Montana -- at these camps, children improve their fitness levels while learning skills, gaining confidence, and making friends -- they don't even realize they are exercising. And, really isn't that what you want for your kids? I feel that promoting an active lifestyle is much more beneficial than sending kids off to weight-loss camps (unless it's the only option.)

Summer camps are suppose to be fun, and sadly, weight-loss camps -- while needed -- are more often a reminder to kids of their bigger issues and when they leave, they have the added pressure to sustain their weight loss at home.

So, to help your children get in shape -- before they get out of it -- I've found a list of camps at Adventure-camp.com that will help you to find the perfect place for your child.

If you've got some camping trips planned this summer, like maybe for the 4th of July holiday coming up, it's very possible you (or a loved one or a pet) will come across some poison ivy on your hikes in the forest or hunts for firewood. Every year between 25 and 40 million Americans suffer the famous itchiness and rash caused by the oil from the poison ivy plant -- to stumble on a patch is one of the oldest camping mishaps in the book.

Dealing with it if you are unlucky enough to need to is mostly about soothing the symptoms and not making them worse. See this article for a list of helpful tips, like washing the affected area with cool water as soon as possible and refraining from itching.

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

The great family camping vacation: think hiking and fresh air and sitting around a campfire... it sounds wonderful! Camping can be a healthy, fun family vacation, but there's also plenty of dangers involved and some are more obvious than others. Before you and your family head out into the wilderness this summer (or even just take the RV to the lake) get informed with these blogs:

Love the Outdoors and All About Camping are two great places to start learning ways to make your camping trip a safe and healthy one.

Joy of Camping even has a bear safety video, in addition to other safety videos and general camping tips.

I don't know about you but when it's nice outside it's awfully hard to leave the sunshine and warm weather for the stale air-conditioning of the gym. So my goal for this summer is going to be active as ever ... but in the natural gym -- the outdoors. I live near the rocky mountains and what's a better way to spend a hot summers day than by exploring the majestic beauty of the mountains with a hike? If you've never made it to the Rockies, then you'll have to trust me when I say it's completely breathtaking and the perfect place to explore by foot.

Hiking is not only a great way to spend a day -- it's a great workout too, and the amount of calories you burn varies depending on the terrain, distance and how much you carry on your back. And hiking's a really popular activity -- there's bound to be a few trails in your area that vary in duration.

While camping carries a mystique of healthy rigor about it, the very dishes we eat off of while vacationing in the wilderness may be teeming with tiny sick-making bugs. And it's our own fault.

The food blog Brownie Points pointed me toward the Science News article How to Wash Up in the Wilderness. A microbiologist, Joanna Hargreaves, conducted a study regarding dish-cleaning practices among backpackers and expedition companies and found that their methods were not removing all harmful bacteria. She hazards a guess that individual campers may have even poorer habits than the large expedition providers she followed.

The piece in Science News recalls a related 2004 study that found that 56% of backpackers studied on the Appalachian Trail developed diarrhea, and the risk was much higher among those who did not always treat their water before drinking it. But nearly half of the Appalachian hikers who did consistently treat their drinking water still got diarrhea. "So other hygiene lapses-including inadequate washing of hands, dishes, and eating utensils-are apparently major threats to health in the wilderness," concludes microbiologist Hargreaves.

I have to admit my own camp dish-washing methods pale in comparison to the three-bowl scientific approach she prescribes. If I recall our last camping trip correctly, we rinsed with boiling water...or swished...or something. Umm, maybe I'll mend my ways next time we camp thanks to this article.

[Photo by kwankwan.]