After too much time in front of a computer, I start Googling things to make me feel alive again. I search "polar bear puppies" and think about how badly I want a Samoyed. I look for "best cycling routes Anchorage" to see if any have magically appeared since I checked yesterday.
Andrew Dahlin, an Anchorage software engineer who, like many of us, spends most of his working day in front of a computer, found inspiration in a blog post on semi-rad.com titled, "Go Camping For a Month This Summer (Without Quitting Your Job)".
Intrigued, Dahlin decided he'd start camping out on weeknights this summer. His goal: Camp 31 nights between Memorial Day and Labor Day. His destination: Typically somewhere in the Chugach Mountains.
I talked with Dahlin on the phone to find out how his summer had gone. He described his job as a "pretty typical 9 to 5" where he sits at a computer all day and glances outside. Dahlin seemed like he'd been energized by the idea of getting outside, but also admitted he'd juggled other aspects of his life to do so, and frequently felt tempted by creature comforts of home. Actually, he sounded like me.
'Adventures for the everyman'
This echoes what Semi-Rad writer Brendan Leonard has to say to readers of his blog, where the "Go Camping for a Month" post was published: "I'm probably a lot like you. I like rock climbing, but start to flail when it gets vertical. I like bicycles, but not racing against other people on them. I like running and trail running, but I probably like ice cream more ... Semi-Rad is enthusiasm for things regular folks can do, adventures for the everyman and woman. It's a web site for those of us crushing it, kind of."
Dahlin said after reading Leonard's post, he focused on the goal of camping for a month, or at least trying. He'd experienced the fleeting excitement of purchasing a sleeping bag and tent, and now he wanted to use them.
"It would be great to hit 31 [days], but I think the real goal is getting outside more often."
"It's easy to say I've had a long day at work, I have this thing tomorrow," Dahlin said about overcoming excuses. "[Getting past that] is practice for doing that with bigger things in life, too. Dream a little bigger, push a little harder. You're going to be up late one night watching Netflix, so why not be outside instead?"
When we spoke in late August, Dahlin had camped out 14 nights since Memorial Day; now he's up to 24. At first, I thought that was a little weak, considering his original goal.
Then I remembered that I'd probably spent many more evenings on Netflix than he'd camped. Plus, my camping this year has amounted to a grand total of two nights, and 100 percent of those have been in the back of my car. None of the nights I camped out were a weeknight. I reconsidered.
Dahlin's longest consecutive stretch of sleeping outdoors was four nights. Most often, Dahlin said, the biggest factor in selecting a spot was convenience. Often he would start up Powerline Pass and peel off somewhere to camp.
"It takes maybe an hour to get back there, if that. You have to hike a little bit in to go into the brush.
"We did Bird Campground. That's a good one because anyone can do that. You don't need to have a backpack. It's really accessible."
Not packing dinner
Dahlin would eat dinner before he left, and bring a couple of Clif bars (he also noted there are usually a few packets of Starbucks Via instant coffee floating around in his backpack). Then, in the morning, he'd stop by his house and shower before heading to work.
"I usually skip the tent and use a bivy sack (at night). It's waterproof and really fast to set up and take down, which is key when you're only in it for six-to-eight hours. I usually get up at about 6 a.m. when I'm out camping and get to the office around 8 a.m."
During inclement weather, "If it was rainy, I'd just crash in the back of my car for the night," Dahlin said.
Friends helped. Typically, two or three would join, helping him find spots he didn't know about.
And overall, Dahlin said he enjoyed it. As Leonard's original post noted: "There are no rules — you can count your nights outside when you're on a five-day backpacking trip, a two-day climbing trip, in the back of your car, 15 miles from a road, in the middle of a KOA campground, or in your kids' Barbie tent in your backyard."
For Dahlin, it worked. "I do find I sleep better outside. Even though I wake up early, when I get to the office I'm always glad I did it. Being outside it's nice to get away from the hustle and bustle. It's quiet. It's kinda cold. It's nice."
Follow Andrew Dahlin's adventures on Instagram at @andrewdesquire
?Alli Harvey lives, works and plays in Anchorage.