Camping in the highlands
The highlands have their fascination for those who love camping. With its hills and dales, green valleys, murmuring rivers and silence only to be broken by the chirping of birds, and the buzzing of beetles, the attraction will be endless. One must be a seeker and be willing to keep company with nature, be physically hardy and resolute to face hardships have a philosophical attitude and be poetically inclined to enjoy the pleasures of camping in the highlands. It would be to have one or two companions to share the joy and adventures of camping in the highlands.
For a city-bred person who is accustomed to noise, dust, smells and all sorts of pollutions, camping in the highlands has its thrills from sunrise to sunset. One may study the habits of birds and animals. One may enjoy the sky at night with its sentinel stars. One also can find time to read, draw or reflect. That is why most of the saints of the world sought the peace of caves and mountains.
To enjoy camping, one must be familiar with forest craft even though one need not be an expert. For instance, one must enjoy walking, be able to climb trees and hills, be able to satisfy with simple food which he has to prepare, and revere the habitat of animals. He must be able to pitch his tent and know how to go about preparing the camp site.
A tent when properly set up will give a certain amount of protection against wind and rain as well as shelter for sleeping. A provision box should be well provided with necessary things for making food, a few plates, cups and saucers and other necessary items for cooking. One must take pleasure in cooking, otherwise there mustn’t be enough food to last for the period of camping. A radio set or a casette player with a selected list of tapes would help drive away the silence and loneliness of the night. Anyway before going on a camp one must plan well to avoid disappointments. Above all what is needed is a mind to enjoy it.
Great philosophers and writers have praised the value of camping in the great open. For instance, R. L. Stevenson praises such a life in his ‘night among the pines’. Thoreau, the American philosopher has a lot to say about such a life far from the maddening crowd.
It I will certainly enlarge ones views of life and may help one to see the hands of God shaping nature around us.
