Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Gone camping

Commentary by JoEllen Collins


By JOELLEN COLLINS

It's another beautiful July day, and I've gone camping. I'm not actually sitting at my laptop by a stream or in one of the hundreds of campsites in the area, but I might as well be. If living well is a state of mind, then I am camping, though in my imagination if not in reality.

Summer in the Sawtooths provides the kind of daily pleasures right here at our feet that I remember experiencing as a child finally set free from the confines of school and sent to camp in the mountains. There I entered into the kind of universal experience of lucky kids everywhere: hiking, swimming, talking through the night in our simple cabins, cozy in sleeping bags, eating pancakes and lots of syrup for breakfast, sending postcards home, creating lanyards, making a new buddy who promised to be there next year, performing in the talent show, or getting scared at ghost stories by the campfire.

I don't know if camping is the same today: My bet is that there are more things offered in contemporary summer camps, such as horseback riding, kayaking, maybe even rock climbing. And my childhood camp was run by the Salvation Army, so there was a religious component that not all camps share (I was "saved" three summers in a row at the last day's altar call, although I doubt that my 8- to 10-year-old self harbored many sins).

But I also think there are more similarities than not: hearing the crickets at night; seeing stars filling the skies, unlike looking at the hazy San Fernando Valley nights I knew; the camaraderie of fellow campers; the idolization of camp counselors; the testing of new levels of maturity. Maybe today's campers are even given a break from over-scheduling, given time to lie on their backs under the sun and simply dream for a few blessed moments without having to report to anyone about it.

National Public Radio recently featured a segment on summer camping. One unfortunate woman related how her immigrant mother heard her children should experience the joys of camping, so deposited her kids on a beach for a week—to camp alone! Most of us probably did not find such peril in our summers, but instead built up cherished memories of early experiences away from home, finding a measure of independence in a supportive environment. If we could, we tried to re-create our camping pleasures for our children.

So how can I camp this summer sans tent? I did spend the first three weeks of June in the Alps, hiking near the Eiger and Jungfrau peaks. Certainly I experienced the best of summer camp there, out in the Swiss countryside, walking though farms and by cows and goats, eating snacks while gazing at wildflowers and snow-capped peaks. Certainly the Wood River Valley is not diminished by comparison. Living here also does the job for me. I awaken in the morning not to a bugle call but to the sounds of birds and the smell of trees and flowers, and, if I'm lucky, freshly mowed grass. Because it's summer in the Sawtooths, I can hike, swim in a lake or stream, and dream in meadows. I may not have cabinmates, but I can walk with my doggies or with friends, eat alfresco almost anywhere I choose, and even take time for my own version of summer reading or crafts projects, somehow more fun in the sun.

Today I hiked with my pups up Corral Creek and was astonished to find very few occupied campsites. Perhaps this locale is too close to home: I could pitch a tent there after only a 10-minute drive from my front door. Maybe it doesn't seem as exotic as do other sites further north. This particular road is one of my favorites for short or long walks; cars are rare and everything seems relatively untouched. I was pleased to see that the campsite up Corral Canyon that I had seen trashed two years ago is now restored to its former pristine state: it's no longer open to vehicle traffic and the fire pit is gone. I am thankful to the Forest Service for its care of these beautiful spots.

I did not put down a small tent or even a folding chair. I wasn't camping in any usual sense of the word. But I sang as I walked alongside the creek and experienced all the beauty one could find anywhere in the world. I'm one happy camper!




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