Mom Goes Camping was founded by Diane Vukovic. She grew up in Upstate New York and went camping, backpacking, and orienteering with her dad frequently. There was also a small woods behind her house, and she’d go there to make forts and read books under the canopies. Because of this, spending time in nature was something she was always comfortable with.
Diane on Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks, probably in 1991
When Diane had her first daughter in 2010, she knew that she wanted to share this love of nature with her. So, she began taking her on wilderness camping trips and nature hikes. These trips were a great way for Diane to bond with her daughter while getting away from the distraction of screens. She also saw firsthand how many skills her daughter learned from spending time in the wilderness, such as patience and resilience, and also an appreciation for nature.
But, when talking about her trips, Diane would get comments like…
“Aren’t you scared,”
“You are so brave!” or
“That’s crazy!”
These comments got under her skin. For starters, her male friends never got asked if they were scared to go into the wilderness. And getting outdoors your kids shouldn’t be something that requires bravery or is considered crazy. She believed the outdoors should be accessible for everyone.
With this in mind, Diane created Mom Goes Camping in 2015 with the goal of empowering parents—especially women—to get outdoors with their kids.
In the meantime, Diane also had another daughter who went on her first camping trip at 2 months old. This led to an entire series on camping with babies (and more comments of, “Are you crazy!”).
Instead of writing trip reports, Diane mostly focused on giving straight-forward advice about matters like trip planning, safety considerations, which gear you actually need, and how to save money. Working on the blog meant that Diane got to spend a huge amount of time researching gear, fine-tuning packing lists, and practicing outdoor skills.
Because of her outdoor experience, Scholastic asked Diane to write two wilderness survival books for children: Shelters and Fire, Water, Food. She’s also the author of Gourmet As Heck Dehydrator Backpacking Meals, which came out of the need to create ultralight, cheap meals for her trips since she was carrying her kids’ gear too.
It’s been nearly a decade since Mom Goes Camping first launched, and Diane has loved reading the comments and emails she’s gotten from other outdoorsy parents.
