I joined a local outdoor clubs through Meetup.com. They that help organize trips and make them happen. This has also led to many new friendships. The main group I now help run goes on trips about once a month. I go on 80% of them. This sets my camping schedule. Also, the Hoosier Hang group is fairly active with Spring and Fall Hangs just south of you in the Brown Co and Deam Wilderness areas.
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Here are several outdoor camping groups available in the Indianapolis area.
For me, I lock in the date and do my best to stick to it. If something comes up and I can't go, then I pick a new date. I'm always watching the weather, but we all know how accurate that forecast can be. There's nothing worse then staying home because of possible bad weather, then checking the phone and find out it missed the area. I've had that happen once or twice before and quickly realized that I had a lost opportunity.
Many times, the night before I leave on a trip, I'll dread having to get up at 4 or 5 AM, then driving a couple hours north. After about an hour in the car, all is good as I'm sipping my coffee and listening to my favorite tunes. Once you hit the trail, you realize it's all worth it and just enjoy the time in the woods.
The key is getting out there for the right reasons. For me, it's to decompress, clear my mind and just simplify my life for a few days.
^^^^^All this too!Originally Posted by alifeoutdoors
I have a relative who was, a few years ago, in love with the IDEA of getting into mountaineering, but when we actually did a trip and he learned how very difficult it is living in the cold world and how exhausting it can be to travel over snow and ice he quickly abandoned it. I had to break trail all by my lonesome thru 4 miles of waist-deep snow because he was absolutely spent, and after that I was glad he gave up the hobby.
Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton
Top 10 things I do:
1. Joined meetup camping groups near me
2. Attended local hammock hangs (putting them on the calendar and planning around them)
3. Hosted hammock hangs
4. Doing the 12 nights a year challenge (now at 42 months)
5. Purchasing the necessary gear so I feel comfortable
6. Asking friends on Facebook who want to go camping with me
7. Trained my cat to go out with me camping
8. Made a reservation at a campground
9. Set a goal to visit all my state parks
10. Figure out what is really holding me back and addressing it
Last edited by Karla "with a k"; 06-20-2019 at 07:46.
◘ May 17-19: BACONFEST @ Interstate WI SP ◘ Oct 3-6: miCHILIgan @ Middleville, MI ◘ YouTube: karlawithak216 ◘ Instagram: i.am.karla.with.a.k ◘ 99 months
That's actually something I look forward to now. Coffee and music, driving in the dark with no traffic...a great getaway on its own. Waking up that early can be hard, but so much easier when it's for something fun. Luckily I'm so pumped up to go the night before, my body sets a mental alarm and sometimes wakes me up before the alarm on my phone.
Yea I got really sick of the super early mornings to get up north to the woods........so I just moved to where the trails are lol ;P Sorry I'm just being a jacka$$, it was the plan all along anyway.
Once you're lost in twilight's blue, you don't find your way, the way finds you.
My wife and I bought a trailer for each other on our 25th anniversary. That was how we camped together for many years. We took that little trailer all over and had wonderful trips. Some were just to the local State Park to watch the squirrels play. My wife has some physical challenges that keep her from hiking she is also not fond of the water.
I'm an avid kayaker and spent my youth hiking and camping including working as the Assistant Field Sports Director of a Boyscout Camp. A few years ago I found a hammock in the clearance bin at Walmart. That first night in the backyard was the most comfortable night I've ever had outdoors and got me motivated to return to primitive camping. Combining kayaking and camping was a natural fit for me. Although these trips take a fair amount of planning, I have a friend who is a teacher so the summer is easy for her to get away. I do most of the planning and we go out a lot. I also belong to several meetup groups that have kayak and canoe camping trips. Since others are usually depending on me it is not easy for me to just back out of a trip. I also believe my word is my bond so if I sign up for something someone else is leading I will do my best to attend or give notice if something comes up. As a result, I go out with my boats and hammocks quite a bit. Even when my wife and I take the trailer, there's a boat on the roof of the truck and a hammock in the campsite.
I don't have a problem getting out, just getting out enough.
"God never sends us anything we can't handle. Sometimes I wish He didn't trust me so much." - Mother Teresa.
Karla's top three are what get me in the woods. Most times, the group hangs are car camping so schlepping the gear is no big deal. I get to socialize and sleep better knowing there are other humans around if something goes astray. And the food is usually fantastic!
Love this list.... Particularly #7 Trail Cat sounds so much cooler than trail dog.
Exactly what I was thinking when I read the original post. If you have to "push yourself", why bother. Find what "pulls you".
When I get past Hinkley, traveling North on Interstate 35, tension starts releasing from my body like a balloon with a slow leak. By the time I top the hill looking down on Duluth, the ballon is deflated and any residual anxiety from home is gone. As the air off Lake Superior fills my lungs, it brings with it that feeling that "PULLS ME" to go hiking, paddling, biking, camping.
When life is too full to get out of town, I find a nearby lake to paddle, trail to hike, trail to bike or any two trees to hang a hammock. I do this because it reminds me of what it tastes like to be some place more wild.
Questioning authority, Rocking the boat & Stirring the pot - Since 1965
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