[Aflo]

My wife and I are considering floating RHT this summer. We have a 7 month old. Does anyone have some advise on floating with a baby???

 

[zbaird]

Same as any kid trip.

1. Absolute constant awareness of your surroundings.
2. One competent adult, that isn't rowing, per kid under 10.
3. Sun protection
4.Toys and snacks to keep them occupied so they arent annoying you. (bottle or nipple and attention may be all for a 7 MO)
5. shit to keep them comfy in all weather situations.
6. PFD's always on if they are anywhere near the water. Don't think mine took his off in camp until bedtime until he was 10-12. Lil shit was always racin' down to the water to play with toy boats etc.

You might leave the dog behind so there isn't an added distraction unless the dog is super chill on the boat.

 

[stinginrivers]

Sunshade, sunshade and oh make sure you have a sunshade.

Bring the car seat as they are comfortable in it, good place for them to take naps, under that sunshade.

Towel or light blanket to cover them up for nap time.
and everything ZBaird said.

 

[markhusbands]

You might look at more of a shoulder season time frame when the heat isn't so intense. And still use a bimini.

 

[Quiggle]

we will be doing the same thing this summer!

 

[Down River Equipment]

Also, do keep track of the flows. When that section gets around 10,000 CFS and higher there are some really squirrley eddy lines that can definitely flip a boat.

 

[smhoeher]

The only concern would be the heat. 100 is not uncommon in the summer but my kids spent plenty of time in the heat and are now teenagers (I live in Grand Junction). You have read a bunch of real concerns and recommendation. Absolutely, take your infant and relish the experience because you will soon have a teenager! Tag team the child care so everyone can enjoy the river. R/HT is a beautiful part of the Colorado. Take a lot of picture, you will soon have a teenager!

 

[neilur]

The heat would be a concern for me... one of our runs last year it was 110 at the put in. It was some HOT river days.

 

[Robin]

We took our kids down at 11mo & 2y.o. in late July, we had plenty of shade but we did not anticipate one of the worst wind storms we’ve ever dealt with. Thankfully, we had great support from everyone with us so that we could focus on rowing and keeping our baby comfortable. So my advice is make sure you take your most trusted friends.

*Bug spray

We did not use a car seat as it is very cumbersome and a pain to strap in. We use something that has been called a Peapod, it kind of looks like a baby kennel or mini tent and that worked really well on the raft & is easy to strap in.

 

[co_bjread]

I would add to the concerns of sun protection and shade, the need for constant hydration. I am not an expert, nor do I know what the medical community says, but when we took our 6 month old daughter hiking in Arhes NP, we have her water in addition to nursing just to keep her hydrated in the desert. Nursing gave her the calories and meals she needed, but I felt like the added water helped her stay hydrated. We also kept her covered and protected from the sun. I think we discussed it with our pediatrician before hand too, but that was many years ago, and my memory has faded.

With older kids, we take crystal light, and make that up alot. We enjoy having flavoured beverages over water. Nalgene makes a 1/2 gallon rectangular jug that works really well for it.

 

[ukonom]

+1 on the car seat and shade on the boat. We also configured the drop bag in our front bay as basically a play pen. The other thing that helped in the heat was filling a small plastic bin (like an extra dish bin) full of river water for them to sit and splash in. And bring your favorite child carrying device - it gets light early and they'll probably be up and can stash them on your back for a hike and some extra zzzz's for your partner

 

[Hatch]

We’ve taken our toddler down this stretch several times in the Spring/Autumn (wanted to avoid that HOT summer heat) and agree with the earlier posts… we definitely have a Bimini and had several shade options for camp with lots of blankets to lay on. We used the car set on the boat and not only was our baby comfy but it also freed up the wife to do things like not hold the baby plus whatever else. We brought one of those inflatable duck tubs and filled it with river water to play in at camp, it was a big hit and took up almost zero storage space. We also brought a battery operated sound machine, might’ve been excessive but it helped during naps and the early bedtimes.