6 Great Things About Camping

By Megan Weyrauch on July 15, 2013

I love camping. Nothing beats getting together a group of friends and heading off to the woods for some fun in the great outdoors. One of the best aspects of camping is that it is a mini vacation away from reality.

As I plan to go camping this summer, I compiled a list of my favorite things about camping:

1. The change of pace. A large point to camping is to get away from your crazy, hectic pace of life and slow down and relax for a while. While I enjoy my busy lifestyle, I need some time to get away from everything and spend some time in nature. I like that I can sit around a campfire and talk to friends rather than run from internships to work to class. I appreciate the slow tempo that camping allows.

2. The vacation from technology. While many campsites provide electricity, I choose to leave my cell phone, Ipod and laptop behind. An ample amount of my time is spent staring at a computer screen, texting or silencing the world with my headphones. Camping gives me the option to leave the technology behind for a few days and to enjoy the true beauty of nature. Instead of staring at screens and living in a digital world, I can live in the “real” world for a while.

3. The smells.From the smell of a campfire to the fresh air, I love the smells that come along with camping. It is great to replace the smells of a city like Columbus with fresher, outdoor scents. Why fill my nostrils with the smell of bus fumes when I can pleasure my senses with natural odors from the woods?

 

4. The hiking. Hiking proves relaxing to me. I appreciate the quieter, more peaceful atmosphere that introduces a contrasting element from my normally loud lifestyle.  I love the crunching sounds of the leaves breaking under my feet, the chirping sounds of the various birds and other forest life, and the repetitive sounds of crickets on night hikes. Excitement stirs when I find hidden paths that lead to small, secret ponds. Hiking is adventurous and something I cannot do every day, so it is always refreshing and new.

5. The lake. Be it a lake, a pond, or a river, I like the bodies of water associated with camping. I enjoy the patience and relaxation required for fishing—even if I have yet to catch a fish—and I like swimming in these over-sized pools, unrestrained by concrete edges. The cold, refreshing water also provides a nice contrast to the blazing hot sun.  

  6. The concept of sleeping outside. What is it about sleeping outside that is so exciting? For me, it’s the simple difference that sleeping outside is not sleeping inside. I like sleeping under the real stars instead of under the stick-on glow stars that I have on my ceiling in my room in Dayton. Sleeping under the open sky proves more exciting than sleeping under a revolving ceiling fan. I have no trouble sleeping on the ground, watching the fireflies dance around lazily. I also like to sleep in a tent when it is raining, to hear the raindrops hit the tent roof; this has always reminded me of thousands of people walking together in flip-flops.

 

I hope that you, too, will get the privilege to go camping this summer.

What are your favorite things about camping?

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