Camping
Like sailing, I've been camping all my life. Beginning at about the age 10 and up. Most of the time it was with the Boy Scouts, (31 yrs). There were times I went with my neighbor's family, or stayed in a cabin in the woods with my parents and siblings. Later in life we would all go with our children as well.
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Then for ten years I lived on a campground. It was Kittatinny Mountain Scout Reservation. I was the Camp Ranger and literally lived on the property. Known to its campers as KMSR, it was a wonderful place to be able to live and raise my children.
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Years later I became incharge of an overnight campout for a local Messianic Synagogue in celebration of the day of Sukkoth. When the Israelites dwelled in the temporary tent like structures, a sukka, or sukkoth for plural. We did this for about four years.
Backpacking
An aspect of camping is backpacking. This is when you carry everything you need into the woods. There is no parking lot where you can easily return to get more supplies. You must be able to carry it all. this includes your tent, sleeping back, mattress, flashlight and batteries, food, stove, change of clothes, knife, compass, axe and so on. It's a lot. It is a great way to learn the concept of want versus need. You then have to guage the weight of each item. Even a toothbrush become heavy when you have to carry it for miles. I highly recommend for people to try this at least once to understand the idea of want versus need. It also teaches techniques of survival, planning, self-sufficiency and more life lessons.
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It does draw you closer to God as one is alone in His Creation with no distractions. The haze of civilizatoin is removed and that connection with the Divine can be better achieved in a one on one setting.
