The psychologists have done a lot of work on what makes people happy. Buying new possessions does give a very brief burst of pleasure, but we quickly become satiated and the feeling fades. So we buy something else new and shiny, and so on.
But spending your hard-earned on experiences rather than things does actually increase long term happiness, and the research shows this. It seems illogical, because the shiny object lasts a long time, whereas the experience is over in days. But the memories are not - they stay with you a long time. Sigurd Olson compared his campfires to glowing beads on a chain, that would kindle back to life when he reminisced about them. I've certainly had days and nights in wild country that will be with me forever.
With outdoor experiences, it is even better, as we are very good at forgetting the sore muscles, gruelling portages and insect bites, but very good at remembering the incandescent sunsets, the monster trout in the net and the feeling of connectedness that come from wild country travel.
'Getting out more' and 'doing something different' are things that people seldom regret afterwards, so I'm largely with Wayland on this one.
There are barriers to doing outdoor trips and some are real (lack of money and family commitments) but some are purely invented and exist only in our head.
Lack of confidence is a big one. I think we all suffer from it to some degree, and caution of course can be very healthy. A group trip like this reduces some risks (like dying of exposure) but brings new ones (will I get on with all these strangers?)
Most of us, most of the time, worry too much, and lack of confidence holds us back. The spring/summer Scandinavian trips like Twodogs and Muddyboots have done are good examples of trips that look a little intimidating on the surface but are in fact very, very easy to organise and undertake. Scandinavia is very safe, the public transport is ace, most people speak some English, and simple common sense will keep you safe in the outdoors.
Meeting a bunch of people you don't know is intimidating but I have always found the company at meets to be excellent, and I am not a particularly extrovert person.
Of course, this trip is not everyone's cup of tea, and I won't be going because I can only squeeze a week of 'me time' from work and family commitments, and I have other plans for this year. But if this thread encourages just one person to seize the day and do just one trip they otherwise would have missed, it's been well worth it.
But spending your hard-earned on experiences rather than things does actually increase long term happiness, and the research shows this. It seems illogical, because the shiny object lasts a long time, whereas the experience is over in days. But the memories are not - they stay with you a long time. Sigurd Olson compared his campfires to glowing beads on a chain, that would kindle back to life when he reminisced about them. I've certainly had days and nights in wild country that will be with me forever.
With outdoor experiences, it is even better, as we are very good at forgetting the sore muscles, gruelling portages and insect bites, but very good at remembering the incandescent sunsets, the monster trout in the net and the feeling of connectedness that come from wild country travel.
'Getting out more' and 'doing something different' are things that people seldom regret afterwards, so I'm largely with Wayland on this one.
There are barriers to doing outdoor trips and some are real (lack of money and family commitments) but some are purely invented and exist only in our head.
Lack of confidence is a big one. I think we all suffer from it to some degree, and caution of course can be very healthy. A group trip like this reduces some risks (like dying of exposure) but brings new ones (will I get on with all these strangers?)
Most of us, most of the time, worry too much, and lack of confidence holds us back. The spring/summer Scandinavian trips like Twodogs and Muddyboots have done are good examples of trips that look a little intimidating on the surface but are in fact very, very easy to organise and undertake. Scandinavia is very safe, the public transport is ace, most people speak some English, and simple common sense will keep you safe in the outdoors.
Meeting a bunch of people you don't know is intimidating but I have always found the company at meets to be excellent, and I am not a particularly extrovert person.
Of course, this trip is not everyone's cup of tea, and I won't be going because I can only squeeze a week of 'me time' from work and family commitments, and I have other plans for this year. But if this thread encourages just one person to seize the day and do just one trip they otherwise would have missed, it's been well worth it.
