My last camping entry led me to think hard about why I like camping. The immediately obvious answer is that I like to be outside. A lot. Which is to say, I like being outside a great deal of the time, and I like it a great deal. Not surprisingly, that’s a major factor in my enjoyment of camping.
Knowing this, I then tried to come up with scenarios that I would or would not like, to see if it would help me figure out what other factors are important to me. I considered a situation where I just walked along a trail and then stopped each night, wherever I happened to be, at a house with clothing, prepared food, nice beds and such waiting for me. Now, I would not rate this as a horrible experience, but I wouldn’t consider it ‘fun’. At best I might consider it to be serene and pleasant. At worst I might consider it to be boring.
What would be required to make this experience fun for me? For one thing, mode of transportation is relevant. If I were biking or canoeing or skiing in the same scenario, it would start to get hugely more fun, definitely, even if everything else stayed the same. Another thing that would make it fun, even if walking, would be if the houses were spaced a good distance apart, such that it was a bit challenging to get from one house to the next each day. That little bit of challenge would make the situation more fun.
Basically, for me, I guess it boils down to the fact that I like being outside, and I like being outside in moderately challenging circumstances, because it keeps things interesting. More specifically, I like moderately challenging situations with immediate non-judgemental feedback built in. Basically, when outdoors, I have met the challenge if I am warm, dry, happy, not hungry or thirsty and I know where I am. Mind you, in camping, there are additional things that I like, as well- like cooking over fire (gas or coal) and sleeping in a tent. These are also fun things, with a little bit of challenge involved to keep them interesting.
I think it also helps that I’m not too put off by certain elements of the
outdoors that other people find un-fun, or disconcerting. I found a great
list of these things on
this
wilderness trip website. Specifically, the company provides customers
with a pdf document that reassures them about what to expect on their
wilderness outing. Based on this document, their arrangements sound quite
pleasant and enjoyable, which I have no problem with. I’m not really into
discomfort for discomfort’s sake.
posted at 11:20 on Thu, 13 Apr, 2006 |
path: /living
All material copyrighted by Jen Schellinck. All rights reserved.