Personal Narrative: The Great Outdoors

Hunting and fishing are my two favorite outdoor activities. There is a certain level of competition that involves hunting and fishing. I learned to have a great deal of patience; I understand the wait is well worth the reward. Shooting that big buck or catching that trophy fish are a couple things that make me admire the outdoors and the creatures in nature. Every day is a new adventure because nature changes every day. Sitting 20 feet up in the tree or floating on the water continuously for countless hours is a couple things that make people think differently of my choice in

As Bill took his first step in the woods, he takes a deep breath soaking in the scent of oak and fresh ash. “far removed from the seats of strife”, not having a warm bed or hot meals even a full night rest. Knowing he had one abventure ahead for Bill and Kats. Both having to hike 16 miles everyday over rocks,trees, crossing ice cold rivers, and hearding the rain outside of thier tend and the roaring of the bears at night.

As we started along the trail, I worried about forgotten items and my decision to only bring one extra pair of socks. However, after a while, I became aware of a pair of birds chattering above me and the soft murmur of water trickling down a stream bed. After an hour of walking, the trail starts winding back on itself in a series of switchbacks. The chatter between my family members slows down, as we soon struggled to breathe from exhaustion. Sometimes I was hunched over so far from my load that I would stare at my rubber-toed boots and forget to look up at the majestic trees surrounding me.

There are many alluring opportunities to witness nature, such as local trails and protected woods, but even a peaceful park or a backyard pond can produce such a feeling. As for me, I enjoy hiking the Appalachian Trail, the longest national park and a 2,200 mile stretch of elegant woodlands. From the summer of 2013, my father and I have established a tradition of taking two or three days to hike twenty mile sections of the trail. Though hiking the whole trail is unrealistic, the trips are most significant to me as a chance to hike, forgetting about homework, extracurricular activities, and other stressors. Admittedly, I am always reluctant to believe that climbing up rocky mountains with a twenty-five pound backpack will is a form of relief, but somehow, it always is. We typically sleep in hammocks, which allows

My personal and professional interests align, which is why I never seem to tire of covering multifaceted environmental topics or have much patience for cubical life. If I’m not at my desk, banging out prose, I’m out and about, cooking or thinking about being outside. As a result, I’ve surfed, hiked and climbed a good chunk of America’s public lands and wilderness areas.

He talks a lot about the reason and way the trail was created. He faces many challenges on his walk such as the wildlife (bears), the weather (snow), and he even talks about giving up quite a few times. Another way that Americans are so far disconnected to nature is because we know that we can go and sleep in a nice warm bed in a heated house full of food and everything needed to live. That causes a large disconnection. Now days when a family goes camping they think heat, running water, and electricity still counts. That is not the camping I grew up with where we bring water and it’s typically cold, the food made is pre-bought and roasted over an open flame, and we do not have any electricity. This is otherwise known as “rough” camping. Being out in the woods can be a challenge if not properly prepared for the obstacles faced.

The author of A Walk in the Woods, Bryson Tiller, tell his story about hiking the Appalachian trail. He narrates his experience and what he went through with his friend Katz. He frequently takes a pause from narrating though, and goes into giving information and statistics about the Appalachian Trail, mostly about how it is not well taken care of. So, it is safe to say that a theme or purpose for him writing this book is to make people see that nature needs to be protected. Nature is important for everything and everyone, more than humans are important for nature since humans are the ones slowly destroying it. He also mentions how after hiking he felt stronger and healthier. He is almost thanking the trail for bringing him where he is now, and it comes back to the importance of taking care of nature because people can feel revitalized after spending some time in it.

To return to nature and learn while doing so, is to live purely. A pure lifestyle is my ultimate understanding of happiness. This past summer, I was able to achieve this state of bliss by attending a fifteen-day backpacking course with the Colorado Outward Bound School where I explored the Elks Mountain Range. I was gifted with the amazing opportunity to meet ten like-minded individuals who came from all over the world and experience a way of life away from our typical lifestyles. Living out of backpacks, sleeping under the stars, and cooking meals for one another at the top of mountains were just a few of our daily activities that allowed us to come to know each other, our surroundings, and ourselves. A core aspect of this program is participation

Factors such as relationships with program staff, “solos,” mastering outdoor activities, and observing the world are thought to be positive experiences that facilitated change as well (Foundations of Adventure Therapy, 2007).

Hi, I am Jacklyn. I am a big fan of nature environment, such as: forest, waterfall and beach. Therefore, I love to hiking in my free time. Hiking is a great choice for people who appreciate wilderness and those who need a short break from their busy life. In the nature environment, I will always find some rare rocks, plants and even some wildlife sometimes; it’s actually very exciting for a moment. Personally, I consider hiking is a temporary escape from reality to me.

Once we got dressed for the first night of hunting, the guide met us at the cabin and told us the plan. The first night we decided to sit in a treestand together. We chose this option because we didn’t know the land and wanted to get used to the terrain. The guide took us down the mountain on four wheeler and was going to walk us to our treestand. We had no idea what to expect. The main trail into the woods was a very steep hill that sucked to walk every time we went into the woods. The first time wasn’t too bad because I was excited and my adrenaline was pumping. We kept walking after the hill and started off to our treestand. The guide lead us there then let us hunt for the rest of the day. We sat a good two and a half hours. We didn’t see much the first day, but we knew that it would get better. We thought of the

Sophomore year had ended, and my summer had just begun. After a long wait to gain permission to go on a backpacking trip. My father gave me the approval. I took my love for the outdoors and began to explore it even more.

I took a year between graduating high school and attending college at Green Mountain College. Three friends from high school and myself took off, after the summer, to through-hike the Appalachian Trail. The trip, lasting almost six months took us from our home state of Maine down the spine of the Appalachian mountain range to Springer mountain GA, the southern terminus of the trail. The trip, for us, acted as a break from the typical learning environment of our high school experience into a much different sort of learning environment. An environment where we lived outside and in places we would have otherwise not have been, meeting people who showed us the culture of the rural Appalachian lifestyle. Living and learning in these places opened

Shoes digging deeply into moist earth, I catapulted myself to over the Mound. Cresting it revealed a gentle slope leading towards the calm Silver Lake below. The sky above was a soft periwinkle blue and as I looked further west, protracted bands of violet, pink, red and orange clouds claimed the vista. The hills slope was a dull reflection of the sky and atop the ground our cabins sat comfortably facing the setting sun. I was to first to my group’s cabin and thus got to pick the top bunk of a bed with a window facing west, towards the sunset. The whole camp was told to put their belongings in their chest and to make their way to the lake. Tossing my bag on my bed, I ran after the sun with the other kids. On the beachfront of the lake, a great collection of twigs, sticks and logs had been set up. In a radiant brilliance, the sun said its last goodbyes and night took its place. The president sang the Camps motto and sparked the famished bonfire alive, sending a burst of scarlet red flames into the night and illuminating the solder pines that encircled the beach. Roasted marshmallows and chocolate bars filled the air with scents carrying the very essence of camping.

Being adventurous is how you start to understand who you really are. Many people believe it is dangerous to travel, not worth it. But I believe, the world is dangerous. There are shootings everyday but getting out there and risking it is just living. Being adventurous shows you how others have to live, what so many people deal with every day. Or what so many people get to see every day, the beautiful yet cruel world we live in. There is a purpose for everything here, it is meant to be seen. We are not here to work everyday and then go home to rest and do it all over again, we were made to make a difference and to understand the world. Mountains were made to climb, oceans were made to be seen, and landmarks were too, “in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a