Childhood Outdoor Experiences

Having recently read "Last Child In The Woods" I have found myself thinking extensively about my childhood outdoor experiences and how that has affected my adult life. While I now work at a summer camp, I never went as a kid. My bother and I spend our younger years catching snakes and tadpoles, building forts, and climbing trees. I am very certain that these experiences directly lead to my pursuit of a college degree in Outdoor Reacreation Leadership and Management. My co-workers at camp feel similarly about childhood summer camp experiences. Collaboratively we have some theories and questions about both types of experiences and how they impact adult values, experiences, and recreation habits. I think it's safe to say anyone answering this poll enjoys at least hiking, and perhaps another slew of similar outdoor pursuits. So what I'm interested in is what, if any, were your childhood influences.


I'm also interested in everyone's about most memorable childhood outdoor experieces.



My single most memorable experience is of watching an eclipse with my mom and brother. My mom packed blankets, a thermos of hot chocolate and drove the car out to the end of our very long driveway and watched the elcipse, looked at constellations and watched for shooting stars.

Also very memorable were the many canoeing and fishing trips my brother and I went on with my mom (and occasionally my dad).

Lindsay

I was a bookworm as a kid and as a young adult. I came from a family that never hiked or camped or even spent much time outdoors. My first campground camping experience was when I was 16 with high school friends and their families.

Then in college, an ex-boyfriend got me hiking so even though my childhood was more filled with books that trees and dirt and outdoors, I grew into my love of hiking and backpacking.

sli74

Growing up I loved to play in the woods around my house. I went to Boy Scout camp and Scout camping trips. We spent a lot of time skiing and playing hockey on the frozen ponds. I've always loved being outdoors.

I think it is often much more complicated for most people .... the roots of their love of hiking or nature or any outdoor pursuit are often very individual. The common thread, it seems to me, is that something during that most impressionable stage of childhood speaks to them and connects them to wildness is some form or another. Whether it be catching tadpoles,climbing trees, tending a flower garden or climbing mountains, and regardless of whether it is through a formal learning experience that is regular or a one-time casual outing is what varies. Because in my experience any of these things can solidify that heartfelt connection for a lifetime. It's such an interesting topic though, and I'm so glad you brought it up Lindsay. It brings me back to grad school and reminds me why I love my field of choice and what I miss about it.

I went to summer camp for one week for 5 summers.....35 plus years later, I still head up there when the camp is closed just to look around and bring back some of my favorite childhood memories...The counselors and instructors made a life long impression on me....I've always been an outdoors active kind of nature kid even into my fifth decade!

Thanks for taking the time to set up this poll......

...Jade

I grew up in a small VT town (less than 250 people) in the early 60's and there wasn't much going on, so we had to be inventive. We played ALOT of baseball, and when the bookmobile came to town in the summer we took out as many books as we were allowed. On hot summer days we spent most afternoons in the swimming hole, and sometimes fishing in the late afternoon. As we got older we'd occasionally help one of the farmers hay. TV wasn't much of an option - we had it, but nobody'd heard of cable, and you only got one channel somewhat clearly, and another was fuzz -the deep valleys aren't much for reception. When we'd traipse around in the woods we'd refer to it as "exploring". In the winter we'd spend as much time sliding on the back roads an open hillsides (the same ones we'd helped hay in summer) as we possibly could. So - my take on your question/observation is a little different. My "love of the outdoors" is simply an extension of how I grew up. To not be outside as much as possible is almost an unnatural state.

Intersting about Seema's relative lack of outdoor experiences as a kid. I'll bet she's not the only one out there.

I went to cub scout camp a summer or two, but I recall it being pretty ho-hum. No real outstanding memories there. I think summer camp can be a good thing for kids if it's well run by creative and energetic people. I guess the camp I went to was just kind of lame. Anyhow, I have better memories of just playing around in the wooded area near my house. It's all "developed" w/ houses now.

Probably my best and most vivid outdoor memories though, are from being in the Adirondacks w/ my dad. Hiking, fishing, just hangin' around a car-camping site, whatever. I learned at a young age to associate being outdoors w/ happy feelings. I'm quite convinced that's a large part of the reason I'm out there so much at this point in my life. That, and I've always loved the simple pleasure of walking.

Interestingly, I'm also perfectly comfortable and love being in New York City, and I think the same two reasons are a large part of why that is-1) the place lends itself strongly to walking, and 2) my dad brought me there at a young age and I learned to associate it with being happy, stimulated, etc.

Anyway, I think early childhood experiences can teach emotional associations, positive and negative. So rather than just saying "All kids should get outdoors as much as possible", I think kids should be given an opportunity to get outdoors as much as possible. But more importantly, kids should be helped to form positive emotional associations w/ healthy activities, whether inside or outside, "wild" or urban, etc.

Matt

I had a grandfather who liked to fish and walk in the woods and he took me with him at an early age. Later on I was sent to camp every summer for 1 or 2 weeks then ended up working there for a couple of summers....

I really miss it - the outrageous pranks we used to pull, the skits and songs we made up, the mountains we climbed, the swimming, the canoe trips, my childhood friends and sweethearts. The woods were always a refuge for me and I was always getting in trouble for walking in the creek and getting all muddy or walking/exploring some place I wasn't supposed to.... as a child my curiousity was insatiable and if you you told me not to go somewhere that was practically a command to do so

As a result I ended up exploring a lot of odd places - cemetaries, golf courses, government property, train tracks, tunnels, sand pits, abandoned houses/factories and other ruins. I still like to do stuff like this but try not to trespass anymore, guess I'm still a child at heart

As far as I'm concerned someone who doesn't have any contact with the natural world is deprived in many ways, far too many for me to explore in this post..... I think it's very important for kids and adults to be aware of, explore, and experience all kinds of natural environments w/o techno mediation - out and away from the engine/electric/radio/cell phone/ipod/TV/computer/vid screen/machine bubble we are all so enslaved to nowadays for a few hours at least......

I grew up in Melbourne,Australia. My parents went fishing out in remote regions (car camping) and we were always off in the woods bushwhacking for mushrooms. That must be where I got the love of it all. That was pretty hairy country sometimes, with the snakes and the big spiders. Spiders still scare me - we had spiders the size of Buicks, in Woody Allen's words.

My immediate family was not and is not into the outdoors. I probably would never have gotten anywhere near the woods were it not for a friend in my 20s who asked if I wanted to join her ski house in VT. I didn't really ski but I liked the idea of hanging out with friends around a wood stove, cooking big meals and having some giggles. It got kinda lonely during the day if you didn't do something outdoorsy, so I picked up x-c skiing (less money and fewer crowds than downhill!). Eventually, I graduated to tele skiing, though I still prefer the x-c skiing.

When I was real little, I remember loving nothing more than climbing into the tree in our front yard and just hanging out in it all day long. And we neighborhood kids used to play around in this swampy area that now is an apartment complex on the Newington/West Hartford (Elmwood) line. That was about as close to nature as I got as a kid.

That said, my maternal grandfather was an old VT coot, a big hunter, trapper and fisherman. So I guess I have it in my blood.

Like many of you, I still struggle with relatives who have no clue why anyone would want to actually strap on a backpack and hike for any longer than 5 minutes!

I always played in the woods and fished. We had lots of freedom back then (1960's) to head out on our bikes.

We took our first real camping trip to Allegheny State Park near Salamanca, New York, back when I was 10. There were beautiful mountains and abundant wildlife (raccoons, porcupine, deer, bear). After that trip, I was hooked for good.

Being hooked on hiking started with the family trip to the Whites every year. We did small peaks like Willard, Iron Mountain, and Glen Boulder, and Glen Ellis Falls, and roadside attractions like the Bowl and Flume.
At home we built forts and played in the snow, boyish pursuits. In the early years of 2000 to the following I went to YMCA Camp Becket and the classes that I did later shaped my life. Their doctrine was in nine mottoes that I know are critical to building one up, in conversation they might be referred to.
As a current scout I had my taste of boy scout camp and did Philmont, a high adeventure base in New Mexico with backpacking as its specialty. Prep for the hike led me to doing the 4K's and an addiction to hiking. If I was not a scout I might not be writing this response.
I see many kids under my age plugged into the screens of video games and waste their time on it. This quote from An American Original explains the fate of the Tom Sawyer life:
During my schooling days and thereafter I gained a circle of friends and spent time with them. We went fishing, swam in the ponds, and lived a boy’s life. I hope this life of spending your younger years outdoors remains, for if the world changes so does a boy’s. They will have to exercise their life in another area.

I camped a little as a kid - some in the woods in Ipswich (now where the Ipswich Country Club is), and some more formal camps. I always liked maps and would plan trips even though I would never go...my family got us out a little - nature walks, MA Audobon etc.

My wife Gail got me really into it and it went into hibernation when
Aaron was born...about 1 1/2 years ago I got thorughly hooked and I am staying! The WMNF just plain makes me happy - some people go to therapists or barrooms - I "run to the hills" (giggy will get that one!) Hey - wait - I go to barrooms too - oh well...all I know is that before, during and after a hike I am very content.

I went a couple of times to an overnight camp and most summers to the town day camp. It's a good way to learn to swim and fun being with the other kids, but not really an outdoor experence.
For me, summer camp had nothing to do with my love of the outdoors
That all came from fishing and hiking with my dad and camping with the family.
My parents took me camping and hiking before my first birthday and evey year after. Two weeks every summer.
We explored the mountains, forests, and streams from Ontario to the Smokies.
IMO spending time in the outdoors with their family is more important for kids than being shipped off to camp

Very good thread.

See where I come from : My parent's honeymoon trip was 2 weeks backpacking in Parc de la Vérendrye (Qc), they took the bus there and ask the driver to drop them in the nowhere.

I never been to summer camp, but it's OK because all family vacations were camping, fishing, hiking. Night trips to see the stars, climbing small cliffs just to make my mother freak out, running with my cousins on top of Mt Jacque-Cartier, my first moose encounter, 3:30am wake ups to go fishing on Lac St-Louis with my father, or that hike when our group split : Me, my mother and my aunt took the wrong trail (the steep and exposed one), I remember that I was enjoying it so much I knew I would go on mountains all my life.

Partying took over the outdoors for many years, but I came back to it when I got out of the fog (when I had my first child). Now I will give back to my kids what my parents gave to me.

Alpinista : I had ''my'' tree too. Each time I was sad I was climbing up there and cry (or sulk).

Cool thread! I'm enjoying reading about everyone's experiences. Here's mine.

I grew up playing in the woods surrounding my home in suburban Mass: taking walks, building forts, catching tadpoles, frogs, snakes, and the occasional fish. My parents and older siblings all did this as well but we never hiked or camped as I now define those words. I was never allowed to sleep out in the forts that I built even though they were essentially in our backyard.

I had no clue that summer camps even existed. Never knew any kids who went to one. I joined the girl scouts thinking they would take me hiking and camping. Wrong. The "camping" trip was sleeping on the living room floor of someone's house who lived in a wooded area. So I un-joined the girl scouts.

Went to university out in western Mass where I discovered to my great joy there were hiking trails and mountains and all those happy things. Started hiking and backpacking on my own and since then have gotten several of my siblings and their children involved.

So my outdoors roots are pretty informal, I'd say. Just lucky enough to be born into a family that enjoyed being outside and to grow up in a house surrounded by woods and ponds to play in.

-vegematic

I grew up somewhat playing outside, not necessarily in the woods, but in the backyard. As a young teen, some of us would go play in the woods, with water guns and water balloons and simply to hang out, but as a whole, none of my family were much into the outdoors at all. My parents never hiked, never did much of anything (kind of explains why my father had heart problems last year in his middle 60s) and none of my sister's were much active in anything. But, since I was the only son, I guess I took to many solo sports, Tennis, ping pong, cycling, hiking, etc. etc. so I kind of migrated much away from team sports (baseball, football, b-ball) and the outdoors which is a good thing!

Jay

Great thread! I've often wondered why I do this while I'm pushing my way through thick spruce! Sometimes, I actually think about it.

I believe that a love of the outdoors is something that I was born with. I feel much more at peace while out there. I'm my happiest while hiking with a small group or just one friend. Large groups in the woods are usually a turn off for me. When the conditions are bad or the trail is difficult, it adds to the excitement for me. I still haven't figured out why I like these things. I just do.

As a kid, I had a mixed bag of experiences. I went to a day camp (YMCA Camp Lincoln) the summers after 2nd and 4th grades. I hated it the first time and loved it the second! In 6th grade, my class went to BU Sargent Camp and I had a great time. In these early years, I would go up to Maine and visit my grandfather who loved to take long walks and taught me how to shoot a bow (not how I got my trail name).

I also enjoyed playing playing in the woods near my parents house. There was a trail through the woods that ran to and then alongside the pond to a dam. The trail went to the bottom of the dam, crossed the brook, climbed back up and continued on. Eventually, it reached an apple orchard where, as kids, we used to steal apples and occasionally have "apple fights"! Whenever we heard something, we'd get scared and race back through the woods. I guess that's how I got my start with trail running!

In my senior year of high school, I took a course open to only juniors and seniors. In this course, we did hiking, rock climbing, ropes courses, cycling, and group initiative activities. We learned a lot about outdoor recreation and ourselves. This was probably one of the most formative experiences in my life. Certainly, it's one I remember with great fondness.

So, I guess I got myself into hiking and stuff because there has always been something appealing about walking in the woods. It's the journey, not the destination. I just find it so theraputic. When I go walking, all my troubles seem to melt away...

A couple of things that influenced me.
Seven or eight years old,hiking into the woods with my grandfather,to his secret blueberry spot. Even back then,I knew it was special,stepping into the woods. He taught me a lot about the natural world around us-then he told me to pick berries faster!
Even though he passed away 45 years ago,he's with me every time I step into the woods.
About 11 years old,I camped on the shore of Walden Pond for opening night of fishing season. Just me and my dad,cooking hot dogs,and fishing from shore. This was the Walden Pond before Don Henley,and fences and guards and mobs of people. I miss Walden Pond. Imagine what Thoreau would be thinking..
About the same time,in late fall,I camped with Boy Scouts in the wilderness(it was probably the Blue Hills Reservation)and when we got up the next morning,it had snowed! Wow,we're camping in the winter! I still vividly remember that trip,and it's with me every time we set up camp in the snow. I think it's the reason winter camping seems so reasonable to me!
I remember reading Yankee Magazine and seeing the ads for "Folbot Kayaks" every moonth,and wanting one so bad. Where the heck is a 12yo gonna get $151(plus shipping)
Fast forward 30-35 years,and here I am. All my childhood desires-it's real life now-how cool is that?
Mrs KD and I have started to instill that love of the outdoors in the grandkids. We are making sure that hiking,camping and sailing(kayaking will come a little later)are part of their life. Maybe it will be like the efect my grandfather had on me. May they be so lucky.

I'm just a small town boy trying to make it in the big city but then, as now, the woods were very nearby ... then by foot or bike, now by SUV. I grew up in a time and place where being outdoors was taken for granted whether it was picking wild blueberries, mushrooms, hickory nuts, or fishing, hunting or a long walk in the woods.

I never attended camp. I had something better. One uncle was a dairy farmer, which my cousins still operate, another a chicken farmer. Both afforded the opportunity for hard work, great fresh and natural food and an easy getaway to a stream, pond or other interesting natural spot.

Those were enchanting times in sylvan settings and the spirit returns whenever I view tall buildings in my rear view mirror.