Conquering Fears, One Reluctant Camping Trip At A Time

The Very Scientific Study of Fear (AKA My Life)

Welcome to my groundbreaking research project - My Camping Fear: From “Absolutely Not” to “Fine, I Guess”.

There are no control groups and the data is mostly me whining.

I had a thought the other day. A revelation so brilliant, so life altering, that I even surprised myself..

We all have fears. Some small, some big, and some so terrifying, you’d only admit them under oath (looking at you, ‘public speaking’… or, frankly, just ‘public’). But here’s my groundbreaking revelation: if you conquer them in sequence, it’s easier.

I’ll pause while you recover from the genius of that insight.

Camping: The Fear I Never Asked For

Predictably, this epiphany arrived while I was camping and/or hiking. Not because I’m marketing an outdoorsy persona, but because that’s literally my life. (That and my day job, but nobody wants to read about my inbox trauma.)

Now, for the first five decades plus change of my existence, I had no interest in camping. Why? Because… why? Who in their right mind chooses to sleep on the cold, uneven ground? Exactly.

Baby Steps Into the Wild

If you’ve been following along, you know the saga. If not, don’t worry, you’ll either catch up or remain blissfully ignorant. Either way, I’m moving along.

The plan was to start with a wild camp. You know—haul a pack up a mountain, collapse dramatically at the top, and then sleep there. Outdoors. Like a raccoon.

My MVHP (Most Valuable Hiking Pal) Sage and I were going to do it together… with a group, of course. We’re not complete morons (mostly).

Naturally, we invested in ultralight gear—perfect for climbing uphill, but apparently terrible for actually staying comfortable at a base camp.

Camping in the Rain? Absolutely Not (Yet)

Here’s where the universe stepped in. That first wild camp? Cancelled. Rain.

Did I cry? No. Did I cheer quietly into my waterproof jacket? Absolutely.

Instead, I’ve now done three base camps. Do I love them? Absolutely not. But I’m… adjusting. Ish.

So yes, this soft launch into the world of camping was clearly the only rational way forward.

Wild camping?

Never.

Beginner’s Guide to Hating Camping (Slightly) Less

But the other day I found myself (over)thinking—again—about actually doing a wild camp.

And then I realised, my camping shifted from ‘Oh, I would NEVER’ to ‘Fine, but I’m not happy about it.’ By this very scientific progression, my new ‘never’ is wild camping—which, if the data holds, you can expect a follow-up sometime in the future: ‘How I Learned to Cry Quietly in a Tent So As Not To Be Judged.’”