We’ve spent the past week and change with our daughter in Missoula (Montana) and son, daughter-in-law, and new grandson Brantley in Livingston (Montana); any time away from the routine is restorative, and it’s even better when you’re having fun every day.
As was the case during their childhood and early adult years, both of our offspring and their families are avid outdoorsmen and women, spending extensive time outdoors year round (that’s saying something given the winter that Montana has experienced this year), fly fishing, hiking, camping, river running, hunting, skiing, backpacking and more.
Given the fact they have an 11-month old in tow these days (watching the tent pitching with interest to the right), outings in Livingston have been fairly close to home this winter and early spring, though they’re gearing up to begin a new cycle of toddler-friendly car camping and establishing backcountry basecamps, including purchase of a new Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8 tent, seen above during its test pitch in the backyard this weekend.
As a family both of our children made their first multiday camping trips before their second birthday, as well as floating their first longer float trips in a drift boat on the Snake River in Wyoming. Getting kids outside takes some deeper planning, creative adjustments in their routine, and perhaps some specialized gear to keep them comfortable and safe, but it’s unquestionably worth the additional effort.
I’m a huge proponent of everybody spending time outdoors regardless of their age and would encourage you to spend a few days camping this year too; here are three simple reasons we’ve found multiday camping excursions so useful as a family.
Multiday Camping Excursions are Immersive
Day hikes and picnics are great, but there’s truly nothing like spending a few days camped in the great outdoors. So few children (and adults for that matter) spend a night outdoors these days, under a big, dark sky showing off the astounding brightness and colors of the Milky Way, hearing the night sounds, and rising with the sun as the summer songbirds greet the sunrise in full song.
Everybody should spend a few nights every season sitting around a blazing campfire and watching the mystery of fire turn forest logs into glowing coals; even better cooking a meal over fire is an experience few enjoy these days.
Lives most lead today are too routine, too insulated, too groomed, and too climate-controlled; deep immersion in the natural world awakens your senses and reconnects your physiology to more primal, natural rhythms. Getting your hands dirty, preparing and eating foods around a campfire, hiking, fishing, and throwing rocks in the creek are good for you – and just damned fun.
Multiday Camping Excursions Build Relationships
Some of the most formative relational time we ever spent with our kids was (and still is) when we were away from the routine of normal life and spending time outdoors camping, hiking, or on the rivers of the West. Even travel to and from treasured destinations, anticipating upcoming adventure or remembering great times spent on the trip, provided ample opportunities to spend undistracted time together, and sort through the occasional challenge along the way.
Multiday Camping Excursions Drive a Deeper Digital Disconnect
Without again overstating an obvious bias of mine, multiday camping/outdoor excursions are a wonderful way to digitally disconnect. We always made a point of heading out to places that were off the grid, much easier to do in Montana and Wyoming than many regions of the country, and relished time away from computers and off phones, with my ever-present pager left on the desk at home.
Conversation can truly be an art form and needs cultivation and practice; as does the ability to think deeply and with focus; the digital world we all spend so much time distracted by discourages both. Exercising those cognitive muscles makes them strong, supple, and responsive.
Get out there this summer.
