It has been many years, but I took my kids backpacking when they were just over a year old. It is best to have another adult along. Babies really have to be closely watched - difficult to do when trying to set up camp and cook. I found it really hard to do by myself. I did one trip alone with my 2 year old and 4 year old and it was not fun at all! I did a 5-day trip with a 16-month old with two lady friends and it was a really nice trip. I also did a 3 day trip with a 6 month old, husband and buddy - who both took off fishing the minute we hit camp - and this also was not fun for me. The person you take with you has to really buy into sharing in the child care duties. We did a big family trip - a week with a 16-month old, 3 year old, 5 yr old, and two 8 year olds and six adults. This was a great trip. The kids really entertained each other and we had lots of adult supervision.

The other big thing are bugs - babies have no defense against mosquitoes and I am not keen on slathering a baby with DEET. I always took the babies backpacking well after mosquito season.