Lots of people have been outdoorsy for their entire lives and are simply looking for new ways to experiences the outdoors. For others, the last year and a half have made it clear that getting out of the house and doing something healthy, in nature, is really important to both mental and physical health.
Fortunately, there are outdoor activities that can appeal to all sorts of people in terms of abilities, gear, lifestyle, and budget. In this piece, we’re going to walk through five of our favorite things to do outside and how they benefit us.
Going to the Range
The world of shooting is one that can get you outdoors for a variety of reasons, whether it’s hunting, competition shooting, or just going to the range. For me, at least, it’s part of all the others.
When I’m running or fishing, my concealed carry handgun is always on me in case I might need to defend myself. For hiking and backpacking, I often bring an AR with me for protection against predators with two or four legs and in case I want to do any hunting.
The awesome thing about an AR for backpacking-type activities, in my view, is that you can pop off the upper receiver and store it separately in the bag.
The easy-to-separate upper receivers also make the AR an awesome gun for people on a budget: you can experiment with calibers and barrel lengths without having to buy a whole rifle. That makes the AR one of my recommendations for people who want a flexible gun that they can use for anything from self-defense to hunting big game. Click on upper receivers for more information.
As you can see, there are a lot of great ways to get outdoors. Hopefully, one of the ones you’re reading here has inspired you to put down this blog and get out there into the beautiful world that we share.
Running
I, for one, used to hate running. This had a lot to do with it being a timed test in gym class for years. One great way to make more or less anything into a boring, grueling thing to suffer through is to put it in the form of a test at school.
But now, coming to running again as an adult looking for health, I really like it. For the cost of some running shoes and headphones (I go wireless, tangling wires drive me mad) and a free-running app on my phone, I’m now enjoying the hour or so a good run gets me away from work.
Camping
I’ll maintain that food tastes the best cooked over a campfire: a slightly burnt hotdog in the woods beats most restaurant dishes in my book. Also, after a long week of work, the sweet silence of a lakeshore after dark is about the best thing in the world.
Camping is one of the best ways to get outside, and it can be done on a variety of budgets. A good surplus store can get you everything you need cheap, or you can go all out with expensive, air-conditioned tents. I tend to prefer the latter and like to get out into nature with what I can carry on my back and not much else.
Fishing
In line with what I was saying about camping, the calm of sitting by the lake, or cooking up fresh fish on the fire afterward (for a lot of fish, filleting them and cooking them in foil with butter, lime, salt, and pepper is the way to go) is one of the simple pleasures in life.
Fishing teaches a lot of patience, a few cool skills, and can give you a lot of respect for the food you eat: that’s why I love it so much.
Hiking
To get to the best camping and fishing spots, a bit of hiking is necessary. While the conditioning I get from running helps a lot, the navigation and survival skills necessary for hunting make it a distinct category.
For hiking, you can dip your toes in with nothing more than some boots and a backpack. One thing I’ll stand by is spending the money on good wool socks. You and your feet with thank me later when you stop getting blisters and that achy skin feeling after miles on the trail.
