First solo camping trip of 2025!
Solo Sober Birthday
This trip was different because: it was only one night, I was the only person in the park tent camping, it was my first sober camping trip, it was my birthday! Let’s talk about what I wanted to happen, what actually happened, what I packed & what I did, and my overall takeaway.
My first 2025 solo camping trip was May 16 & 17 - for my BIRTHDAY!
(Solo camping = Taurus energy!)
I had planned to take a 3 day 2 night trip but the weather was intent on ruining my plans.
So I adjusted and took an extra 1/2 day off work and decided to just do a single night - arrive Thursday and leave Friday.
I’ve never camped for a single night, to be honest, it just seems like way too much work to be worth it. BUT I really needed to get outside and into nature. I needed it for my mental health and as a birthday present to myself.
Learning to prioritize the things I care about has been a challenging journey, but this is how I’ve learned to turn my wants into action.
I went to a state park I’m familiar with and camped at a new site, I knew it would be less crowded so I picked a spot closer to the parking lot (where it’s normally very busy and not at all peaceful). My site was gorgeous. It was huge with excellent tree cover and just down the path was the lake.
What I packed: tent, air mattress, blanket and inflatable pillow, dog bed, picnic table cloth, fan/battery pack, kindle, camping chair, hammock, twinkle lights, compact propane stove, kettle, camp cup & utensils, journal, knife, mace, fire starter, headlamp, and citronella incense, personal toiletries.
What I forgot: a tarp or tent footprint, a sweater, my camping logbook, a towel, my extra long leash for Rosie, to download a new book.
What I ate: pretzel chips, Mountain House chicken fajita dinner, alcohol-free Athletic beer, instant coffee, Kodiak Protein instant oatmeal cup.
Set up: setting up was surprisingly easy. With the lower temperatures I didn’t need to bring a canopy or any of my extra hot weather gear. I got everything to the site with a simple wagon trip and set up within 20 minutes. My tent is easy to set up without help, I tried to go without the rain shield but we had some light rain in the evening so it went on pretty fast! The air mattress was horrible to blow up. I think I need to replace my battery operated pump cause it took forever.
Activities: After set up Rosie and I went exploring. I realized during our walk that nobody else was there, we were the only ones camping that night! We went through the trees and enjoyed the quite. Rosie splashed around in the lake (This is when I realized I didn’t bring a towel).
When we got back I pulled out my kindle and realized I forgot to get a new book (I don’t have cell service at the park), so I relaxed in the hammock and re-read the only book downloaded: “House of Flame and Shadow” - Yes I like Sarah J Mass - Yes I was influenced by BookTok - No I’m not ashamed. I made dinner and started the campfire (my favorite part) around 8pm.
I sat there in front of the fire reading and enjoying my NA beer until almost midnight! In the morning I made some instant coffee, journaled, and burned the last firewood before we took another walk through the woods and then packed up to head home.
This was the most “alone” I’ve ever been solo camping. Usually there is at least another site somewhere nearby with people and this time I was truly alone. Just me and Rosie. I definitely freaked myself out in the quiet, seeing things in the shadows and hearing the animals move around in the leaves. Also, there’s a coyote pack that lives in the park and when they get going they sound so loud and scary! I saw the park police drive through twice so that helped calm my fears. Overall, I felt safe and told myself that between me and Rosie we’re pretty well equipped to scare anything off.
This was also my first sober camping trip. I’m 151 days alcohol free as of writing this post, and celebrated my day 140 while on this trip. I did some prep work for this day. Over the past few months I’ve done small park trips and day hikes to prepare myself for sober outdoor activities. I was a little nervous about the emotions and memories that might come up. A huge part of any recovery is re-writing the habits and memories of your past. Camping has always been a big drinking activity for me and my friends / family. I was surprised that I didn’t have much trouble. I think bringing an NA option was critical to my success. I was able to “go through the motions” without breaking my streak. I’m sure eventually I won’t need it, but for now, I’ll do anything and everything I have to for this to work.
Takeaway: It’s always surprising to me how time works when you go camping. It was only one night, but being disconnected from tv, social media, my computer, made it feel like it was so much longer than that. Once we got set up and into the woods my whole body and mind relaxed. I spent time looking at the way the sun beams broke through the canopy, the patterns on the leaves, the squirrels busy finding their treasure, the birds singing to each other. Getting outside reminds me that we’re part of the world, we exist on this miracle of a planet and yet we’re so far away from it. I’m resolved to continue prioritizing being outdoors. It’s where I belong.
Allowing myself to adjust my plans gave me the freedom to have an experience I both needed and wanted. Experiencing a little fear being alone gave me confidence in my ability to keep adventuring and insight into other people’s solo camping experiences. Watching Rosie explore and have fun reinforced my decision to invest in her training. Taking myself on a solo camping night for my birthday was a humbling experience, allowing me to evaluate who I want in my life and who I’m ready to find along the way. I was able to have quiet space to ask hard questions about how my last year went, and what I want from this next year.
So now I have some clarity and the first solo sober camping trip done! I’m excited to see what all comes out of the next 12 months and what I’ll be doing on my next birthday!
