Being In Your Element

For the transition from spring to summer, my husband Carl and I planned a brief stay with friends in the Sierra mountains before moving northward along the Pacific Northwest coast. However, after nearly three and a half years of full time traveling, our 5th wheel trailer had developed a number of issues that needed repair. We decided to stay parked for a while and fix up our little home. Although I'll miss having a month to explore new wilderness areas with my husband, our new plan has allowed an opportunity to do something that we had not done in a very long time.

Years before living on the road, Carl introduced me to backpacking. This style of camping allows access to the most beautiful wild areas imaginable. All you have to do is walk there... and carry everything you need for survival and comfort on your back. We used to disappear into the woods as many weekends as we could, from the first snow melt of spring to the start of California's fire season. Even while planning the move into our trailer, we intended to take the truck out for weekend backpacking trips. But after realizing that everything important to us was now housed in a vulnerable box on wheels, neither of us felt confident leaving our trailer unattended at a campground while taking off into the wilderness for 3 or 4 days at a time.

Although we find ourselves in a "season of repairs," we are making the most of this opportunity to reconnect with our love of backpacking. With our trailer safely parked at a friend's home, we decided to test our bodies with a quick overnight adventure in the Sierra mountains.

I cannot express how much I needed this trip. I was not only pushed outside of my physical comfort zone, but also spiritually reconnected with nature in a way that only happens when you are forced to surrender to the elements around you. When backpacking, there is no car to come pick you up when you are tired and do not want to continue. There is no building to retreat into for air conditioning or when the mosquitoes come out for dinner. Not even an ambulance can whisk you away to safety if you get injured. Every situation has to be dealt with in real-time as it occurs. Surrendering to the wilderness requires quick innovative thinking to solve problems with limited resources. By the very nature of the activity, backpacking changes the way you think, feel, and move through your day.

For Carl and me, this trip was the perfect medicine for our souls. We each felt at peace. We felt connected to the forest and lake, and connected to each other. Together, we were back in our element.  

Sometimes we realize that a piece of us has been hungry to re-engage in an activity that feeds our soul. Looking back over my life, there are dozens of interests and activities that I used to love, but have pushed aside because other needs were more urgent. There are too many things I have saved for someday when I have more time. Well, it's time to make time. It's time to open up my life enough to fit in more of those soul-feeding activities. It's time for you to do more of that, too.

Click the video below to see highlights from my Lake Spaulding backpacking trip.