A person has more to give after getting away for a few days in the wilderness.
It feels so good to swing my Kelty Tioga external frame backpack over my shoulders and start up a trail, knowing that I have the strength to go up nearly anywhere I want to in the high country. That is when all the training to get my back and legs in shape pays off.
Going alone to the mountains is all about contrasts. I love my time alone - being up there with not a soul around, enjoying the spruce and fir woods, the sound of the stream in the valley, the view of the peaks still covered in snow at the top of the basin. And when I get home I look forward to being around people.
I have more to offer after a trip like that, because I have found my authentic self up there. That comes from solitude, from the adventure and peace of being in the mountains, alone.
I came across a good quote by John Burroughs how when you camp in the backcountry, the surrounding landscape becomes like home, and takes on a familiar air:
"Wherever one encamps in the woods, there is home, and every object and feature about the place take on a new interest and assume a near and friendly relation to one." (from "A Bed of Boughs,", John Burroughs, 1910).
Burroughs is right. I can recall nearly every tree and rock outcropping and group of flowers where my dogs and I camped last weekend, a couple of miles off trail at the head of a basin, because that was my home for a couple of days.
It was such a great spot - I was wondering if I had ever seen a more beautiful mountain basin. The flowers were just beginning to bloom and I came across some bog laurel (purple, in a mat low to the ground), and rare and elusive calypso orchids (pink, with a single ovate leave). Check out my photos of them at the link below.
I have often wondered if I will remember those moments where I witnessed unspeakable beauty when I get to the end of my time here on earth. Perhaps that might happen, since at those moments I feel nearer the Creator that at any other time.
Some of us have different ideas on what church is.
The copyright of the article Backcountry Camping in Backpacking, Hiking & Camping is owned by James E. Ratzloff. Permission to republish Backcountry Camping must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Jun 20, 2006 8:13 AM
Jodi Gallegos
:
Your articles are great. I feel the calm and peace that you experience with each trip. I also love your pics, they are beautiful. I am a few weeks from a hiking/camping trip myself. We will be having the opposite effect I'm afraid. With 2 VERY active and enthusiastic little boys we will be introducing chaos to the natural beauty of the Colorado mountains! I'm sure that once we leave, the sense of calm will be more palpable than ever before.
Jun 20, 2006 11:40 AM
James E. Ratzloff
:
It will be great to be out with your boys. They will remember it for a long time.
I took my daughters on a lot of hikes and camping trips when they were young, and those photos/memories are priceless now that they are grown.
My younger daughter is planning to go backpacking with me in a couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to it. I also am a little apprehensive, because I really want it to go well.
Jun 21, 2006 12:35 PM
Jill Florio
:
Getting out into the wilderness is my personal form of spirituality. I understand completely and have taken many multi-day solo backpacking trips into places like the Sierras and the deserts of CA, AZ and Utah.
Solo trips aside, I have found that backpacking with other people is a really great way to bond. I recently introduced my niece to backpacking and that was a real treat. Have fun with your kids, Jodi and James. :)
Jun 22, 2006 9:15 PM
Kelby Carr
:
I just loved camping with our daughter, and we're eager to go with our twins. Do you have any tips for camping with newborns (3-months old)? I worry a little about things like extreme heat or bugs... but I know I've seen some newborns in my travels while camping...
Jun 24, 2006 8:11 PM
Veronica Rowland
:
Funny you should mention that people have different meanings for Church. My 6- and 9-year-old daughters have recently become more aware of who goes to traditional church and who doesn't. Our youngest daughter recently asked why we don't go. On our way to a tent-camping trip in the Anza-Borrego Desert, we said, "NOW we're going to church." Thanks for the wonderful articles and photos.
Jun 25, 2006 12:09 PM
Jill Florio
:
I completely agree, Ron. That is exactly how I feel about nature and God.
Have you read any John Muir? I always appreciated his take on the value of wilderness.
Jul 1, 2006 6:01 PM
Kelby Carr
:
That is very cool! And what a nice way to explain it to children. I think you can hardly feel closer to the greatness of the universe than you will when you are immersed in nature!
