Our Family Camping Adventure: Do Families Get Closer Through Outdoor Experiences?

Summer has always traditionally been a time when people come together to get outside and go camping. America has been the leader in establishing the “great idea’ of National Parks, as Ken Burns showcased so well in his documentary last year, and in having generations of families head out on the road to camp every summer.

For decades families have slowed things down, rummaged through their basements to make sure they have the right tent poles and stakes, and hit the road together for a camping trip. Now, the reality is that camping is not as rough as it used to be, as many families watch DVDs on their way to the campground, and RV camping has picked up in the past few years. But no matter which way you get there, camping is not just about being outside in nature — it is really about being connected together.

I highlight this theme because, through my experiences observing military families outside as well as other youth and family programs, I have seen the outdoors become the facilitator in getting families to talk to each other, enjoy each other and build shared memories. As Rich Louv says so well in Last Child in the Woods:

If getting our kids out into nature is a search for perfection, or is one more chore, then the belief in perfection and the chore defeats the joy. It’s a good thing to learn more about nature in order to share this knowledge with children; it’s even better if the adult and child learn about nature together. And it’s a lot more fun.

As a child growing up in Seattle, I was lucky enough to have parents who constantly took me camping during the summer. Many of the reasons were economic as my father was in graduate school and my mom was working to support the family. One of our easiest escapes was jumping in the VW van and finding our little piece of heaven in nature. Trips to Mt. Rainier or Olympic National Park, and driving through the North Cascades, are some of my first and favorite memories, and one or both of my parents’ smiling faces always accompanies them.

It is interesting that I put the two (nature and my parents) together in my memories. These experiences have led us to try to incorporate camping into the life of our daughter Amelie at an early age. As with so many families, it has been hard to get us focused and motivated to do it, but as I hope to show that it is well worth it, as it has brought us closer together.

Our summer has been a bit of a struggle as we have had a lot of stress in our lives, like so may others in this economic climate. The combination of my wife Mandy working to solidify her position at a major Seattle hospital and me taking on an a new challenge at the Sierra Club as Mission Outdoors Director, not to mention Amelie transitioning from a co-nanny situation to daycare, has at times left us all a bit tired and overwhelmed. We have been busy all summer and it has made it tough for us to find the time to get out. But last weekend we decided to go for a big adventure to Hart’s Pass in North Cascades National Park. Mandy and I have been going up to Hart’s Pass since we lived near Seattle in the late 90s. To get to Hart’s Pass you have to drive three hours from Seattle and then go up tough dirt road to the highest point in Washington by car, at 6500 ft. As a new parent you sometimes have to play out the worst-case scenarios before you embark on an adventure, and we found ourselves doing that before we left: “It is such a long drive.” “Will she sleep okay?” Will it be to hot during the day?” “Will it be too cold out at night?” I am sure these are questions all new parents ask themselves, as it so easy to stay at home in a ‘safe’ environment. After assuring ourselves we could do it, we packed up our stuff, our pooch Mocha, and Amelie, and we were off on our big Hart’s Pass adventure!

The drive was great, as we saw spectacular scenery along the North Cascades Highway, including snowy granite peaks. Amelie was a trooper — her crying was pretty limited but she was still a bit restless. Most of our conversation was centered around work and other practical worries. As we pulled into our favorite campsite, River Bend, right along the Methow River, the sun was just starting to go down. As soon as Amelie was out of the car, she smiled and ran towards the water and stared at it for over an hour. It was amazing to us that after being cooped up for more than an hour she would find the sounds and the sights of the running water so soothing. Amelie could not get enough of our tent. She was in it the minute it was up and was rolling inside, staring at the stars that were starting to show through. Since getting to the campground, her smile seemed permanently fixed on her face. As she fell asleep we could hear her breathe, and both Mandy and I realized that in our normal hustle-bustle of life we don’t ever see how beautiful Amelie is when she falls asleep. A certain almost Zen-like calm came over both of us as we slept looking up at the stars together.

“Da Da” I don’t know if there is a better way to wake up other then to have your child smiling at you and saying your name. This was my camping “wake up” call and it was glorious. We spent the next day packing up Amelie and doing a ridge hike along Windy Pass in the North Cascades. Amelie was on my back and I could hear her chatter as we hiked along and saw the views and listened to the sounds of nature. Amelie is still exploring her vocabulary but she was so active on the hike, making sounds and continually pointing all around her. You could feel the energy inside her, and both Mandy and I had extra springs in our steps. We took in a bunch of light outdoor activities on our trip, from the hike to playing in the water and going to see viewpoints, and all of it was a great window to the outdoors, but what we really felt was closer together.

We drove home and Amelie was as content as could be, as she was still making noises and laughing. Mandy and my conversation was now about all of our past adventures and the new ones we wanted to take, and you could feel the positive energy in all of us. As we got back that night, I sat outside with Amelie on my lap and we looked up at that sky  — one of her new pleasures is pointing at airplanes. I looked into her eyes and I knew we had a shared memory we had just created through being in nature.

Marshall Ganz, a social theorist at Harvard, says:

Children almost have a biological destiny to be hopeful.

My reason in outlining this to all of you is that it is harder for all of us as families and individuals to get out. We work harder then ever and are plugged in more then we all care to admit, but we need to find those times when we do take off for the outdoors. The power of camping not only gives us pleasure, it gives us time together, and time is our most precious resource. If you can find the time to pack up the old tent and head out with your family one more time before Fall, I strongly advise it, as it can bond your family closer together. Sometimes only nature can give us perspective and build shared memories.