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Culture Love & Humor

20 Feelings You Can Experience While Camping

A far-from-comprehensive list

Photography by
Forest Woodward
Text by
Brendan Leonard
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This is an excerpt from the new book I coauthored with Forest Woodward, The Camping Life: Inspiration and Ideas for Endless Adventure (available at Amazon, Bookshop, REI, and your local bookstore). The original title of this piece is “A Brief List of Feelings You Can Experience Camping That You [Nearly] Can’t Get Anywhere Else,” and it started as a list I was making to remind myself to get out and spend a few nights under the stars.

finding the perfect log or rock to sit on
(Forest Woodward)

The satisfaction of finding the perfect log or rock to sit on, even if it’s not as comfortable as a chair

a waterproof tent fly
(Forest Woodward)

Gratitude for the technology of a waterproof tent fly as raindrops tap (or downpour) on it

staring into a campfire
(Forest Woodward)

Being present enough to stare into a campfire for several minutes and not get bored doing it

Being dirty
(Forest Woodward)

Being dirty, but not feeling dirty, because a shower (and society) is several miles away

solitude
(Forest Woodward)

The solitude of knowing there are no other human beings within a half-day walk of where you are

subconscious calm
(Forest Woodward)

The subconscious calm of having no cell-phone service for a couple consecutive days

escaping the buzz
(Forest Woodward)

The joy of escaping the buzz of overheard cell-phone calls, video streaming, or music booming from another person’s phone speakers

carrying your only options in your pack
(Forest Woodward)

The liberation from needing to make choices on food, drink, or reading materials, because you’re carrying your only options in your pack

staring at a lake
(Forest Woodward)

The joy of letting yourself sit next to a lake and stare at it because you have time

eating food after working up a hunger
(Forest Woodward)

The unexpected increase in joy of eating food after working up a hunger from being outside all day

everything you need in a pack
(Forest Woodward)

The satisfaction of being able to carry everything you need in a pack or the trunk of a car

lost in conversation
(Forest Woodward)

Getting lost in conversation with your friends without the distraction of cell phones

sitting around the fire
(Forest Woodward)

The smell of campfire on your clothes

hanging gear at the campsite
(Forest Woodward)

Excusing yourself from your household to-do list because you’re miles away from laundry, paying bills, repairs, and errands

going to bed early
(Forest Woodward)

Going to bed early when you’re tired, without any late-night screen time or email to keep you up

wild animals
(Forest Woodward)

The uninhibited sounds of wild animals

wind moving through the trees
(Forest Woodward)

The rustle of wind moving through the trees

The view over the top of your morning cup of coffee
(Forest Woodward)

The view over the top of your morning cup of coffee

not caring what time it is
(Forest Woodward)

The feeling of not caring what time it is, because you only have to worry about when it gets light outside and when it gets dark

Quenching your thirst
(Forest Woodward)

Quenching your thirst with water that’s cold because it was snow a few minutes earlier

The Camping Life is available through Amazon, Bookshop, and independent bookstores everywhere.

Filed to:
  • Biking
  • Books
  • Camping
  • Hiking and Backpacking
  • Photography

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