Flinn

Three years and a half, that's how long I had to wait before posting again in this blog. Three years and a half without doing some real Wild camping (occasionally just a couple of picnics, so to say). Last time I did some real camping was in 2019, then Covid hit in and during 2020-2021 it was nearly impossible to organize a camping.. so I waited patiently, skipped 2022 window and waited for 2023's one. The main reason is that I wanted my daughter to be mature enough to come with me (she's now 9, for the records). It was time well spent, honestly.

I mean, I always wanted to bring my daughter to do some real wild camping (she did come for a few picnics before that but that was all); her mother doesn't love at all any form of camping (I guess that has to do more with despising what I like than a real hate for camping), so I had to wait longer than I wanted, but eventually my daughter expressed her will and insisted that she wanted to do the experience. She absolutely adored it.

But let's go by steps: the kind of camp we set up usually is more isolated, far from other campers.. this because we value privacy and peace more than anything else, but obviously with some kids around you need to take some extra precautions, which means basically staying closer to any roads and, of course closer to other people. The Ferragosto period (mid of August) is always a popular period for people to do some camping and picnics, but before Covid less and less people did so.. after the pandemic, too many of them have restarted to, which means we had to stay (relatively) close to way too many people. Never mind, a dad will do all he has to for her daughter.

Apart from the noise and crowd issue, it was a stunning experience. Starting with the trip up to the mountains... from my home to the camping site it's about 45 minutes by car, 30 of which are in off-road, and it was one of the funniest trips of my life, since I did not only took my daughter with me, but also two of her best friends.. imagine bringing 3 young lasses, all in their 10s or so, in such a trip.. they literally killed me with silly sings and even sillier jokes, no dad-power could withstand such a barrage . I have to be honest, I've forgotten what genuine joy was like, the kind of joy that only children have and that life takes away from you because she's a .. they reminded me what it is and shared it with me on that trip: God bless them.

We camped for 4 days, 3 nights.. there were friends with us and other children and it was a never ending party, basically: we laughed, we sang a lot of songs, and we eat like only Italians can eat when they are merry and relaxed. .we adults we drunk quite a lot too, it was a while since I drank that much wine, but everybody was happy and enjoyed themselves. We did also experience a storm: that is quite an experience when you are at mountains, because rain can arrive in literally seconds and catch you unprepared (especially at night) and the noise is shocking for those who are not used to it; after that, the temperature falls quickly, everything is drenched and it's almost like you are in a different place.. it was fun to see how the kids reacted to that change and how they suddenly all gathered around the fire, looking for warmth and protection and how we, the adults, gathered around them: there's something ancient, atavistic, about that behavior and in general when interacting with fire in the wild.. it hits deep in our past.

I also had that sort of karma experience that makes me be a Dudeist: when I was 20 or so, one friend of us (who is only a bit older than us) already had a kid, (Simone) and when he was 5 he started to bring him along with us while doing wild camping.. I used to spend time with that kid, teach him stuff, answer his questions... this year, I found him, grown and adult (he's 25 now and an absolutely fine dude) camping with us, along with his girlfriend (another adorable dude) and imagine.. they spent a lot of time with my daughter (who immediately liked both), explaining her stuff, bringing her for walks and so on and on.
I have to honest, it felt absolutely great.

Planning a bit more of an extreme camping for the next year, just a couple of friends and their kids and me and my daughter.. we'll try to show them what wild camping has to offer and how many things they could do with their own hands and brains.. I really look forward to that.