The More Things Change…
I frequently reflect on the enjoyment I got out of camping as a young woman in New Mexico. I always felt like I belonged there, and would much rather be out in the wilderness with the animals (I never had a bad experience) than close to a city with all the lunatics (they always made me way more nervous). Nowadays, however, the city has come to the wilderness, at least in terms of the numbers of people who traverse the ways that were not well known only 30 years ago.
There were, and still are, many rules we lived by when we camped. Important rules, like Pack it in, Pack it out. Leave a place cleaner than you found it. Do a good turn. But mostly we did what the rules taught us because we loved being in the beautiful outdoors - not the trashed-out, downtrodden outdoors. We had the privilege of drinking safely from pure springs and hiking up dirt roads to pitch our tents in meadows unmarred by anything except large cowpies and the occasional deerfly swarm (ouch!). How sad that it’s not like that anymore!
It’s really different out there now. The rules still are the right ones, but not everyone who breezes through has the same love of the outdoors, or understanding of the repercussions of their actions. When they drive up to a campsite and stay only yards from their car, it’s difficult for them to understand why they should bother to clean up every bit of trash. Or why it’s not OK to gather every twig they can reach, attached to a living tree or not.
It’s a challenge to slow down these days. We are all so used to being on fast forward, for work and entertainment. Kids are constantly fed a barrage of sounds and images, setting their expectations that that’s how it should be. It’s just not like that in the great outdoors. Parents have to slow down and give kids the time the need to slow down enough to stare at a 6″ square of forest floor and get really engrossed in it. Without a pair of earphones on.
I truly do believe that when children and adults get away from the modern conveniences and amusements, they’ll discover the joys their ancestors did - watching clouds, stargazing, campfire songs, cooking outdoors. The sky is prettier, the songs sweeter, and the food may as well be gourmet.
There is room in the outdoors for everyone to enjoy it. Do your part to make it better than you found it, and teach your children how to love it. It just takes time.
