The Great Outdoors!!!

We’ve come to the third installment of vacationing 2022 — hiking and camping ! This type of vacation is extremely popular—and gaining even more followers during this high inflation period! Nobody can deny that this wonderful Earth has many incredible natural locations for you to explore—from right in your backyard to thousands of miles from your home. 

This is also an activity that could be PART of a larger vacation—making your overall trip more interesting to different family members, and potentially giving you a break from the primary activity of the trip. Hiking can range from a half-hour paved road to a two-week Grand Canyon adventure—it’s entirely up to you to determine how difficult you want the terrain to be, and how long you want to be gone. 

No doubt about it, this is a huge category of vacations that should be on everybody’s summer travel list in some form! 

Where In The World?

Enough said. ANYWHERE in the world you wish to travel will have natural wonders and beauty for you to explore. I have not hiked outside of our beautiful country, so I can’t even begin to discuss the amazing locations you can find if you look. I’ve known people who have traveled internationally with hiking and camping on the itinerary, and I envy them the experience. My experiences, however, are strictly here in the United States. It’s a fabulous country for hiking! Oh, you want a little more specific? Okey dokey pokey~

EAST COAST WONDERS

I grew up near Stokes State Forest, and have hiked and camped there in my youth. It is just one of the wonderful state parks you will find dotted along the eastern seaboard. Obviously Niagara Falls is a natural wonder you should see, and everyone should do at least a piece of the Appalachian Trail in their lifetime. Don’t miss the beautiful Everglades in Florida, either—they are something to see.

WEST COAST SITES

I’ve lived in the West for almost 30 years, and we’ve seen some amazing sites. I’ll just say, plainly, Utah! From a one-hour hike to a week-long camping trip, there is everything from peaks to valleys in that beautiful state. One of my favorite hikes ever is in Bryce Canyon in UT—not to be missed! California has virtually every ecosystem you could want from the otherworldly Sequoias to the tram up to the top of Palm Springs, with everything in between. Finally, can I just say Grand Canyon. That is a natural wonder everyone should experience in their lifetime.

HAWAIIAN BEAUTY

From the famous hike to Diamondhead to the forestry of Waimea Falls, Oahu has so much on its small island. The Haleakala mountain in Maui is perfect for sunrise or sunset, too. I have so much more Hawaii to explore, but can’t wait to see the beauty and majesty of Kuai’s forests and beaches. You can’t go wrong with a walk through any part of Hawaii.

ALASKA’S MAJESTY

My Alaska experience is strictly daytrips off of a cruise ship, but even that blew me away. The last frontier, I strongly recommend a visit to Alaska even if just from a cruise ship. Our hike in Ketchikan stands out as one of my favorite ever—happily without running into any bears!

Patti, you actually hike?

Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know what you’re thinking. “Seriously, Patti…YOU hike!?!?” Well, yes I do…in my own way. I can not speak to serious off-trail hiking, backpacking through anywhere or RVing. At my stage of life, given that my two favorite hiking buddies are Sweet Husband and Luna Dog and both of them are also middle-aged, my serious hiking days are behind me. 

I love nature, though, and enjoy few things more than hiking through the local Red Rock Canyons, or cutting through the forest to the nearest waterfall or beach. While Sweet Husband still likes to tent camp and do some fishing, you’ll absolutely find me at the nearest lodge or B&B! Patti don’t sleep on the ground.

Recommendations from my hiking experience

My biggest recommendation is to start today, right now, with something short and easy. Within an hour of my house is a mountain and a canyon, both with hikes ranging from scenic lookouts to several miles each.

Get out there and see what’s right in your own backyard. We obviously have some favorite spots that we return to repeatedly when we need an hour or two of nature and peace and silence. There’s one spot we particularly like that you’ve never heard of called Calico Basin, which runs right into the famous Red Rock Canyon here in Las Vegas. After a particularly rough week at school, or an early Saturday morning spot before breakfast, there is nothing like turning left or right at the split of this hike for fantastic views of both the red rocks and the local rock climbers. Literally, get out there and look around—we found Calico Basin by taking the wrong turn one day. 

Another strong recommendation is to be ready to hike. Hiking within 30 miles of the famous Las Vegas Strip, we see tourists at Red Rock all the time in the wrong clothes and, especially, shoes.

Hiking needs to be an intentional activity—this isn’t a quick walk on the level beach where you can hike up your maxi dress and remove your stilettos. I’m not saying I have high end hiking shoes, a hydro backpack or expensive cargo shorts, but I’m dressed appropriately with the necessary items for comfort and safety. Taking a weekender or longer as a hiking trip—say the Grand Canyon—it is extremely important that you have enough of the right gear, as well. One pair of shoes probably won’t cut it, and you’d better make sure you have raingear because, well, you just never know. 

Benefits Of This Type Of Vacation

Sweet Husband goes on camping and fishing trips that include a lot of hiking regularly. He will be the first to tell you there is nothing like getting out in nature without the noise or lights or people. It’s absolutely true. I don’t think there is a better place to think and be in your own headspace than the wilderness in the evening. You get a good roaring fire going, and my people can sit there all night long in the quiet, enjoying the surroundings. 

Another benefit of this type of trip is the minimal costs involved. Obviously, outfitting yourself with anything and everything you need is going to produce some upfront costs. Based on how Sweet Husband does it, you do need a considerable amount of gear and supplies for a multi-night hiking vacation.

However, those are all sunk costs at this point:

He doesn’t need another tent or stove or sleeping bag. What he does buy for every trip includes, obviously, the food and bait for fishing, as well as updating anything that needs attention like fishing poles, propane tanks, etc. Budgeted against most other types of vacations, however, we are still considerably lower in overall cost.

Further keeping the costs down, hiking and camping vacations generally speaking are “driving distance” vacations. For the most part, you won’t fly to a location and then camp or hike off of the plane. Because of this fact, you will have considerably lower travel costs to get to your destination. For example, Sweet Husband’s favorite camping spot of all time is Bishop Creek, CA, which is a five-hour drive from here. 

Another benefit of this vacation is how easy it is to add people at the last minute. For our theme park vacation, for example, it would be virtually impossible to add someone at the last minute, between flights and hotel space and rental cars. That isn’t the case with hiking and camping vacations. Most campsites are not only extremely inexpensive, but quite versatile in the number of guests—and vehicles—are allowed at a spot. A local friend could join you, for example, just for one night simply by driving up and bringing their own tent. 

Safety Factors Specific to a Hiking Trip

Finishing up this series with camping, I realize I didn’t address safety and security in any of the other travel suggestions. That’s probably my mistake—since we always need to be conscious of our surroundings and make smart choices when traveling. It just seems to me camping and hiking vacations carry with them significantly more potential for problems, because you are probably going on a solitary trip. For example, despite going camping with our sons, Sweet Husband ventures out early in the morning into the wilderness to fish in the creek—I always worry about something happening to him far from the boys with no cell phone service. 

Because of my irrational fears and concerns, I’ve added this section just to the blog on camping and hiking, so here are a few things specific to this type of vacation for you to keep in mind and plan for:

Who knows? Literally. Who knows where you are? Even if you are starting in a well-used, popular trail, you could get turned around or caught unawares, so you will be thankful someone knows you are out there!

Can you handle it? We have passed people who had no Earthly business on certain trails. Make sure you are hiking at your particular comfort level. This isn’t the time to impress anybody with your fitness! Be comfortable so you can enjoy the view.

What’s the weather going to be like? You don’t want to end up in a flashflood or a freak snowstorm unprepared and out in the wilderness. Consider the sun, too, before you set out in the morning.

Did you spray? Against bugs, that is! Yes, you need your sunscreen, but you also need to be aware of any dangerous or annoying bugs that live in those particular woods, and protect yourself accordingly.

Yes, that trail is for you! Local, state and national parks have amazing trail systems in this country. Use them! This isn’t the time for you to blaze a new trail to that waterfall—follow the path that is expected, so you don’t get lost, or damage the local ecology.

Use the Visitor’s Center! If you are lucky enough to hike where there is an open center for questions, definitely use that resource. They are the specialists, and sometimes the professional hikers! When the kids were small, we would ask for a recommendation of a hike they could handle, and it helped us every time we went somewhere new. You can also use the bathroom…pro tip.

What if you get lost? Your pack needs to be planned carefully each day, just in case things get temporarily out of your control. While you try to get your bearings, you will need to have additional water, snacks, and an additional layer against the weather. I know you’ll be fine, but just in case…

Give it a try!

So, please, get out there! Start local and start small, but START! Sometimes I hem and haw and complain, but I have always been happy once Sweet Husband gets me out in the nature enjoying the beauty that surrounds us.

Let me know where you are heading on your next hike. I’ll be at Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, just an hour outside of Vegas, and a whole other world. See you there?

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR!!!

Thank you for reading all about going and hiking and camping for vacation!!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out some other tips, like how to travel to a city, here, or how to get to Disney this summer, here! Or, check out our other topics here! Either way, I appreciate you!

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