Whenever I'd tell someone in Seattle I hadn't gone camping before their first reaction was shock! Like, how are you living in Seattle and you haven't gone camping? Well, I'm from Chicago and grew up with my mother -- so, our version of fun was brunch, being nosy at open houses, and watching ballroom dancing on Channel 11. I never had the desire to sleep outside and my mom didn't have the desire to be anywhere without air conditioning, so that was that. I had a great camping-free childhood and it was fantastic.
Fast forward to July 2017 and I'd committed to making more of an effort to do outdoorsy stuff with my boyfriend and his friends... the first of which was camping! Last month I packed up my stuff (too much stuff if I'm being honest) and trekked into the great outdoors for my first camping experience. Instead of jumping in head first, we decided we'd start with 2 days and 1 night... ease into things slowly, kinda like playing "just the tip" (but not as fun). Now, to keep it 100, this was technically car camping and on my boyfriend's friend's cabin/property, so we had access to a bathroom and kitchen -- but we all slept in tents on the property and I've never slept outside before... so yeah, this was camping for me.
As an adult my first camping experience was really fun and I attribute that to a few things:
1) Having an open mind + positive attitude
2) My boyfriend acting as my Outdoorsy Sensei
3) A great group of camping friends
4) All the right gear (Again... all because of my boyfriend)
So, after successfully camping what's the next thing on my list? Backpacking! So many people give me a crazy look when I tell them I'll be going on a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip on the coast. I'm sure this is because of a few things: 1) It's probably not as normal to have someone go from zero camping experience to a major backpacking trip. This will be my first time backpacking and only my 2nd time camping. 2) It's a 7.5 mile hike to the campsite, which includes elevation gains AND the use of ropes to navigate some of the climbs. 3) A lot of people LOVE camping and HATE backpacking, thus they assume everyone else will feel the same. I'm using my inexperience to my advantage, keeping an open mind, and appreciating the lacking frame of reference for how intense a backpacking trip can be.
We have a great group going to the coast and I'm so excited to be open to life and new adventures. My boyfriend actually just sent me a photo of some of the gear he snagged me from REI as we prepare to leave! Also, a major thank you to bae's childhood friend Kelly for letting me borrow her extra backpack... who just so happens to be Instagram famous for all of her beautiful outdoor adventures! If you'd like to ooooh and awwww over some DOPE ass photography, check out her Instagram account @kellll_bell89.