Honestly? I just felt suffocated last Tuesday. Like, staring at the screen until my eyeballs dried out. Needed out. Needed green. STAT. So I grabbed my old backpack, the one with the duct tape holding the strap together, and decided to ditch the fancy plans. Gonna do a quick nature dive.
Packing Light? More Like Packing Smart-ish
Dumped out the usual junk from the bag first. Old receipts, a mystery key. Gone. Threw in:
- A beat-up water bottle. Hydrate or die-drate, right?
- A couple of those weird protein bars I found deep in the pantry. Hoping they weren’t expired.
- The thinnest fleece I own. Weather app said sun, but I ain’t trusting that.
- My ancient digital camera. Forget smartphone pics for once.
- A tiny notebook and a chewed-on pen. Just in case I felt like scribbling.
Took maybe 5 minutes. Wasn’t aiming for Instagram-worthy, just functional.
Destination: Anywhere But Here
Didn’t research “top nature spots.” Screw that. I live near some woods, kinda scrubby woods, but woods nonetheless. Jumped in the car, no playlist prepped. Drove until the houses thinned out, saw a patch of trees off a side road with just enough space to pull over safely. Dust flew as I parked. Good enough.
Getting My Feet Wet (Literally)
Slung the backpack on. Left the phone charging in the car. Locked it. Felt weirdly naked for a second. Then just… started walking. No trail? No problem. Aimed for shade under the bigger trees. Stomped over some crunchy leaves, stepped in a muddy patch (oops, forgot decent boots). Kept moving.
Tried that “sit spot” thing I’d heard about. Found a mossy rock (probably more dirt than moss) near a noisy little creek. Plopped down. Closed my eyes. Okay, tried to. Was itchy. Felt ridiculous at first. Just sat there, listening. Wasn’t peace and quiet. Birds yelled at each other, wind rattled dead branches, that creek kept burbling. But weirdly, after a few minutes, my shoulders dropped about an inch. Maybe two. Wasn’t thinking bout work crap. Just trying to figure out what kind of bird makes that clicking sound.
Opened my eyes after what felt like ages (probably 7 minutes). Pulled out the camera. Took a blurry shot of a mushroom. Tried to frame some green vines twisting around a tree trunk. Mostly got brown and blur. Didn’t care.
The Snack Break Reality Check
Stomach growled like the creek. Found a drier spot near a sunbeam. Sat down, back against a rough-barked tree. Pulled out one of those protein bars. It was… surprisingly okay? Chewed slowly, looking up at the leaves. Sun dappled through, made patterns on my hand. Saw a bright red little bug crawl over my boot. Watched it for ages. Tiny little dude on an epic journey across the giant boot mountain. Took a deep breath. Smelled like wet dirt and pine needles and something else, kinda sweet? Didn’t have a name for it.
Grabbed the notebook. Wrote:
- Red bug on boot.
- Leaves rustle different when wind hits.
- Mushroom kinda looks like a brain.
- Protein bar okay.
Not exactly poetry. But real.
Wrapping Up the Un-plugged Outing
Stayed put maybe an hour total? Legs were stiff when I stood up. Brushed bark bits off my jeans. Started the walk back to the car. Didn’t rush. Noticed how quiet the road seemed after the woods. Felt… lighter. Kinda stupid for feeling lighter after just an hour in some scrubby trees, but there it was.
Got back to the car. Didn’t grab the phone immediately. Just sat in the driver’s seat, dust on the dashboard. Started the engine. Drive back felt different. Calmer. Didn’t solve world hunger, didn’t find enlightenment under that brain mushroom. But I wasn’t suffocated anymore. And it was stupid easy. Just had to actually do it instead of pinning pictures of fancy eco-retreats.
