obsession

…probably because our society has removed us from the environment where we evolved for a large percentage of our species' evolutionary period. We've replaced real life outside with the red dust of civilization and all of its modern trappings: religion, technology, law, order, etc…When you reconnect with the outdoor you are experiencing feelings that are impossible to have any other way, getting a glimpse of the life our ancestors experienced, albeit in a very controlled comfortable way.

Nevertheless the purest experiences on my trips are gear agnostic; things like staring into the flames of a fire I started myself using a spark, watching the milky way and shooting stars, being awaken by the raw brightness of a full moon, being warmed by the rays of the rising sun after a long, cold winter night. Its easy for me to understand and appreciate how these things could be celebrated. I'm with you and long for them well pass the time when my trips are over.

New research is revealing that time spent outdoors in wilder settings is actually very beneficial for mental health. No one here will be surprised by that finding.

Yes..it borders on the mystical for this self. I remember being a little kid, and wanting to spend all my time alone in the woods from the time i was 6 or 7 to 10 (when i lived near woods, also lived in a lot of city areas growing up).

Later, when i lived right near the ocean for my middle school years, spent a lot of my time near the water, fishing, swimming, observing the waves, and generally just tuning in and communing with Her–really helped kept me sane through those rather turbulent 3 years (step father going to prison [well in some ways that was a great thing], being the oldest and helping to raise my then very young little brother and sister, being dirt poor, new school, having severe acne and then right after facial psoriasis, etc, etc oh and puberty which is always fun for everyone).

I will always be grateful to nature and to the Earth for the peace, centeredness, harmony and attunement it provides and facilitates.

If i let myself think about it (i try not to) i can get pretty hopping mad about how much we are destroying, ruining, and raping this beauty.

Joe – I can so relate to your post! Nothing makes me happier than being out in that – my gear makes me smile, the simplicity of life on the trail makes me smile, it just makes me so very, very happy.

it's why I want to try a long trail – even after the JMT I just didn't want to stop. I wanted a shower, yes, but I didn't want to stop walking and I certainly didn't want to get back to my "real life."

Being out in nature seems like THAT is real life, right? What are my worries? Food. Water. Temp regulation. Shelter. That's it…the rest is pure bliss.

Here I worry about my bills, my patients, my paperwork, my car, my house, what my boss thinks of me, what my co-workers think of me, what clothes should I wear today, etc etc. It's all fabricated, really…..there is such a purity to stripping yourself of all of that detritus and returning to life's basics.

I also couldn't agree more.

I had a very strained relationship with my father growing up, and still do. But the one thing that I always remember fondly was the canoeing trip we went on when I was 11.

When I was a kid, I biked or walked everywhere, like we all did. I never even thought about how much I liked it until I was older. I joined the ARMY at 18 and didn't buy my first car until 22. I Just used public transportation for long distances.

I was stationed in Hawaii for 4 years and always miss the ocean. I snorkeled, scuba dived, and boogie boarded all 4 years.

Now-days I don't get out nearly enough. I bike, rock climb, day hike, backpack, and kayak. When I'm at work (like I am now) or sitting at home I daydream constantly about winning the lottery so I can retire and spend my remaining days in the outdoors.

There's no one in my home town that cares about the outdoors, except for a few hunters, so I'm almost always going solo.

I regularly try to get others around here to do outdoor activities. I think it would help a lot of people with stress issues. It's been proven that exercise boosts the immune system and relieves stress. I know I'd go insane without my time in the outdoors.

I'm going for a 10 mile hike as soon as I get off work. Gear's in the car.

See, perfectly normal.

For us.

I think one of the main reasons a lot of us are happy out there, and one that is seldom explicitly mentioned, is the linearity. When you are on a trip, especially a long one, all of the complexities of modern life are removed, and at any given moment you have one or very few choice about what to do next. Follow trail or route. If not on route get back to route. If getting dark camp. If hungry eat. You almost always have a very good idea what to do next, and the decision are very simple. The goals and fulfillment of those decisions are very simple as well.

Its the actual freedom of everyday life in the modern world that can be oppressive. So many opportunities. So many decision about which ones to choose – for the next five minutes, and for next 5 decades. To have an infinite number of choices and have to chose one every few minutes, that is hell. At such a point to retreat into a more passive existence, where the the decisions are few or none, and where nothing is riding on those decision can be an immense relief.

Or to quote the crazy coffee house philosophy student in Slacker ("The Godfather" of the underachievers):: "Who has ever written the work about the immense effort in order NOT to create. Intensity without mastery. The obsessiveness of the utterly passive. And could it be that in that passivity I shall find my freedom."

:-)

I was out on a walk in the woods over the weekend and thought of this post. I agree and am in the same boat. I get excited when I see new contstruction and Tyvek being used.