Women Who Travel Podcast: When Camping Goes Wrong

10.08.2023 - 13:09 / cntraveler.com

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In another special mini episode of Women Who Travel, Lale catches up with listener Jamie, who says she loves the idea of camping, but can never quite get it right. Enter, calamitous stories of thunderstorms in the Grand Canyon and a misguided weekend at a music festival.

Lale Arikoglu: I love this. I'm talking to a few different people, so I feel like I'm speed dating, but just for travel stories, so there's no pressure on my end.

Hello, welcome to a special mini-episode of Women Who Travel. I'm Lale Arikoglu. This month we're taking a break from our typical episode schedule. Instead, you'll be hearing some phone calls between our listeners and me about travels they've taken in search of something. Last week, I spoke with Sinel about a food reunion 20 years in the making. And this week, camping gone awry with a phone call from Jamie.

Jamie: I want to love camping. I want to love it so much. I feel like I need more nature in my life. I'm happier when I'm outside, and it's scenic places and hiking. I love it. I love it. I feel so good when I'm outside. But my few attempts at camping have been so awful that I can't-

LA: [laughs]

Jamie: I'm done. And, and in fact, yes- just last night, I was taking to a friend of mine who said she's gonna go canoe camping in the Boundary Waters of Canada, like, up near the border of Wisconsin.

LA: It sounds intense.

Jamie: And I was like, "Canoe camping." I'm like, "That would be amazing." And then I was like, “Oh my god, I'd be so miserable. What a-”

LA: [laughs]

Jamie: What, canoe ca- Like, just everything is in your canoe? Uh, picture that in the rain and with bears and, you know, oh my gosh, no. And with all your stuff, yeah, no, no, no, no.

LA: Before we get into the challenges of the outdoors and all the reasons that you just listed off as to why it seems like maybe, you know, you and the outdoors, you're just, you're not meshing right now. You haven't found your, you haven't found your rhythm. But you said that it makes you really happy. Why does it make you happy?

Jamie: It does. I don't know, there's just something about being outside. It d- it's like stress relieving. And I don't know, it's, you just breathe better and you're just... I don't know. I, I, I, it's hard to kinda put into words how I feel about it, but it's, as someone who lives in an urban area, there's just something about just seeing the great wide open and no people and, and trees and grass and flowers and, you know, wild animals and wild flowers. And it just, it's so appealing and it's so beautiful. And I want to emerge myself in it more than just for a day hike.

LA: So,