What drives your outdoors experience?

I've been in the "woods" as long as I can remember, my Father is a real Mountian man (he is not in as good healt now). He has had my little brother & myself in the woods since we were about 4 or 5 yrs old. To go into the woods now brings back alot of child hood memories. My summers were spent camping,hiking,fishing, hunting,etc... It was the way I was raised & the way I'll raise my twin boys (will be 5 in Oct.)
SPRINGBREAK.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I agree with Stomper. I work in sales at a mall and deal with situational problems daily. Being outdoors, even if I am just laying under the stars, relaxes me and washes the stress away.
Playing with knives and cooking outdoors adds to the fun of life!
 
For me, I like that my goals in the wilderness are usually extremely simple, but generally quite difficult. I love the fact that ol' mother nature doesn't give a sh*t about how I do while I'm out there, so it's up to me to be prepared and able to succeed at my goals. When you're making a 10 mile, open water ocean crossing to an offshore island, you better have your plans in order. How many people can actually say they've done stuff like that? For real, it makes you feel so insignificant, but at the same time so alive. It's the same for climbing. It looks cool on TV, but seeing how far you can push in 100mile winds in the dead of winter with no visibility is as much of a test that I've been able to come up with. Are you willing to follow your plan, even if it means turning back when you're sooo close? That's what it's about for me.
The kit I use simply enables me to better perform at those tasks. Choosing the right sea kayak or mountaineering boots can be the difference between success and life altering(potentially ending) failure. The knives I might choose to carry are simply icing on the gear cake, as for most tasks, a simple SAK would do.
Good topic:thumbup:
 
Kev,

I woke up one day and I was half a century old.
This sparked an evaluation of my first 50 years and I didn't like what I saw.

I hadn't been fishing in about 30 years, I hadn't been even camping in at least 15.
When my wife and I got together almost 20 years ago, we would pack up on
a Friday afternoon after work, and be gone until Sunday evening.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, it got to the point where we would
have to plan weeks in advance just to go for a weekend get away.
I didn't like that direction, and resolved to change direction to one that I
was more comfortable with.
It's funny how the rat race seems to grab you, and most of the time you
don't even realize it.

That's basically what drives my outdoors experience.
 
For me it is different things at different times.

Let's face it, a new toy just begs to be taken out and played with whether it is a new knife, pack, rifle, firesteel, whatever.

Some days it is just the desire to get out there and enjoy the smells, the sights, the sounds, the earth beneath my feet. I have favorite places that bring me peace in different ways.

And then there are the days of adventure, when I want to get out and do or see something new, challenge myself at Enchanted Rock, hike a new area, hunt arrowheads and stones, or try new camping skills.

I seem to have more reasons to get out there than time to do it. :grumpy:
I am sure I am not alone in that.


good topic indeed. :thumbup:
 
Not to be overly simple but the main reason is so that I won't be indoors. AND!!!!! I am a gear freak.
 
This is a heck of a thread folks. Some very well expressed sentiments here. Those who have talked about the spiritual aspects of being outdoors are fellow travelers. It gets me out of my head better than most things and reminds me that there are other realities in this world besides the human. It is where I most strongly experience God, and where I get the most healing.

I also enjoy the testing of my mind and body. And I love to play with gear too!

A particularly remarkable experience is being in country with big predators. We saw wolves in the Boundary Waters a few months back. When I was alone at the far end of a portage trail it did occur to me that at age 50, and with a stride that favors my right knee a little, I might look a little more like prey than I used to.:-)
 
d_filgate said:
Kev,

I woke up one day and I was half a century old.
This sparked an evaluation of my first 50 years and I didn't like what I saw.

I hadn't been fishing in about 30 years, I hadn't been even camping in at least 15.
When my wife and I got together almost 20 years ago, we would pack up on
a Friday afternoon after work, and be gone until Sunday evening.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, it got to the point where we would
have to plan weeks in advance just to go for a weekend get away.
I didn't like that direction, and resolved to change direction to one that I
was more comfortable with.
It's funny how the rat race seems to grab you, and most of the time you
don't even realize it.

That's basically what drives my outdoors experience.
Click to expand...


This is quite similar to my situation, although I'm approaching 40 not 50 ;). A corporate "rat-race" technical job, having kids, and other real or imagined commitments all got in the way of me spending time outdoors over the last 15 years or so. So as d_filgate said, I resolved to return to the outdoors.

We took our first family car camping trip this summer with our 3 kids (age 2, 6, and 8). Thankfully, it was a success. It helps when the kids get to play with fire and knives (not the 2 year old). It was also a blast researching and acquiring updated and/or family-sized gear, which is how I found BF.

I am planning one more trip this fall with "the guys" canoe camping to Lobster Lake in Maine. Hopefully, in a year or two, my family will be ready to undertake some of those more remote trips as those are where I truly get to lose touch with civilization.

It's hard to express the satisfaction I get from being outdoors, but I do believe it's a spiritual connection to the Earth. It lets you return to life when the only tasks that truly matter are the ones that are critical to your survival and can be accomplished with the simplest of tools, materials and knowledge.
 
The reasons are many, but the biggest is that I love the outdoors. That's where I belong, even though I connect with modern gadgets and gear. The smaller reasons are myriad: to get away from people (or rather, some people, not all - the folks in this forum for example are those I have no desire to get away from :) ), to have some peace and quiet, to play with new gear, to get a chance to put all the skills to use, and so forth.
 
I've always loved it. Been outdoors since I was a little kid. Enjoy all seasons and most places.

I like using and getting new gear, but the best part is being outdoors whether it is work (field biologist) or time off.

Mountains:

before:
IMGP0350.jpg


a few minutes later:

IMGP0351.jpg



IMGP0426.jpg



3 year old daughter skiing:D

IMGP0361.jpg


Work:

IMG_5271.jpg


Sverre
 
i just love being outside, like someone above said, i do it to avoid being inside.

inside can be nice, especially on a cold winter day or when i just want to relax in a cushy sofa and zone out on a movie or just spend the day in front of the computer...

but i love being outside, walking, biking, swimming, chatting with friends. even in an open air mall i feel better than inside somewhere, and i feel ten times better in the woods or a nice big green field.

luckily with my friends the outdoors is also a great excuse to get together and hang out, and vise-versa.

gear is a good reason to get out too, its always nice to take a new knife out back and cut sticks for a while, or to set up a tarp and just relax under it for a while.
 
RescueRiley said:
sounds wacky but being outdoors for me is what I imagine church to be like for other folks..It seems to me like the answer to a question I've always had but could never put into words.... and the sharp things are cool as well.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup:

AND... One has to realize that living with the earth instead of taking from the earth is really the only way humans can achive any kind of harmony.
The "modern" lifestyle has to come to an end. Planning our futures around Non-renewable energy sources is like paddling down a river with a 400 foot waterfall cliff just around the bend. We know its there but we pretend its not. Sad really. Our salvation is in the forest.
 
Grateful fred... Cool beans brother..Well said...Better to live with the cycles...cause as much as we'd like to believe otherwise, we can't live without them...
 
RescueRiley said:
sounds wacky but being outdoors for me is what I imagine church to be like for other folks..It seems to me like the answer to a question I've always had but could never put into words.... and the sharp things are cool as well.
Click to expand...

That's not wacky at all. I find time outdoors to be meditative. There are no extraneous distractions, you are alone with your thoughts, and even simple tasks (getting water, cooking, etc.) require more effort and concentration. This extra effort and attentiveness is mentally refreshing.
 
For me, backpacking, camping, and generally being outdoors is an incredibly calming and relaxing experience. I enjoy being able to rely on my own skills and knowledge when in the wilderness. I immensely enjoy being able to get away from everything (job, phone, school, etc) not to mention how gratifying it is to be able to do it all yourself. I would say that enjoyment of "gadgets" (i.e. knives, tools, the latest and greatest hammock, etc) is secondary for me.

It has been fun reading what others have said on this thread - we all share the love of the outdoors, just not necessarily for the same reasons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top