I am forever grateful for the people in my life who introduced the outdoors to my younger self. It is through these fishing, hiking, backpacking, camping, and so many other excursions spent in the outdoors that allowed me to develop a passion for wilderness. My experiences as a young boy in the wilderness are what pushed me to spend more time in them now. Even as an adult, there are still people who are introducing me to new ways of spending time outdoors. By surrounding myself with these people, it allows me to constantly experience new things.
When I think about all the people that introduced me to the outdoors, it always inspires me to introduce the outdoors to others. I love to share the outdoors with others because I feel like it’s a place for everyone. I don’t believe in people who “are not made for the outdoors”. It is hard to think that there is not something great for everyone to experience in them. I’m going to go over some tips and tricks on how to make exposing your beginner outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen to the places we love most as enjoyable as possible!
1. Prepare them as much as possible. Someone who is new to everything will want to know what to expect. Explain the activity and all that it entails. Go over the route that you will be taking, what kind of weather to expect, and make it clear that they can come to you with any questions. It is imperative to work towards making it fun and honor their curiosity.
2. Talk about gear. It is crucial that you give them a detailed list of the gear they need and talk about the different uses of each piece and why it is important. It can also be useful to show them your own gear set up and talk about why you carry the equipment that you do. Make it clear that if they are buying new boots, they need to start breaking them in ASAP. Better yet, offer to go on some long walks with them at a local park where there are some hills. Bonus, you can add weight into some backpacks so that you can get a workout in as preparation for the trip.
3. Check their pack. Before the day of the trip, you need to check what they are planning to bring. Not only can you bring and add any gear they are forgetting, but even more importantly, you can minimize a lot of the not-so-needed gear that they think they will need. I remember my first backpacking trip very well. It was mentally and physically agonizing. I was a chubby ten year old who was way out of shape. And to make things worse, I packed as though I was going to be out there for two weeks when in reality it was only three days. By being able to lighten your friend’s pack, you will make their trip far more enjoyable.
4. Do give them responsibilities. It can be very easy to do everything for your new outdoor buddy, and usually it’s because you want to help. However this can often lead to the outdoor rookie feeling left in the dust. Give them a job! Whether it be to be responsible for one of the meals on the trip or maybe leading the front of the hiking group. Whatever it is, help them feel prepared for the job and make sure they know there are no stupid questions and that its always okay to make a mistake. If they need help, you will be right there.
5. Slow everything down. This rule will be especially true if you are introducing an activity that involves a little more physical exertion. If you are planning a backpacking or hiking trip, you have to realize that despite how good of shape someone is in, time spent in the gym does not directly correlate to being great at hiking long distances with weight on your back. It can be shocking at times on how differently it can work different muscle groups. Also, the biggest challenge will always be the mental game. Through exposure to these rigorous activities, your capability to ignore the small pains you feel and to keep going forward with a positive attitude increases. So remember for a beginner, you will want to go slow, take plenty of breaks, and try to keep spirits high when everyone is getting a little tired.
6. Don’t allow insensible actions. It is important that you show there are no exceptions for lacking respect for nature. The best way to show this to a new outdoorsman or woman is by leading by example.
At the end of the day your goal should be to make it a fun trip with your new Open Lands Fanatic. Don’t be afraid to let them face some challenges and figure out how to deal with them. So get outside, grab a buddy, have fun, and be safe!