The healing power of off-grid camping

I hurt all over and my head felt like it would explode. The 12-degree temperatures outside were a stark contrast to the fever of this winter bug. As I slurped my hot tea, I contemplated the stinging rebuke my boss had just given me. My request to go home sick had made two things very clear: I was not going home and I was not valued at this company. I realized just how much of my life was outside of my control. Grabbing the next file from my inbox, I thought, “My day will come.”

A better life

The cool morning breeze felt wonderful as I climbed down the ladder from my rooftop tent. This dispersed camping spot, just 30 miles southeast of Farmington is one of my favorites. The view of Angel Peak is impeccable and the silence is deafening, just the way I like it. A few moments of assembly followed by a quick spark and just like that, the water is boiling on the tailgate of my truck. Soon, I’m making my way to my camping chair with a hot cup of tea and a hiking map of the surrounding area.

Before me is an amazing sight: a series of stones seemingly stacked into a pyramid surrounded by layers of different colors leading into miles of deep canyons with sheer drop-offs. The rising sun creates long shadows that highlight the varying depths. I can almost feel my soul healing.

For the last few years, moments like this have helped wash away the scars that I earned through decades in corporate America. Going to my map, I start to track out the day’s adventures as my wife makes her way down the ladder of the tent. I can still feel the warmth from our bed as she wraps her arms around me from behind and kisses my cheek. “Good morning,” she says. A good morning indeed.

Some things never change?

Looking back on my life, I realize that the feelings of being trapped in my job were not restricted to that one bad day. Despite best efforts, they persisted as months became years and years became decades. “When,” I would wonder, “will my day come?”

I remember things feeling hopeless when unexpected chaos burst onto the scene. My mother-in-law decided to retire so she could travel but soon learned she had terminal cancer. Shortly after, I lost my job; laid off for the fourth time in my career. With our youngest child now graduated and moving into his career, my wife and I decided that it was time. Something had changed. We had changed.

Realizing that our day would never come unless we grabbed it with both hands and wrestled it into submission, we turned our entire world upside down. Our focus shifted from someday to this day. We made a bold decision. We chose to risk it all in pursuit of our dreams.

Right now

We are living out of a rooftop tent eight to nine months a year. We’ve rediscovered the healing power of nature and its ability to restore parts of ourselves we thought we’d lost.

We were not financially prepared for this so we have to keep working. So, before we head out for the day’s hikes, I need to log a couple of hours behind the microphone. Narrating audiobooks for Audible is one of a dozen part-time remote gigs I do to earn a little cash. Later, I’ll finish up a blog post and work on our upcoming book about overlanding skills. These small jobs don’t replace the income we lost, but they are enough to keep us going.

My day

Spending this much time outside has dramatically changed us. Recently I’ve sensed a strange aging inversion within. I know that I’m physically getting older but inside I feel younger and healthier than I’ve been in years. I believe that being in nature is at the core of that.

Having completed the plan for the day’s hikes, I sip the last of my tea, pack away my camping chair and start to break down camp. For a moment, I stop to look again at Angel’s Peak. I can feel the smile on my face. I’m active, happy and spending time with the love of my life. My day has come.

David Wade and his wife, Tiffany, are the creators of the Best Life Adventure Channel on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook @BestLifeAdventureChannel. Check them out online at BestLifeAdventureChannel.com.