Outdoor Adventures: Boosting Mental Health and Confidence Through Camping
The relaxing effect of being outside sleeping under the stars next to running water is a feeling everyone should know.
There is something freeing about putting aside modern conveniences and heading into the great outdoors. It’s as if a weight you didn’t know was there is lifted from your shoulders or chest. Stepping outside, pitching a tent, and starting a fire is your invitation to stop worrying about all your to-do lists and obligations.
If you can find a place off the beaten path, you may notice more stars in the sky due to the lack of light pollution that makes them invisible in the city. You may also notice a feeling of calm when industrial and mechanical noises are replaced with the sounds of the wind through trees, the crackling of a fire, and various animals and insects. Even the absence of smooth reflective surfaces and 90-degree angles gives our eyes and minds a much-needed break.
Fire and sunrise are a welcome relief from the constant presence of buildings and the reflection of the sun off of metal and glass.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Aside from the benefits camping has on our minds and bodies, there are practical reasons to go camping. Most people are entirely reliant on our modern infrastructure and the comfort and ease that come with it. Anytime we venture into the outdoors and leave the modern world behind, there’s the possibility we’ll be exposed to discomfort and possibly some challenges. Being exposed to discomfort and unforeseen difficulties and overcoming them creates resiliency and confidence and adds a little adventure to our otherwise insulated and comfortable lives.
Cutting extra wood after realizing it was going to be a way colder night than expected.
Struggling with nature is in our DNA, and overcoming the obstacles presented by nature provides us with a sense of self-gratification that can’t be reproduced through modern achievements where safety nets are abundant. When you venture into the outdoors, in most circumstances, some level of natural selection is turned back on, and you need to make your own safety nets through thoughtful preparation and sound judgment.
Choose a poor site for your tent, and you may wake up in a puddle or have a tree fall on you. Leave food out, and you may wake up to a bear or other critter making a mess of your camp. It’s not hard to mess up in the woods and get yourself into some type of trouble.
This isn’t meant to discourage you if you’ve never been. Learning how to camp isn’t complicated or dangerous. Most public campsites are benign, and park staff can answer any questions you have. As you venture further out and do more remote trips, common sense and sound judgment become more important.
Time around a campfire with loved ones is a great antidote to the anxiety created by our overworked and over stimulated daily lives.
Gaining Perspective
The primitive parts of our brains that are hardwired for survival have the urge to hoard and acquire resources. The primary modality of advertisers is to play off this and create dissatisfaction and the impression that others are more satisfied with their stuff.
Unfortunately, the drive to acquire resources in the modern world leads us to buy and place value on things we don’t need. Spending a few nights outdoors puts into perspective how little we need to thrive and live.
Whenever I return from a camping trip, I’m filled with a new sense of contentment. I often reflect on how I spent the last few days living out of a bag or truck and how simple my life was during that time. I’ve effectively reset and reminded myself that it’s not more stuff that makes me happy, but time in the outdoors with people I care about, moving our bodies and feeling the elements on our skin.
A simple way to live and spend your time being present. How much more time do you have in the day when you’re present for every minute?
We All Start Somewhere
While the biggest challenge you’ll face at your local KOA campground on the side of the road will be learning how to pitch your tent or remembering the propane tank, remember that everyone starts somewhere.
As you become more confident and venture further out, your ability to prepare, tolerate discomfort, and avoid danger becomes more critical. Forgetting the tent poles isn’t a problem when your car is parked 50ft away, but it’s a huge mistake if you walk 10 miles into the woods and it's beginning to rain, and the temperature takes a dive.
You can still have an amazing experience at a drive in campsite, pitching a tent a few feet away from your vehicle.
Venture Further Out
As your confidence grows and you move away from the drive-in campgrounds, the benefits of camping will increase. Most of us will never be dropped off by bush plane into the Alaskan wilderness for a multi-week expedition, but even walking a couple miles to a backcountry campsite will present its own welcome adventure and is something to strive for. Knowing you can pitch a tent in the dark, start a fire in the rain, and make it through the night when every twig that snaps is a hungry bear, generates strength and self-sufficiency.
A lightweight and packable hammock sleep system for venturing further off the beaten path.
Too often in our modern lives, emotional pain is mistaken for an equivalent to physical pain; we expect everything to be perfectly safe. This is why some people are wrecked by minor inconveniences, like waiting longer than expected, missing a flight, or dropping a gallon of milk on the floor. They lack the perspective of what genuine inconvenience or discomfort is.
Planning your sleep system for temperatures expected to be in the 40s and having the temperature dip down to the teens is inconvenient. Having your inflatable ground pad leak air and being forced to sleep on the cold hard ground all night, shivering because you’re losing body heat without the insulation of your pad, is also problematic. However undesirable those situations are, when you come out the other side, you’ve gained perspective.
Conclusion
If you’ve already done some camping, I challenge you to push your limits and venture further off the beaten path. If you’ve never done any camping, you can buy a tent and learn how to pitch it in the safety of your own backyard. Start where your comfort and skill allow, and know that any time spent outside, away from electronics, sitting in front of a fire, is beneficial. Don’t overthink it and get outside!
Camping under a super moon.
Resources
https://www.reserveamerica.com/outdoors/camping-checklist.htm - A camping checklist of items you’ll need to start camping. These can vary based on location and time of year, but it’s a good place to start.
Below are a couple of great websites you can install as apps on your phone to help you get started camping and find places to stay.
https://www.reserveamerica.com/ - Great for finding and booking public, state, and federal campgrounds.
https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US - Great for finding private land to camp on. I love this app because it allows you to avoid crowds without too much effort. Some hosts even include a tent and sleeping bag if you're just starting out. Think of this app as Air B&B for camping.
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