What do I love about camping?

by Adam
(Portland, Oregon)

It's the air. I live in the Pacific Northwest, very near to the Cascade Range, and so, when I go camping it usually means pitching a tent somewhere on Mt. Hood.



Typically, it also means rain, which adds a new dimension to the whole experience. I.e. don’t forget to bring a couple of tarps. But the moment you step out of the car and head down the trail the air is beautiful.

The air is devoid of the hustle and bustle of city life, and that first inhalation of crisp, quiet, mountain air gathers up all of your “civilized” problems, worries, and stresses and carries them off when you exhale.

The sheer relaxation that breathing out there affords a person pales only in comparison to that chilly, mist producing breath that you take when you first crawl out of your tent and re-build the fire.

Granted, I love the old growth rain forest we have here, and the birdsongs, the rivers, and the whole outdoor experience. But the thing that keeps dragging me back to the mountain is quite surely, the air.