I’ve spent years collecting camping gear, watching outdoor adventures on YouTube, and planning trips I never actually take. At 45, I’ve decided it’s time to stop planning and start doing.
There’s a pretty good collection of outdoor equipment sitting in my garage right now. Camping gear, fishing equipment, and all kinds of stuff I’ve picked up over the years with every intention of putting it to good use.
Some of it has been sitting there for years.
The funny thing is, I genuinely enjoy the outdoors. I love the idea of camping somewhere in the mountains, waking up early to go fishing, or spending a weekend exploring somewhere I’ve never been.
I’ve watched countless hours of people doing exactly those things on YouTube. I’ve researched camping equipment, looked up places to visit, and planned trips in my head more times than I can count.
What I haven’t done nearly enough of is actually go.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person with this problem.
Somehow, Planning Became the Hobby
I don’t know exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the way, researching outdoor adventures became a hobby of its own.
I’ll see someone camping in the mountains, cooking breakfast next to their truck, or fishing at some incredible lake, and immediately start thinking about doing something similar.
Before I know it, I’m looking at maps, checking out camping locations, and researching equipment that would make the trip better.
Sometimes I’ll even buy something.
Then the weekend comes around, and nothing happens.
There’s always something else going on. Work, family responsibilities, things around the house, or just being tired after a long week.
And suddenly, another month has gone by.
The equipment is still in the garage, and I’m back to watching somebody else use theirs.
It’s Not Like I’ve Never Been Outdoors
I’ve been skateboarding on and off most of my life. I enjoy snowboarding, and I’ve been fishing since I was a kid.
Although, considering how long I’ve been fishing, you’d think I’d be a whole lot better at it by now.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to travel to some incredible places with my family. Japan, Europe, and plenty of other destinations have given us experiences I’ll always remember.
Travel has become a huge part of what I enjoy doing, and it’s one of the reasons I started Board in the World in the first place.
But there’s a problem with relying on travel to satisfy that desire to explore.
I can’t exactly jump on a plane to Japan every time I feel like getting out of the house.
International trips take planning, money, and time away from work. As much as I’d love to spend my life traveling, that’s not where things stand right now.
What I’ve started realizing is that I don’t necessarily have to travel halfway around the world to find somewhere worth exploring.
Sometimes I just need to get in the truck and drive for a couple of hours.
Living in Las Vegas Means I Have No Excuse
One of the things that makes this whole situation even more ridiculous is where I live.
Las Vegas might not be the first place people think of when they picture camping, fishing, and outdoor adventures, but there’s actually an incredible amount to explore around here.
We’ve got mountains, lakes, deserts, forests, and some amazing places within a relatively short drive.
Mount Charleston is practically in my backyard. Lake Mead isn’t far away. Southern Utah and northern Arizona offer more places to explore than I could possibly get through in a few weekends.
And I have a truck that’s more than capable of getting me to plenty of those places.
There’s really no good reason I shouldn’t be doing more.
I don’t need to plan some elaborate weeklong expedition. I could go fishing for a morning, take a short hike, or head out for a single night of camping.
The hardest part seems to be getting myself to actually do it.
I’m 45. I Don’t Want to Keep Putting This Stuff Off.
I think getting older has something to do with this change in mindset.
Not because 45 is particularly old, but because you start realizing how quickly time goes by.
I can remember being in my twenties and thinking about all the things I wanted to do someday.
Now I’m in my forties, and some of those things are still sitting on the same imaginary list.
It’s incredibly easy to fall into a routine.
You wake up, work, take care of whatever needs to be done, spend some time with the family, and before you know it, the day is over.
Then you do it again.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. It’s just that I don’t want to look back ten years from now and realize I’ve spent another decade talking about things I wanted to do.
Especially when so many of them are completely within reach.
I don’t need to quit my job (yet), sell everything I own, and live out of a camper to have more adventures.
I just need to start making better use of the free time I already have.
I’m Not Trying to Become an Outdoor Expert
One thing I want to make clear about this new direction for Board in the World is that I’m not pretending to be some experienced outdoorsman.
Far from it.
I know a little about camping. I know a little about fishing. I’ve spent enough time researching outdoor equipment that I can probably tell you more about some of it than I have any business knowing.
But actually getting out there and using it regularly? That’s where I have some catching up to do.
And I’m fine with that.
I’m sure I’ll buy things I don’t need, forget things I should have brought, make mistakes, and probably spend a few nights wondering why I thought sleeping on the ground was such a great idea.
That’s part of the experience.
I’m not interested in turning every trip into some extreme adventure. Sometimes I just want to sit next to a lake with a fishing rod, cook something outside, or enjoy a quiet morning somewhere other than my backyard.
I think a lot of people can relate to that.
You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy being outdoors. You just have to be willing to go.
So What’s the Plan?
For starters, I’m going to take inventory of all the outdoor equipment I’ve collected over the years.
I want to figure out what I already have, what I actually need, and what probably wasn’t necessary in the first place.
From there, the goal is to start taking regular trips around Las Vegas and the surrounding areas.
A few things I’d like to start doing more often include:
- Camping: Starting with simple overnight trips before working up to longer adventures.
- Truck camping: Figuring out how to use my Ram Rebel for quick weekend escapes.
- Fishing: Getting back into something I’ve enjoyed since childhood and hopefully becoming a little better at it.
- Hiking: Exploring some of the trails and natural areas I’ve spent years living near but haven’t taken full advantage of.
- Weekend road trips: Finding interesting places within a few hours of Las Vegas that don’t require taking time off work.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking.
I’m not trying to hike the Pacific Crest Trail or spend a month surviving in the wilderness.
At least not anytime soon.
I just want to get outside more often and actually use some of the equipment I’ve spent so much time collecting.
And when something doesn’t go according to plan, which I’m sure will happen regularly, I’ll share that too.
What This Means for Board in the World
When I started Board in the World, the idea was to combine my love of skateboarding with traveling and exploring new places.
That’s still very much what I want this to be.
But I’ve realized that limiting my adventures to vacations and occasional skateboarding trips means there are a lot of weekends when I’m not doing much of anything worth sharing.
Adding more outdoor activities just makes sense.
It gives me a reason to explore places closer to home, learn new things, and hopefully encourage a few other people who have been putting off their own adventures.
I’ll be sharing these experiences here on the website and over on the Board in the World YouTube channel.
Some trips will probably go great. Others might be complete disasters.
Either way, I’ll have something more interesting to talk about than another weekend spent sitting around the house.
Time to Stop Watching and Start Doing
I still enjoy watching outdoor videos on YouTube, and I’m sure I’ll continue spending more time than I should researching camping equipment.
But I’d like to get to the point where I’m spending more weekends actually doing these things than thinking about them.
I’ve already got a garage full of gear, a truck, and more interesting places within driving distance than I know what to do with.
Now I just need to put everything to use.
And maybe, after all these years, I’ll finally get a little better at fishing.