I want my daughter to grow up in the outdoors because I know what it's done for me.
Growing up, I never really felt settled. We moved back and forth between countries for my dad’s job. I was constantly thrown into activities I did not choose. My emotions were loud, and I had nowhere to put them.
When I was fifteen, I was sent to a wilderness therapy program on the Appalachian Trail. At the time it felt like punishment, but it turned into one of the most important things that ever happened to me. For the first time, I could walk through the woods and feel quiet in my mind.
Nobody expected anything from me and every step gave me back a piece of myself.
Now that I am a father, I want to pass that same gift on to my daughter.
Not just the confidence, but the ability to just be. I want her to know how to build a fire, how to stay calm when she is cold, how to respect the land and her place in the life cycle.
I also want her to know she has an outlet when the world gets to feel like too much.
The other day, my daughter's friend came over to our house. She is six years old. She told me she has never been camping. That means for six years she has never fallen asleep under the stars. Not once.
That has to change.
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Field tip:
When camping in cold weather with kids, fill a Nalgene with warm water before bed and slip it into their sleeping bag. It helps keep them comfortable through the night, takes the chill off, and gives you a bottle of unfrozen drinking water ready to go in the morning. Simple comfort goes a long way when little ones are learning to love the outdoors.
Mindset:
The Weight You Carry Is The Gift You Give
As a father, you carry weight that your kids will never fully see. The long days, the quiet worries, the choices you make to protect, to provide, and to lead. It is not loud. Often, it is invisible.
But that weight is the gift. The way you carry it becomes the example they follow. The steadiness you show teaches them calm. The discipline you practice teaches them resilience. The way you navigate pressure teaches them how to stand strong when life gets heavy.
You are not raising them to avoid struggle. You are raising them to face it with strength through your actions.
And they will remember how you carried your load when it was your turn.
“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.”
— C.S. Lewis
Question:
What simple skill or lesson do you want your kids to carry with them forever?
W moved from Colorado to North Carolina last year. The brook trout here are small compared to out west but wild and colorful as all get out. Chasing these fish makes me feel like a kid again, exploring creeks in Georgia. Different kind of adventure, same love for the water.
