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5 Ways To Maintain Your Spirit Of Adventure During These Times
You don’t need me to tell you we are living in unprecedented times. Announcements of new business closures or travel restrictions due to COVID-19 increase daily. And, much to the chagrin of people looking to get outside and enjoy some fresh air, outdoor spaces are now being restricted too.
In the last 48 hours, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, DuPont State Recreational Forest, sections of Pisgah National Forest, and the southern section of the Blue Ridge Parkway are all shut down. Our options to escape to the rivers and trails, or stroll the streets of our towns to break free of cabin fever, are becoming increasingly limited.
But that doesn’t mean our thoughts, ideas or dreams of traveling and adventure have to be shoved away. In fact, continuing to think and plan for them is actually good for your health according to research!
Maintain Your Spirit Of Adventure
Whatever you do, don’t starve your sense of adventure…feed it! Spending time exploring and planning your next adventures can still bring a sense of adventure and anticipation. It encourages you to not only learn about your destination but to dream, allowing your mind to latch on to some concrete details about where you plan to go. Some research suggests that the act of planning and anticipating your trip can actually be more exciting than taking it.
“Anticipation of an adventure is sometimes the happiest part of a travel journey.
Pre-trip excitement allows the joys of a travel journey to begin even before you pull out your suitcase.” Candice Gaukel Andrews
Here are a few suggestions to help you overcome the Corona craziness and still maintain a sense of adventure.
Create A Travel Journal
Now is a great time to make a list of all those adventure ideas or dreams. Create a note on your phone, document on your computer, or my preferred way…a good ole fashioned handwritten journal. I love my Moleskin. Take advantage of the downtime (goodness knows we all have more of it now than in ever before) and just let your mind wander. Where have you wanted to visit? What have you wanted to experience? Where have you wanted to explore? Don’t limit yourself due to time and money. I mean, it’s certainly good to be realistic and list places you could actually visit, but list some of the big trips or experiences too. The beauty of the travel journal is that it doesn’t cost you anything to dream.
Can I offer one suggestion to consider when you’re making your travel lists? Include some local experiences – visit a local park or greenway, take a historical walking tour of your town, support locally owned businesses and restaurants. Our cities and towns will need all of our help to bounce back after this nasty virus is under control.
Collect Travel Guides – Chambers of Commerce & Visitor Centers
I will be honest. In the past I never really considered Chambers to be a helpful resource, and I seldom stopped while traveling unless it was time for a bathroom break. Wow, was I ever mistaken.
Local Chambers of Commerce and Visitor Centers are like the Cliff Notes for travel guides. They serve as advocates and ambassadors for their communities, and are a treasure chest of free information, travel guides and resources. Chamber websites often contain numerous links to area attractions, outfitters, hiking, fishing, scenic drives, parks, resorts, places to stay, camping…you name it!
Most Chambers and Visitor Centers will send you free travel guides (digital and/or print). I try to stop in to Visitor Centers on my travels not only to pick up some literature, but to also ask for recommendations of places to visit. I have even asked the staff, “If I only have 24 or 48 hours in your town, what are the must do, must see places?” They are proud of where they live and typically you will receive awesome recommendations and insider information you might not otherwise find in a brochure or travel guide. Of course, I am always looking to explore as local as possible.
Use Social Media and Apps
Now is a great time to build your library of resources. They will be useful for discovering and planning right now, but will also be useful quick reference resources when it’s time to travel again.
Websites: Chances are you already have some favorite websites bookmarked or saved to your home screen on your phone. If you’re looking at exploring some place new a great place to start is with the Chamber of Commerce or Visitor Center for that particular area. As I mentioned before, Chamber and Visitor Center websites promote local businesses and places of interest. They’ve done the hard work for you by listing websites in one place for you.
Don’t forget to bookmark your favorites site. I am working on categorizing my bookmarks right now so I can quickly and easily refer back to the site(s).
Apps: Among other adventure sports, I like hiking and mountain biking. Two of my favorite apps are All Trails and Trailforks. You can always place your favorite websites on your home screen for quick reference too, but I like these two apps because I can download maps and have them with me when I don’t have cellular service.
Social Media: Facebook pages (especially Groups) & Instagram are my go-to social media sources. There you can find information about areas you’re interested in visiting, but you will also discover new areas that may not even be on your radar.
I like to think of these resources as an inverted funnel. One site, contact, or app uncovers so many other places to explore and discover and it mushrooms out into a wide base of helpful resources. This is where you’ll be thankful for the time you spent with your travel journal and categorizing your bookmarks.
Start Making Preparations Now
Remember what we talked about earlier? Planning and anticipation of a journey can sometimes bring just as much excitement as the actual adventure. What gear do you need for your next adventure? Maybe there is a skill that would be helpful for your next adventure. There are a couple of ways I am using this time right now to prep and plan for my next adventures.
There are so many places that I want to explore and discover within a few hours from our home here in western North Carolina. That’s where my focus is. I am being intentional about learning as much as I can about hiking trails, waterfall locations, mountain bike trails, scenic drives, rivers, historic places, and landscape photography. I am also taking note of small businesses and local artisans in my community that I can support.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. I hope you found some tips or encouragement to continue pursuing your passion for adventure. We will get through this season of uncertainty and when we do I hope you’re prepared to have the best adventures of your life and make great memories.
