nature-filled weekend trips are my only vacations that actually recharge me. pine smell hits. shoulders drop. i stop scrolling. hi, it’s me. the friend who keeps disappearing into trees because rent is evil and my soul is broke.
the time a nature-filled weekend trip saved me from meeting my phone
last july sucked hard. work crushed me. anxiety did flips. i slept maybe three hours a night. thursday J threw a backpack at my face. “we’re leaving.” two hours later we hit a dirt road outside estes park. 2 a.m. tent wrestling with dying flashlights. peak us.
next morning i murdered eggs. pure charcoal. no service. rain attacked. i laughed till i cried for the first time in months. 10/10 would eat ash again.
current obsessions (ranked by tears shed)
great smoky mountains – october only leaves too pretty. got mad. sunrise hike to laurel falls. ugly cried. waterfall makeout session. zero regrets.
olympic national park – hoh rainforest moss everywhere. touched it all. now part plant. cedar cabin smelled like secrets. giant banana slug. screamed. traumatized kids.
big sur – dramatic edition phoebe bridgers on blast. top down. almost died 47 times. purple sand broke me. ocean waterfall still haunts my dreams.
upper peninsula michigan september ghost town. pictured rocks shut me up. gas-station pasty = life changing. skipped rocks till arm died. northern lights felt apocalyptic (good way).
hard-won lessons
- two nights = gold
- baby wipes or accept foot smell
- bear spray > therapy
- no chairs? ground goblin mode activated
- paper map. cell service lies
next escape targets dolly sods (one photo ended me) or glacier before it ghosts us completely.
bottom line: feel like a dead leaf? book a nature-filled weekend trip. group chat survives. your brain might not.
drop your favorite “woods made me less insane” spot below. i need options.
currently refreshing hipcamp like a raccoon on crack. send trail mix.
