What's your reason for being outdoors?

The pure simplicity of the outdoors is why I'm drawn out there, less people, no cement, no TV, no worries.

Plus my neverending search for El Chupacabra, I figure I catch one of those little suckers alive sell it and I'm set for life!
 
chupacabra, I saw him on tv. Be careful!
I brought up bigfoot in here a couple years back, I actually believe he could exist.
I was alone on that one.:(
 
My biggest specific outdoor activity is motorcycle camping, but in general I enjoy doing almost anything outdoors; I think I simply like the natural beauty and the solitude.
 
I love getting out in the bush, it sure beats being in the city. The main activities that take me outdoors are hiking, camping, fishing (boat ond shore), Pack marching training and Army Reserve training.
 
I'm also drawn to the simplicity of the outdoors.

Canoe camping is my all time favorite, a rugged portage or five, thrown in with a bunch of paddling, a hasty camp set up just before dark, and dinner under the stars by the camp fire, maybe push the canoe out and see if a little breakfast can be caught, ah it's all good. Especially if it's repeated five or more days in a row.:)

Helle
 
Hiking, bicycling, kayaking, fishing, swimming, skiing, snowshoeing. I've always been an outdoor guy and while no 'spring chicken' either, it's still lots of fun. Anything to get away from noise, traffic, and the congestion of daily life...
 
Peace, solitude, relaxation, fresh air, exercise, and sharing the wonder of Creation (I'm very serious about that). We spend so much of our lives in artificial surroundings, breathing canned air in artificial light and forget what an incredible planet we live on. There ain't nothing better than hearing the crackle of the campfire, the wind in the trees overhead, and the call of a loon on the lake.
 
Dayhiking, backpacking, exercise, fishing, target shooting, gardening, pretty much anything to get out of doors.

My new motivation for really getting into the woods is my 6 year old son. He loves the woods, walking on the beach, getting dirty, and going on "adventures".

I never imagined being a Dad would be this fun.
 
I go for day hikes as much as possible now...I am hoping as my youngest grows I can head out and stay for longer...I guess I go outdoors to stay connected to my youth. When I was a teenager, I camped out almost every weekend, I lived in the woods. So now I go out and try to learn as much as I can about the woods that I spent so much time in. I am amazed as I read bushcraft manuals, that most of the plants and fungus that I am studying, I have already looked at when younger, but just didn't have a name for it. I enjoy going out and finding tinder fungus...I just found my largest specimen yet, last weekend. Gene
 
DaleW said:
Peace, solitude, relaxation, fresh air, exercise, and sharing the wonder of Creation (I'm very serious about that). We spend so much of our lives in artificial surroundings, breathing canned air in artificial light and forget what an incredible planet we live on. There ain't nothing better than hearing the crackle of the campfire, the wind in the trees overhead, and the call of a loon on the lake.
Click to expand...

Very well said Dale.
 
Angus, I know what you mean. While I'm getting to be a geezer, I have two sons, 8 and 10. In recent years, the outdoors has taken on a new meaning from when I was in my teens, 20's and 30's. By my 40's, my wife was getting her way with the RV (although we started with a Lance truck camper) and limiting outdoors experiences to dayhikes. She was pretty much dragged kicking and screaming into it. Now that we have kids, I have a renewed interest in all those things from my own youth and want to pass them on to my sons. So even though we now have a 30' fifth wheel for our regular travels (we are fortunate that we can travel about half the year) all we do is dayhiking. I bought a camper van recently so I and my boys can go do the man stuff that my wife is not interested in.

The point of this thread though was to discover where our advice and interests come from. As a hiker, the gear I need and think others should get is probably going to be a bit different than the gear a hunter or bushwhacker might think they or others need.

I started thinking about this in the various "which is the best...?" threads. My best knife will likely be different than Joe Hunter's or Bob Bushwhacker's best knife. I wish there was an easy way to point out our experience and outdoor interests so that others would be able to see where our thoughts were coming from.
 
Like many here, I enjoyed hunting, fishing, and playing in the outdoors from a young age. I used to take off for multi-day hikes on my own before I even hit my teens. I knew from a very young age that my career would have to be one that would allow me to work in the outdoors, not just outside, lots of people work outside, but a career that would let me work and live in the outdoors. I had thought about being a guide but don't really have the social skills for that, so decided to pursuit a career in geoscience; a professional career that would let me spend 10 months of the year living in a tent in the middle of nowhere, there's certainly nothing wrong with getting paid to travel and hike through the woods, tundra, jungle and highlands.

This past year or so has found me in a more managerial role and deskbound way too much of the time (it's at least allowed me to frequent Blade Forums), I'm like a fish out of water, it's a compromise that at least lets me come home to my wife almost every night!

For me, I guess the solitude of the wilderness is a passion that translated into a career...
 
I love to get out away from people and into some peace and quiet. There's a lot to be said for solitude and the beauty of nature. I have never camped or fished much, small game hunting is more my foray, especially squirrel hunting. I used to bird hunt a lot, but the change in farming practices and encroachment of civilization has about ended the good places to look for wild gamebirds around here. What could be better than hiking down a shallow creek, strewn with moss covered rocks, sunlight streaming down between the large shadowy treetrunks, while standing there listening to water gurgle over the little waterfall you just found?
 
I like being in the bush because I can use my knives there:).

I particularly enjoy chopping out the worst invasive species known to Vancouver Island; Scotch Broom. It's hearty and fibrous and is incredibly satisfying to chop down. Especially since it's such a killer itself, of the forest that is.

I enjoy finding new lines and opening trails that people can use from trails that animals created.

This off trail stuff requires corridor clearing, and I really enjoy putting a big knife through its paces chopping and slicing my way through the ever growing pacific northwest jungle.

What I eventually leave behind is a trail; an anonymous creation that I share the making of with other forest animals, and my blades.

Then eventually I like to shred the trails on my mtb, and build fat booters and tech skinnies for other like minded hooligans to enjoy.:D
 
Mostly just to get away from the city these days. I grew up in a more rural area, not like dirt roads and rednecks rural, but still quite a bit quieter that Indianapolis. There have been some strange twists and turns in my life that brought me here, and until I can move back to somewhere closer to home, I just try to spend as much time as I can out in the woods to get away from the traffic and smog and crowds of people.

As far as the actual activities I like to pursue, I do a lot of day hiking, a little backpacking and a little car camping. I used to do some fishing as a kid and I think I'm going to try to get back into that a little bit next summer. I'd also like to try my hand at hunting next fall. I've tried and enjoyed venison and rabbit and squirrel. I think I'd enjoy it even more if I bagged it myself.
 
Camping, Hiking, Hunting, Fishing and soon Canoeing and Archery. To keep what might appear to be the remnants of my sanity. To be with my family.
 
Mckrob, geoscience, huh? Is that a university degree or college?
If my dream doesnt work out then a career involving the outdoors is a close second, and much more likely to happen actually.
But I do feel I can't ignore a powerful urge to get out of the rat race and into the wonderful outdoors.
 
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