The Great Outdoors, Why?

Camping, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking. Hard work, long days, sore muscles, pointless roaming. If those are the words that you associate with camping, backpacking, and others, then you have never done them. When you try and look at it from a logical standpoint its pointless, we can just look at google images if we want to see beautiful views. Why go outside if you can simply stay inside with air conditioning, be entertained, and be productive. Why go miles away to go and walk in a big loop, when you could be at home living in luxury. But camping isn't about any of those, its about enjoying nature, actually seeing it with your own eyes, its about the time your are spending with the other person or persons, and even a little bit a feeling of simplicity, and leaving behind all modern anxieties, and just worry about the basic essentials, like food and water.

When you are in nature it's not like a picture on google images, you can actually feel the wind , and temperature, and humidity, and the sounds around you. When you are at an overlook it is like looking at a beautiful picture, but it is a whole new scenario, you are at the edge of a cliff, you can look over the edge, see the steep drop. you can use more senses than you can on google images, instead of only seeing with your eyes, you are seeing with your ears, eyes, nose, and the feeling. You have that feeling of fresh air, and the sense of accomplishment after hiking miles or paddling for miles to get to that one beautiful view that will be the highlight of your trip.

Its also about the interactions you are having with the people you are traveling with. Throughout a backpacking or canoeing trip you will get much closer with the person of persons you are going with. When you set down for camp you do everything together, go get water, eat, entertain yourselves with cards, and other simple games. Throughout the trip, as you get closer, working together may even be second nature, you will have great coordination with them, if there is a strong current one way in a river you are canoeing in, no words even will have to be exchanges, you will both just do your job, knowing what the other will do, because you have spent so much time with each other.

Lastly, the most important and overlooked, doing these things are massive stress relievers, you don't have to worry about that massive packet you have to do in math, or the 3 blogs you still haven't started this week, or any other work you may have. Its just you and the world, and it gives you this pure, simplistic feeling that is second to none.