All About The Great Outdoors And Camping

Most of us endure a job in order to survive, rather than being lucky enough to do a job we love. We do our tasks, we leave things that need to be done for the weekends, and we end up in a rut. We survive, but don’t attempt to enjoy life. This creates a requirement to gafiate, or Get Away From It All.

Camping is an excellent way to do this. Camping has many advantages. One is that it provides an excellent opportunity to break free from the usual surroundings, since those surroundings can reinforce our usual habits, and thus hinder our attempt to take a break. Another advantage to camping is that it provides us a chance to be around nature.

Many believe this is healthy, physically, mentally and spiritually. As diverse a group as the Sierra Club, Theodore Roosevelt and the English Romantic Poets thought everyone should spend some time in nature for these reasons. While it is entirely possible that poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge and Blake overstated the value of spending a short time in nature, the lure of the wild remains a seductive one.

There is a great deal of beauty in nature, big and little. Even if we can’t get out to someplace like Yellowstone, the search for local beauty can be quite rewarding. The discovery of some picturesque little brook or clearing can be a fine centerpiece to a successful weekend excursion.

A more subtle use of camping is putting necessities into perspective. One of the things I’ve managed from my time living outdoors is to learn what I really appreciate in my home. I know exactly how much I appreciate my indoor plumbing. I also know that I can survive quite well when my central air is down, and what to do when I need minor first aid. If I need to pack a backpack with those things I need to survive, for instance, for hurricane evacuation, I know from experience what I can do without because it isn’t worth the trouble to carry around.

Camping can be a chance to get alone with your thoughts, or a chance to spend time with someone else. In either instance, the chance to get rid of the usual distractions, the telephone, the computer, the television, the neighbors, can provide a useful adjunct to examination of a problem, prioritization of some concerns or a talk with a friend or relative. Indeed, a trip into the woods can be a very romantic way to spend a weekend with someone special. These are not the only reasons to camp. Some people hike as a method to convince themselves to exercise, some want to get into the woods to facilitate bird watching and some find it a way to keep family traditions alive. I personally like to be able to hear no cars, telephones or boom boxes, and some of the most impressive sights I’ve ever seen have been the view after waking up and crawling out of the tent.