I thought I would take a quick second to write about something very near and dear to my heart: going on adventures. If you know me, then you know I've got a lot of crazy stories and odds are pretty decent that you'll never hear all of them. From absolutely ludicrous camping trips to epic feats of athleticism to well executed itineraries to 11 hour drives with no plan at all; I've had my fair share of adventures that went great...and not so great. Here is some advice I've picked up along the way. I hope that it can help you turn the TV off, get up, and get after it.
 |
| Sunrise on a trip last year |
1. When it comes to planning, its optional.
When someone thinks about adventure and how cool it would be to do XYZ or go to XYZ they can sometimes get caught up in trying to plan every detail or fretting over packing each day with pre-planned activities. Now, I'm not trying to bash researching what you're doing ahead of time, its a great idea, but it's not the only way to have fun. Let's take for example two polar opposites on the plan-no-plan spectrum. One time I went on a Rim to Rim to Rim backpacking trip. This required extensive planning, permitting, training plans, budgeting (we were all broke), and research to pull off the trip. Our group was extremely well prepared with an itinerary detailing where we were going everyday, what time we were leaving, what we were eating, and fun activities along the way we would indulge in. Behold the opposite of that: Thanksgiving 2021. I went on a week long road trip to North Georgia with a car full of camping gear and bikes. I had the rough inclination from a cycling buddy that I should "check out North Georgia". I went in with no plan and 100% winged the whole trip. It was amazing! I had to figure out food on the ground, where I was sleeping every night, and I could do whatever I wanted to do everyday.
Each option has their own challenges. No planning can create the temptation for laziness and sloth instead of leisure. It is actually quite easy to not do anything and just miss out on the world around you or get trapped by indecision of what you should do. While all the planning can sometimes feel rigid and when you see something you want to do that's off track it can be really frustrating to not throw caution to the wind and doing something random.
The upside of both options is that you'll have a fun and challenging time. It's a matter of what you are willing to figure out as you go versus what you want to accomplish. As far as the bare necessities, food, sleep, and safety are sometimes overrated. You can figure those out as you go if you need to.
2. Things will go wrong. Expect it. Accept it.
When adventuring there is a certainty that you must accept: it will not go the way you think it does. You could succumb to an injury, forget something important at home, get caught in unexpected weather, or break something that really shouldn't break. Accept the challenge. Whenever I get a flat tire, can't find a place to sleep, crash my bike in Denver, or get a flash-flood warning mid hike and have to book it, I think to myself "alright, this is where the fun begins." It is God's little way of throwing you a challenge. What a gift! No one Googles "fun places to have everything go wrong and almost die + national park" This is something you can only receive and deal with. Best to keep a positive attitude about it.
3. Prioritize things when traveling
Go to church. Then adventure. Get your priorities straight when you go on an adventure.
4. Tell you mom where you are going!
Seriously, she'll be worrying anyways. On an actually serious note it is best practice to tell someone where you are parking your car, where you are sleeping, what you are generally doing etc, so if something bad happens they (important life-saving types of people) can find you.
5. It's best to live in the moment...but also preserve it.
I'm not a big fan of living through camera lenses but get a go-pro and take your iPhone camera along when you travel. It helps to look back and reminisce.
6. Have a playlist ready!
Make a memorable playlist with some fun tunes to keep you company on the road.
All this to say that I'm currently planning my adventures for Summer of 2022 so stick around for some wild stories. Cheers!
John Rausch
AMDG
Exactly, John. That's just how to do it. Thx.
ReplyDeleteVery enjoyable.