Hub and I took a trip in our truck camper last week to beautiful Mt. Rainier. We stayed in our favorite campground which is smaller and quieter than many -- no hook-ups, mostly people looking for peace and hiking trails.
It is very hard to be a "comfort" camper and still be Earth-Friendly. I totally own that. I have gone along on camping trips with Hub for over 50 years -- tents, backpacking, tent-trailering, and now in a truck camper with all the bells and whistles, but we rarely use all it can do because we don't want to run the obnoxious generator to power the thing. Hub got a big portable solar panel and batteries to keep the lights on and that works great.
I am not a big fan of camping anyway, so I am not going to sleep in a tent and live the outdoor life at a picnic table. And I'm DEFINITELY not going to carry my worldly possessions on my back to a wilderness site. I get that these would be much greener options. And I spent many years doing all of that. No more. I am not at peace with my decision vis-a-vis my commitment to earth stewardship, but I am sure about it nonetheless.
And ... there are real life consequences:
The big diesel Chevy truck that carries the camper in its bed is a gas-guzzler made more so with the extra weight of the fully loaded camper. (We are eager for greater electric truck availability!) Propane fuels the heater (currently broken, so we didn't use it), refrigerator, and stove. We hate wood fires (breathing that particulate matter into our lungs, enduring sore throats and watery eyes, and stinking like a smoke jumper when we climb into bed) so Hub got a small propane-fueled fire ring. We fire it up, gaze a bit, make a couple of S'mores, and turn it off.
We take reusable storage containers with us for leftover food. We used them for our sandwiches and chips to eat on our hikes too, sticking them in the daypack even though bulky. In a previous life trail lunches would have gone into throw-away plastic baggies. Some progress. But being plastic-aware didn't really make up for the fossil fuel-fueled camper trip, did it?
I guess there is no way to be 100% "pure" with any of this. I am doing much better with much greater awareness than ever before. I am not perfect. I tell myself one camping trip this summer isn't so bad, right? But multiply that by millions of people driving RVs, 5th wheels, pulling trailers, carrying truck campers, and rolling along in their camper vans and we've got a very earth-stressful leisure activity going on, don't we?
Maybe being out in nature, taking in the glory of a National Park, an ocean beach, a mountain trail, or a rushing stream can bring us back to our senses and help us see that Mother Nature carries on without us being there at all. Go see her as lightly as you can, with deep respect and intention, then go home and do your best to honor her by letting her be. Take some personal action in daily life decisions and support politicians and policies that will save her. It's the least we can do.
Here's to health...for ourselves and our planet. ©
Photo: Not Mt Rainier -- somewhere in 2017 in my photo library.
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