With all the pandemic scares and insanity in the media, I’m dying to run away to the woods. The weather is warming. The sun is coming back to the Northern Hemisphere. And that gets me dreaming about summer camping trips.

Getaways are common in modern society.

People work so much we don’t often have time to stop and take everything in.

Thankfully there is a remedy (even if you’re not rich).

Camping trips are an affordable travel option for everyone. The stereotypical white-bread middle-American vacation to Cabo, Cancun, Jamaica, or whatever people are flying off to these days doesn’t just require a lot of cash and planning, but is also lacking something that down-to-earth camping trips provide (plus it could get you infected and quarantined)

Here are the top 10 reasons why camping trips are way cooler than resort plans:

10.Camping Trips Don’t Suck Your Wallet Dry

Sure flying off to party in a third world country sounds great, but not only can the water make you sick, so can the fees and charges involved in traveling. Hotel rooms, airline tickets, food and entertainment adds up. Spending thousands of dollars to stay at a resort in a country where people are often struggling to make ends meet sounds like the epitome of elitism. Some would argue that tourism is what helps the people in those areas thrive, but you can support small businesses without leaving behind such a devastating footprint.

The Greater Good Network is a nice place to start: https://greatergood.com/

9.You can get away without crapping on the earth

Speaking of footprints, camping is all about protecting and preserving the earth. Instead of supporting big corporations and airlines that contribute to our global pollution score, we can give some points to self-sustaining areas, many of which are closer to home than we think.

8.Thousands of Options taunt the adventurous

Every State in the U.S. has multiple state parks. There are over 2,300 of them just waiting to be explored. Many offer camping, fishing, swimming, hiking, cave exploration, archery, and other activities that keep people coming back.

If you want to go bigger, there are 60 national parks and 154 national forests. All of these areas were preserved to protect nature and give people a taste of the wild.

https://www.stateparks.com/usa.html

https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/how-many-national-parks-are-there

https://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/map/state_list.shtml

7.No Experts Required

Weather a rugged wild woman or a nerdy indoor man, anyone can camp how they choose. Some people rough it with tents and sleeping bags, others get an RV. Camping can be a fun recreational reprieve from the pressures of city life, or a serious endeavor to uncover hidden secrets that humanity has forgotten. No matter the approach, anyone can camp.

6.Cut the Gut

Heart disease has been the #1 killer in America for years. It is often caused and/or worsened by: obesity, poor diet, physical inactivity, diabetes, and alcoholism. Camping is a great way to combat this. It helps people lose weight with activities like hiking, swimming, fishing, hunting, cave exploring, and more. Just putting up a tent, maintaining an RV, or lugging firewood to a cabin gets people moving.

https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_heart_disease.htm

5.Nature Doesn’t Discriminate

Animals don’t care what you look like or where you’re from; they’ll attack you if you’re an asshole, plain and simple. As long as you don’t disrespect them and their territory they’re usually cool. Trees give everyone shade. It doesn’t matter what education level someone has or how shiny their car is, the water still flows.

4.You might learn something (if you want to)

Many state and national parks have their own history. Visitor’s Centers proudly display facts about how the parks were formed on their walls and in pamphlets. Park Rangers and volunteers are often eager to talk about it with any camper who asks.

https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/get-started-at-the-visitor-center.htm

3.Time Travel becomes possible

In the wild, clocks become unnecessary. When camping, all that matters is the sun and the moon. It’s easy to forget to stare at clocks and let time flow as it wants. It speeds and slows based on what you do. This helps lessen the pressures of modern life and might just reduce high-blood pressure levels.

https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/90720.html

2.Human. Make. Fire. Again.

There is something about building a fire with your own two hands. It teaches persistence, skill, and patience. It also reminds us to appreciate modern conveniences that people lived without for thousands of years like a/c, heating, lighting, X-Box games… spywear that talks to you. Watching the flames eat wood and smoke curl off into the cosmos is a form of meditation. It offers peace and serenity.

1.You’ll be more likely to survive covid-19, the zombie apocalypse, or a mass solar flare/EMP.

People who know how to rough it are less likely to be destroyed by illness, eaten by brain crazy monsters, or lose their sanity over not having indoor plumbing. They are also better equipped to see through gimmicks, politicians, and ridiculous ad campaigns. Campers are more self-reliant, a quality that can save lives and help others during times of crisis. If caught in a natural disaster, campers are more equipped to think on their feet. They do not fear the unknown because they face it on every path.

There’s nothing like getting in touch with your wild side.