Child carriers and backpacks are not all that new, but you probably knew that already. The entirety of human history all over the globe show examples of slings, pouches and cradle boards used for hands-free baby transport. However, in 20th-century U.S.A., child carriers were absolutely non-existent. That changed in 1968 with a young Peace Corps volunteer named Ann Moore who witnessed the women in Africa carrying babies and infants in slings on their backs. Moore eventually returned from her service in West Africa, started her own family, and having loved the idea of keeping a hands-free active life while keeping her baby snuggled against her body, she went to the store to buy a baby sling. She couldn't find one, so she designed her own soft carrier, called it the Snugli (link) and practically launched an entire industry.

Kelty came along in 1992 with their iconic kid backpack and you could say the trails of the National Park system haven't been the same since.

And now there's a new, fancier, snazzier pack on the street from Osprey . . .

The Vogel family hardly looks like a clan of serious cyclists. In their pictures, John, Nancy and their twin 8-year-old ankle-biters Davy and Daryl are often wearing cotton, sometimes denim, and no sweat-wicking jerseys in sight ever bear so much as the oft pervasive sponsor logo. Is that what a cyclist should look like anyway?

No, not necessarily. A cyclist is someone riding a bike, end of story. If anything, the Vogel folk just look like a standard, chipper suburbanite family headed down the driveway and around the block for a Saturday afternoon of some wind in the hair.

Except they didn't go for a short spin. Instead, they threw down over 9 thousand miles on a ride across the U.S. and Mexico.

My family went to Yosemite National Park for the first time during the summer of 1985 when I was 9 years old. The entire gripping tale, down to every last detail, can be endured read above. Luckily I dated this puppy. I don't know why I wrote it on February 28 the following year, but it must have been a school project. Revisit the second sentence: ". . . we saw a mountain that looked like it had a nose."

Sitting in it is one thing. Getting out of it is another. Meet the Alite Monarch Butterfly Camp Chair

On the list of "Outdoor Product Reviews No One Really Needs," camp chairs are going to be near the top, and they're going to be jockeying for position along with shoes, socks, and water bottles. Give or take. So I figure I'll spare you that and file the Alite Designs Monarch Butterfly Chair in our column known as "Cool Find." Here's why . . .

Snow & Nealley Hudson Bay Camping Axe

I'm 35 years old and I've never owned an axe until June of this year. Here's why. Last September, my dad and I road tripped to Moab, Utah and once we were there, he decided he needed to get a new axe to dedicate to his Land Rover. For better or worse, we're kind of like this in our family: a set of tools goes in the garage, another set goes in the truck. It's a concept that will forever evade our eye-rolling wives.

Every parent who wants to get more exercise, keep up with their desire for, say, backpacking, or hit that goal to compete in a triathlon (or insert your own goal), wonders how other parents do it. And the big one, especially for first time parents, is as simple as how do you take a baby camping for the first time? The truth is none of us are experts at this business of juggling family responsibilities with our outdoor pursuits. We're all winging it in different ways because our children are dynamic critters with their own personalities, quirks, and soft spots. And so are we.

Ah! But there's hope, good person. Read on.

All good things come to an end, even cute diaper bags. Over a year ago my wife Brooke posted about the JJ Cole sling diaper bag, and since then we get a constant flow of emails from ladies who want to know where the heck to buy one. True, it's an awesome bag that I know my wife's enjoyed and it's possible you've even seen me using it. But it turns out JJ Cole didn't sell enough of them to keep producing the bag (what else would be the reason?).  As far as we're concerned, that's a bummer.

Good news, ladies. We think we've found the fix. Overland Equipment has the answer to your desire for a handy, yet good-looking, sling bag . . .

We're four years into ownership of a 12v refrigerator, specifically an Engel MT35, and there's no shortage of questions about it from our readers who've never seen such a critter. The majority, of course, wonder what the downsides are. Is it really worth while for camping and adventure road trips? Won't it kill your battery? What's wrong with a cooler and ice? Can it really keep popsicles frozen?

Well, read on.

My wife and I always used to pack along a sleeve of disposable 12-oz Solo cups for those camping road trips until we came to our senses. I'm on a personal campaign to cut my consumption of disposable anything, particularly plastic. I'll admit that it's not always easy or convenient, and I'm not claiming that I've cut it all 100%. I'm still a person. But those Solo cups?  Yeah, no longer need them thanks to the GSI Stemless Wine Glass.

Location, Location, Location: The important element in a successful hammock siesta. Chloe's enjoying the Pacific side of Baja the proper way.

The day Brooke hung a hammock from a mesquite tree in our back yard I watched her and Chloe swing in it for three or four minutes while the anchor on one end began to fray.

"Join us, Papa." Brooke said.

"No way. That rope around the tree is about to break."

She looked at it.  Chloe looked at it.  "Oh, come on.  It's fine."

Look, I know you don't want to pony up 80 bucks for a little tripod, but let me explain. These days it's increasingly difficult to sort out when you're just paying for panache or scoring something that actually solves a problem. I've been around the block with small backpack-worthy tripods. I tried in vain to make work not one, not two, but three different $10 mini-tripods over the years. Guess what?  They all drove me nuts. Should I say more? Is it all that surprising that low-priced mediocre gear turned out to be a disappointment? Doubtful.

I kept trying, though.  Ten bucks here, ten bucks there, all the while claiming, "All I want is a little tripod to take the occasional self portrait while we're on a hike or something."

Save yourself the grief, take a ride on my experience, and just get a Joby Gorillapod. I know, it looks like a silly gimmick, but it's far from it.

Thanks for the memories, good reader.  Have a Happy New Year.

I want to thank you for trekking with us through 2010, and especially thank you for your tweets, likes, comments, emails, and your smiles, chuckles and laughs from the other side of this screen. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'd give you a fruitcake or figgy pudding if I could, or (more realistically) a cheery warm shot of tequila from this corner of the U.S. that mates with Mexico.

Maybe next year. And what about that 2011?  Before I get to that, let me show you what happened in 2010. Here are the top 10 articles you read, tweeted, "liked," linked to, and/or commented on -- the Best Of 2010 . . .

When your little future belay slave sings, "Now I know my ABCs, / Next time won't you sing with me?" your heart has a whole new reason to melt.

You can thank Seth Neilson for it.

Check this out . . .

You know how it is: there's a little friendly competition among moms and grandmas in the quest for the absolute cutest baby clothes.  We all know it exists, but no one talks about it aloud. You go to grandma's house on Sunday afternoon and she says something like, “I picked up this onesie for you the other day, and it is sooooo cute!”

You look at it, and it says, “I'm kind of a big deal around here.” You laugh, because it is cute.

Well, here's a way to top that.

What I love most about gear and equipment is not the gear and equipment - I love the gear and equipment that has some style and that lasts a long time. I'm not much of a sucker for the latest thing (That's you, Vibram Five Fingers). I'm a sucker for time tested stuff that's reliable, trustworthy. I'm at that age in which I realize I'm quite finished with buying things based on looks and price because I'm tired of being disappointed in my money spent - and, if I must say it, I'd like to feel like I have a sense of class and style. Form follows function right to the winner's circle. Example: while you'll still hear lines in songs about 1968 Mustangs, in 40 years we will likely never hear another peep about the Chevrolet Chevette except in a punch line.

This is why I wholly approve of Art of Manliness' Holiday Gift Guide.  They say, "We try to hunt down and share the kind of products an Art of Manliness Man would want to find under the Christmas tree: manly, useful, and classic. The sort of stuff you’d find in Grandpa’s house."

So, I've picked out my top 5 from the Art of Manliness list.  What do you think?

Pretty soon we won't have any excuses at all to stay home. With a bit of solar power on your backpack, think of all the possibilities. Sure, you can keep your iPhone charged run all those snazzy outdoorsy apps you bought.

Let's get a little more out there. Oh, you need to pump breast milk? Let's rest here on this precipice with a view of - go ahead pick one - Yosemite Valley, Canyonlands, the Sonoran Desert and plug in the breast pump. Wee-whirrr wee-whirrr wee-whirrr. Okay, not quite the sound you want while gazing at Earth's splendors, but you'll take what you can get.

Fozzils folding plates for kids with an appetite
We parents likely will never lift the veil from the mystery of how to get our kids to eat, consistently, the good food we've worked hard to prepare at camp. But we still try, right? And the old adage, “presentation is everything” remains one of the techniques; “presentation” having a loose definition, as I'm sure your children and mine share the same preference for food they find on the ground and deny the full plate in front of them.

Brooke enjoys a late afternoon run near Saguaro Lake under WEaver's Needle
Yesterday was a classic example of how running keeps me sane.

It was my day home with Chloe, which means in the afternoons I can count on her to take a long toddler nap. I love - no, I need - that two-and-a-half hour stretch of time. So, when I heard her playing with her dolls an hour early, I peeked in on her. I knew by the smell what had gone down. Guess?

Our potty-training toddler peed and crapped her big-girl panties in her bed.

Yeah, so not awesome.

I threw the mess of clothes and sheets in the wash, wiped and re-pantied her round little tush, and went for my running shoes. It was either that or an early happy hour. Thank God for running.

Marytn Davies, globetrotting-off-highway-trailer-master and guru of all things Adventure Trailers, has his favorite camping chair.

The chair?  Made by Front Runner (and also made by GCI, called the "Xpress Lounger," you'll see why it's called that). When it's folded up, the chair is the size of a Mac Book Pro stuffed in a carrying case: a mere 2.5"x17"x17".

So check out this video he put together showing just how clever this collapsing camp chair is.  At 0:32 notice how Martyn is already kicked back with one leg outstretched and wondering where the heck he placed his cocktail.  Perplexed, he packs up and - I'm guessing - heads off to the local pub instead.

That's how slick and fast this chair is. (Bonus Trivia!: What does Martyn's video have in common with Penn and Teller?)

It's cool.  We own two of them in part because they fold so small and in part because the framing is so robust.

You know what they say, right?  "Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle."  So, here's a picture not of the chair, but of what the chair might mean to you:

If there's anything to do on the Beach in Mexico, it's definitely this. If you don't know what this is, well, then there's no hope for you.

Check this out.  So I'm at Eddie Bauer one night trying to buy pants, burn up this gift card I've been sitting on for a year.

Then I see, "You may also like."  Suggested items. And I fell for it.  BUT LOOK AT THIS THING.  It's a flashlight with bendy feet.  Bendy magnetic feet. As if it couldn't get any better.

I just had to buy it because I couldn't restrain my curiosity.  Bendy magnetic feet.

Campfire tales for river lovers, canyon lovers, and adventure lovers

The JJ Cole Essentials Sling back diaper bag has gone everywhere with us for two-and-a-half years because it's ideal for moms (or dads) who prefer to travel light and like a stylish, rugged diaper bag.

I can fit a drink, snack, couple of toys, change of clothes, couple of diapers, and wipes in the compartments along with a few of my own womanly essentials for an outing. This bag adjusts to fit different body types, which makes it versatile enough for both parents to use.  And yes, if you can believe it, dads will not mind shouldering the diaper bag burden when it's this compact and easy to wear.  If you are tired of the bulkiness and clutter of diaper bags and want something new, or if you're becoming a first-time parent, this bag is a great addition to any family's travel gear.