What limits your experience of nature?

[Happy Pirate]

So after replying to another thread:

Actually after all my glib replies I got to thinking about past habits - not just "what is essential" but what would I not walk without? (and these are very different).
And for about 20 years the answer to this was 'my camera'!
As someone treating wilderness photography as more than a hobby I had become so accustomed to the wilderness experience requiring the filter of photographic perception, that to walk without a camera was like walking without eyes.
I couldn't see the point and often didn't bother if I couldn't 'lug the gear'.
It wasn't that I didn't love being out bush regardless but my camera was so much a part of my experience of wilderness that without it I felt diminished.
Then I went and did an ecology degree and realised how limited my vision had been anyway.
Then I went and got old and realised how age-limited my aspirations had been anyway.

Steve
Cheers

OK so this is a difficult Q to A but based on the above...
For years, for me, walking was defined as an opportunity to photograph. For others its just a fitness regime. Or just a social exercise ....

So this is a tough ask perhaps but what 'filters' or limits do you work within on walking trips and (even harder), what do you think you may possibly be missing?
The obvious one (So I'll pre-empt it here a little) is self-sufficiency - If we ain't eatin' the land we ain't knowin' it truly. (apologies to straw suckers everywhere for my cliched langyooage)
But what other behaviours within yourself or your experience of the bush can you perceive as limitations or filters to the true breadth and depth of experience?
So not so much "what don't you do in the bush" but "what experience are you missing out on because of what you do or how you perceive it?"

Tough Ask I know but looking forward to typical thoughtful answers here
cheers
Steve

[Bubbalouie]

In my late teens I was a great fan of my swag and sleeping on the beach under the stars. Lately all of my camping is done in a tent. It's been a long time since I've slept "under the stars".

.... Makes me think I should get a bivvy.

[neilmny]

I think this fits the question......
I am inclined to focus on the destination in terms of arriving somewhere near a "planned" time
and therefore can miss a lot of the journey. I have become more conscious of this
with growing experience and look around and smell the daisies much more than before.
Another hinderance which really should not be forgone is safety, I walk solo most of the time
so keeping my feet, watching my step so as to arrive in one piece does limit the viewing opportunities

[Onestepmore]

My husband is very destination focused, walks to a set time schedule, has rest stops only after x hours etc. I find when I walk with him I feel pressured to walk at his pace, apologise if I want to stop and take a picture, miss out on stopping at attractive places or views because it's not a pre scheduled rest break. I prefer walking with company, but he's my only walking partner (when he has time) so it's him, or solo! I do see and experience more by myself, but its a bit lonely sometimes.

[Genesis]

G'day all,

I am very destination focussed, I am really trying not to be.
Being destination focussed makes me miss a lot of the scenery and the enjoyment of the experience.
I am working on making my days shorter, walking in the summer (Tas) when the days are longer helps.

I really like to take photos, I am not a professional by any stretch mainly for posterity and blogging, but I would really like
to get a "Good" camera one day and then just head bush for the photography.

But the main aspect that I enjoy right now is the company I keep when walking and meeting other like minded people.
I also get a great deal of spiritual benefit from my bushwalking often sitting for long periods on the top of mountains
just being!

Well thats it for now.....

Genesis

[wayno]

My husband is very destination focused, walks to a set time schedule, has rest stops only after x hours etc. I find when I walk with him I feel pressured to walk at his pace, apologise if I want to stop and take a picture, miss out on stopping at attractive places or views because it's not a pre scheduled rest break. I prefer walking with company, but he's my only walking partner (when he has time) so it's him, or solo! I do see and experience more by myself, but its a bit lonely sometimes.

its all your fault, you didnt load up his pack enough to slow him down....

[GPSGuided]

...I do see and experience more by myself, but its a bit lonely sometimes.

May I remind you of that Eagle Rock. You may need to go even slower.

[Swifty]

For years, for me, walking was defined as an opportunity to photograph. For others its just a fitness regime. Or just a social exercise ....

Steve

Why can't it be all of these things, and more, at the same time?

I can understand how your ecology education would alter your appreciation for sure. My background is geology, I tend to walk with other geo's and that is one aspect that we are able to appreciate when we are out bush in Tasmania ( and argue about!!!).

You'll never escape your "filters". Humans are filter all the way down, as the expression goes!
cheers

[neilmny]

My husband is very destination focused, walks to a set time schedule, has rest stops only after x hours etc. I find when I walk with him I feel pressured to walk at his pace, apologise if I want to stop and take a picture, miss out on stopping at attractive places or views because it's not a pre scheduled rest break. I prefer walking with company, but he's my only walking partner (when he has time) so it's him, or solo! I do see and experience more by myself, but its a bit lonely sometimes.

I guess the answer to Steve's question, hubby is your filter.............
I find walking solo a little lonely but not so much as to spoil the pleasure of the walk.
It is nice to share a wow look at that moment with another person.

[north-north-west]

There are times when I focus on getting through a particular route or to a particular summit, and that is never as enjoyable as when I just let myself walk to the conditions and the place and see what is there to be seen.
The most fun is when it's about the process, not the goal.

Getting to the high points (not necessarily peakbagging per se) has always been an integral part of my time in the bush, and I don't think that makes me miss anything - on the contrary, I think it gets me to places I wouldn't otherwise go, allows me to see things I wouldn't otherwise see (and take photographs I wouldn't otherwise take). The camera is usually there. but not always, and can be left unused for extended periods or even entire walks. Just depends on how I feel and whether there's anything photographable around. But some of my most memorable moments have no photos because I was too thoroughly immersed in the event to bother with the camera.

But we all miss things, even if it's just from a lack of knowledge as to what we are actually seeing. I spent so much time on the Larapinta and in the Pilbara and Kimberleys wishing I had a tame geologist to teach me about all the rocks and features.

[Happy Pirate]

For years, for me, walking was defined as an opportunity to photograph. For others its just a fitness regime. Or just a social exercise ....

Steve

Why can't it be all of these things, and more, at the same time?

I can understand how your ecology education would alter your appreciation for sure. My background is geology, I tend to walk with other geo's and that is one aspect that we are able to appreciate when we are out bush in Tasmania ( and argue about!!!).

You'll never escape your "filters". Humans are filter all the way down, as the expression goes!
cheers

Thanks Swifty - I think you get what I'm asking more than most by your aversion to the question!
It's probably a stupid question - especially if I try to exclude hunting as this is obviously the main factor that differentiates walkers from other land users (besides boguns).
But obviously education about the landscape makes a huge difference to your walking experience too.
I got more landscape information training from my reveg-botany studies than from my Geology field studies but I appreciate both (and I got more field experience from Geol).

But it really pressed home to me that what you are taught to look at is what you see.
And solo vs group walking changes your perspective of your surroundings in major ways too!

Steve

[Happy Pirate]

But we all miss things, even if it's just from a lack of knowledge as to what we are actually seeing. I spent so much time on the Larapinta and in the Pilbara and Kimberleys wishing I had a tame geologist to teach me about all the rocks and features.

NNW - Exactly!
And I guess I'm stoopidly asking for "unknown unknowns"
So I'm thunking I'm not asking the right Qus. - for experience so much as speculation or aspiration.

So:
What do you think you MIGHT be missing?
What do you think MIGHT be out there that you missed?

And not just physical features but experiences of the emotional - cultural - psychological kind........


Steve

[neilmny]

Errr.....uhmmm......the point of your question??????????????????

[tas-man]

My first reaction to the question posed by this topic is that I miss out on "seeing" what is around me while walking if I do not have a camera with me. I have been walking and taking photos for over forty years now, and have found that my interest in recording what I see in the bush actually intensifies my vision and emotional response to what I am experiencing. I am a details person, and enjoy and appreciate the texture, lighting, and colour of the world around me, and enjoy the challenge of trying to capture what I see in the way I see and experience it through photography. It doesn't happen often nowadays with digital camera's in smart phones that I am without a camera, but in past occasions when I did not have a camera with me on a walk, I recall that by not then looking with a photographers eye at my surroundings, I was not as focused on "seeing" the world around me, and felt I was missing something.

[geoskid]

Well, I think what limits my experience of nature when out there is constant chatter in my head (you know - just thinking), not being in the moment. This is more of a problem if only going for a couple of days and I don't have a 'clear desk' at home ( just general work, home, life stuff not dotted and crossed before I/we go).
When going for longer, there is more of an effort to have a 'clear desk' before we go, plus, after a couple of days, it's easier to quieten the chatter and get into the moment. When I am out there for more than a couple of days I feel 'in context' (reflexive instincts make more sense).
Coming home after a longer walk (if my family is with me) can be weird - i'm looking forward to the comforts at home, but I feel I am very much 'going back' . If my family isn't with me, I can't wait to get back.
So , I guess, what limits my experience of nature is modern life - and I can't see any easy way out of it.

[phsculpture]

Simple answer for me - wobbly knees when dealing with heights, narrow ledges, precarious scrambles, etc. I have clear memories of vertigo from the (enclosed) observation deck of the World Trade Centre. So exposed steep cliff faces are definitely avoided, no matter the reward at the other end. Something to work on, I guess. Maybe a tethered Sydney Bridge Climb?

[neilmny]

Well, I think what limits my experience of nature when out there is constant chatter in my head (you know - just thinking), not being in the moment. This is more of a problem if only going for a couple of days and I don't have a 'clear desk' at home ( just general work, home, life stuff not dotted and crossed before I/we go).
When going for longer, there is more of an effort to have a 'clear desk' before we go, plus, after a couple of days, it's easier to quieten the chatter and get into the moment. When I am out there for more than a couple of days I feel 'in context' (reflexive instincts make more sense).
Coming home after a longer walk (if my family is with me) can be weird - i'm looking forward to the comforts at home, but I feel I am very much 'going back' . If my family isn't with me, I can't wait to get back.
So , I guess, what limits my experience of nature is modern life - and I can't see any easy way out of it.

I hope you can sort that problem Geoskid, that's hard going. I sincerely hope you can.

[geoskid]

Well, I think what limits my experience of nature when out there is constant chatter in my head (you know - just thinking), not being in the moment. This is more of a problem if only going for a couple of days and I don't have a 'clear desk' at home ( just general work, home, life stuff not dotted and crossed before I/we go).
When going for longer, there is more of an effort to have a 'clear desk' before we go, plus, after a couple of days, it's easier to quieten the chatter and get into the moment. When I am out there for more than a couple of days I feel 'in context' (reflexive instincts make more sense).
Coming home after a longer walk (if my family is with me) can be weird - i'm looking forward to the comforts at home, but I feel I am very much 'going back' . If my family isn't with me, I can't wait to get back.
So , I guess, what limits my experience of nature is modern life - and I can't see any easy way out of it.

Having said that, and I realize you are meaning when we are walking, there are many ways to get back to 'living in tune with nature' at home ( where we spend most of our time). And of course, whatever we do we, however we live our lives, we are experiencing nature - it's just that we (as a species) are so good at building tools (which houses can been seen as) that distance ourselves from the immediate consequences of living in direct contact with the elements. We loose something by doing that I think. But we can bring our lives back more in contact with nature at home. House architecture is changing for instance, anyone can have a vegie patch, get a telescope, etc. I think it all comes back to modern living though, which makes education (about nature, the universe and how we fit in it even more important).

Heard about "Big History"? - very much needed in a society more and more out of touch with nature.
I hope I've sort of gone where you wanted to go. I 'm all ears.
(your posts are most interesting)

[geoskid]

I hope you can sort that problem Geoskid, that's hard going. I sincerely hope you can.

G'day Neil, I don't see it as a problem - it's just life.
I really look forward to going, the doing, the being there, and the inevitable coming home. I sometimes wish the being there was the default - but it's not, and can't be - so I get over it. .. and start planning the next getaway.

[stepbystep]

Yes the 'chatter' does interfere, however the walking helps process, disseminate and place in perspective those life distractions.

You don't know what you miss until you learn and understand what that was, so you obviously can't think about it until it has passed. That's why we return.
As I learn more about the cultural and physical landscape I take more out of it but don't rue what has been missed, on the contrary it was a blessing to experience a strange land with 'innocent' eyes.

Solo walking enhances the experience undoubtedly.

Photography can both be a distraction and an enhancement. All those buttons and dials and numbers etc, however when composing over time worlds within worlds become apparent that perhaps you otherwise may not have taken the time to appreciate.

Time and the pressures of a complex life are the main limitations I find. There is a decision that can be made to simplify, a brave one.

[Happy Pirate]

Yes the 'chatter' does interfere, however the walking helps process, disseminate and place in perspective those life distractions.

You don't know what you miss until you learn and understand what that was, so you obviously can't think about it until it has passed. That's why we return.
As I learn more about the cultural and physical landscape I take more out of it but don't rue what has been missed, on the contrary it was a blessing to experience a strange land with 'innocent' eyes.

Solo walking enhances the experience undoubtedly.

Photography can both be a distraction and an enhancement. All those buttons and dials and numbers etc, however when composing over time worlds within worlds become apparent that perhaps you otherwise may not have taken the time to appreciate.

Time and the pressures of a complex life are the main limitations I find. There is a decision that can be made to simplify, a brave one.

If I had had time to reply to all the thoughtful and interesting replies on this thread over the last week it would probably look something like stepbystep's comment here..
so thanks...

The rationale was that if walking is seen as a relationship with nature rather than just an event in a natural stadium then a relationship is always in a state of analysis.
My relationship with life is such so walking is a sub-set of this and questioning my life/attitude/behaviour is a constant part of this.
Because nature/wilderness is so big/extra-human it seems a natural conduit for questioning/self-reflection of human position in the larger world stuff and subsequent analysis.
But our own personalities and experience limit our experience.
More rambling but interested in all responses...
Steve

[Earwig]

I remember my brother telling me about his first (and maybe only) hike. He hiked to Sealers Cove and proudly told me how they were the first party to get there, even though others started walking before them. Raced past them all, he did. My immediate thought was "that's not what it's about".

The journey has always been the most important bit for me, which means that I am a disctracted walker and will change course. So, what I lose, is reaching destinations, depending on who I am walking with and what their objectives are. My planning tends to take this into account. Instead of planning a hike to Point X, I'll plan a hike towards Point X and see where I end up. With stops for photography (I always carry a camera), and side trips thrown in, I may not get to X - this time. It also means I tend to repeat visits to areas as I didn't quite get to where I was planning the first time and I do want to go there and so I guess I miss out on visitng some new places.

I love the art of photography and the camera has always been an important part of hiking for me. I even carry a camera when I'm walking my dog around the local park, which I've walked many times, like most nights. With a camera, you are always looking for some new way of viewing the area - different light, differnt colours.

My son patiently waited about fifteen minutes while I photographed this little sucker at Mt Buffalo. My son then patiently walked off (I was still chasing the photo) so I missed hiking with my son for a while. Similar story in the Grampians, and Wyperfeld, and ...

The disctractions are what I gain though, and I reckon it's more than makes up for what I lose.

[Oxygen45]

For me, the problem is knowledge. I want to understand everything, both geological and ecological. Am studying Env Sci love looking at things and understanding them. Really enjoyable for me to look at things from this angle as well as the asthetic. I am also trying to photograph all the bird species I come across which can add quite some time to walks as I wait patiently for a tiny little bird to land on a clear branch to get a shot.

[Happy Pirate]

Yes the 'chatter' does interfere, however the walking helps process, disseminate and place in perspective those life distractions.

You don't know what you miss until you learn and understand what that was, so you obviously can't think about it until it has passed. That's why we return.
As I learn more about the cultural and physical landscape I take more out of it but don't rue what has been missed, on the contrary it was a blessing to experience a strange land with 'innocent' eyes.

Solo walking enhances the experience undoubtedly.

Photography can both be a distraction and an enhancement. All those buttons and dials and numbers etc, however when composing over time worlds within worlds become apparent that perhaps you otherwise may not have taken the time to appreciate.

Time and the pressures of a complex life are the main limitations I find. There is a decision that can be made to simplify, a brave one.

If I had had time to reply to all the thoughtful and interesting replies on this thread over the last week it would probably look something like stepbystep's comment here..
so thanks...

The rationale was that if walking is seen as a relationship with nature rather than just an event in a natural stadium then a relationship is always in a state of analysis.
My relationship with life is such so walking is a sub-set of this and questioning my life/attitude/behaviour is a constant part of this.
Because nature/wilderness is so big/extra-human it seems a natural conduit for questioning/self-reflection of human position in the larger world stuff and subsequent analysis.
But our own personalities and experience limit our experience.
More rambling but interes
ted in all responses...
Steve

Just re-read this post and realised what a w@nk the above all sounded like - Gawd forbid I ever stoop to post-modernist $h1te!
But my point remains - look at what you do (in the bush) and tell me what that behaviour may restrict you from experiencing otherwise.
I guess I'm encouraging self-analysis of one's world-view compared to the world.
S

[headwerkn]

What limits my experience of nature?

Having to work! I could be hiking right now, but instead I'm in an office procrastinating on the internet instead of finishing off OH&S documentation. 'Tis an extremely poor substitute.

Cheers, Ben.

[Area54]

Other people, development, a time schedule, lifes' 'white noise'.