COLUMN: Camping should take place indoors
“Bugs are biting us all over. The grass is making us itch, too. And we’re falling on the rocks, getting laughed at by our pops ’cause camping is something they like to do.”
These were the words ringing from the young adolescent mouths belonging to my cousin Michelle and me to the catchy tune “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” (give it a try, it flows nicely) from the some what gloomy musical “Carousel” we had just watched back in civilization. Yes, we sang these words with vigor as we lagged behind our fathers in our outdoor family adventures.
Now before I continue, allow me to admit that I realize I am treading on shaky ground being willing to share my opinion on the outdoors, seeing as this is a proclaimed agricultural and outdoorsy institution.
I realize that by letting my voice be heard I may never be asked out by a rugged Aggie male and instead he will ask out all those girls who claim to enjoy getting dirty and risking their lives on the side of a mountain on a regular basis more than an occasional dinner and a movie. (Uh huh … right.) I dare say I am prepared for the consequences.
OK calm down. Before you strap on your best hiking boots and 217-pound backpack that hooks in 14 different places and march over to my apartment in disgust, let me explain. I love the outdoors, I really do. There are just certain outdoor experiences that should, well how can I say this, take place indoors. There you go.
Growing up in Idaho I have always been surrounded by outdoor enthusiasts and attempting to better understand my environment, have often tried to comprehend the lure of one specific activity: Outdoor camping. What other kind of camping is there you ask? Indoor camping: Aka cabins.
It may be seen as wimpy or prissy but reasons relating to either are not my motives for my beliefs. I will now show you how nothing of importance in relation to the outdoor experience is missed out on by camping in a cabin with beds and other luxuries such as running water.
When my outdoorsy friends and I get in a heated discussion about camping, I always find we enjoy the great outdoors for many of the same reasons: The fresh air, beautiful scenery, rejuvenation of the soul and so forth. Rarely does anyone mention the joy of pitching a tent, cool shaped bruises from sleeping on rocks, so many bug bites you could play connect-the-dots and form constellations all over your body or the satisfaction of completing the challenge of digging your own latrine, so really, why deal with it?
Living in this day and age we are fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds, the great outdoors and the comfortable indoors, and taking that for granted is simply un-American.
Picture this, it’s a beautiful day outside and you yearn to escape the busy city life of northern Utah so you drive to a wonderful wooded and mountainous area newly protected by an environmental law and have a fabulous day of outdoor fun. You tromp around the ragged earth, taking in the fresh air and a bug here and there, identify the flowers you memorized in a previous science class, take a few pictures and perhaps skinny-dip in an ice-cold natural lake if dared. By the end of the day you’re exhausted, starving and rather dirty (unless you participated in the skinny dipping that is) and you desperately need to recoup for the next day. Tell me what better way to wind down than after a hot shower, good meal and full night’s rest in your Cabin.
Convinced yet? You should be and this is only my argument concerning when the weather is nice. Don’t even get me started on the ludicrous notion of “snow camping.”
Hilary Ingoldsby is a junior majoring in Speech Communication.
Comments can be sent to
hil14@hotmail.com