Have you ever been camping?
Have I ever been camping? If sleeping in a circular tent in the middle of golden hills, surrounded by suspiciously confident insects and the kind of silence that makes you hear your own thoughts too loudly, counts—then yes.
My camping debut at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve was less “survival expert” and more “graduate student accidentally role-playing wilderness.” From a distance, the yurt looked peaceful, almost spiritual—like the kind of place where people go to reconnect with nature. Indeed, it was for me, at least. Up close, I realized nature reconnects with you whether you consent or not: dust on your shoes, dry grass in your socks, and the constant possibility of discovering a bug where no bug should be.
The sun was aggressive, the hills and canyons looked like they’d been toasted to perfection, and the wide-open field gave me the strange confidence that I could outrun a mountain lion or bear—despite there being no bears, just my imagination and a questionable amount of courage. Luckily, I never ran into a mountain lion. I did see a lot of other wildlife, though.
Camping taught me important lessons: first, silence in nature is never actually silent. Second, a yurt is just a tent with ambition. Third, when night falls, every tiny sound becomes a full psychological thriller, just like the midnight blood-chilling yelping of the coyote clan just behind my yurt, toward the tree line. I realize the coyotes are camped just around the corner—far enough away but close enough to let me know they’re there. They mostly watched and avoided me, just as I did with them. I had gone to the treeline sometimes, which I guess was the informal boundary between the coyotes and me.
But somewhere between the blazing afternoon sun and staring at the hills wondering if Wi-Fi could ever reach this far, I understood why people camp. It forces you into stillness. No city noise, no deadlines, no emails—just land, sky, and the realization that human beings are deeply spoiled by indoor plumbing.
Would I camp again? Absolutely. But next time, I’m bringing four essentials: sunscreen, bug spray, more snacks, and a stronger emotional support system.
