We usually think of an adventure as something that begins when we arrive.
The hunt starts when we reach camp. The fishing trip begins when we’re on the water. The hike begins when our boots hit the trail.
But after years of traveling together, we’ve learned something:
Sometimes getting there becomes an adventure all its own.
Things Don’t Always Go According to Plan
You can plan a trip carefully, check the weather, prepare your equipment, and map out where you’re going.
Then the outdoors reminds you that it has its own plans.
During one of our trips to Manitoba bear camp, wet weather had transformed the trails into thick, gooey mud.
After an evening in the stand, we were making our way back when our truck became stuck.
And we mean stuck.
There wasn’t much we could do except wait for another truck to come and pull us out.
By the time we finally returned to camp, it was after 2 a.m.
We were tired, muddy, and more than ready for bed.
At the time, getting stuck certainly wasn’t something we were excited about. Looking back, though, it became another story from the trip.
The Unexpected Becomes the Memory
That’s something we’ve noticed throughout our adventures.
The moments you plan aren’t always the moments you remember most.
Sometimes it’s the wrong turn.
The changing weather.
The equipment that suddenly decides it doesn’t want to work.
The road that turns out to be much rougher than expected.
Those moments force you to adapt.
And eventually, many of them become stories.
Take Your Time Getting There
We’ve also learned not to treat the journey as something that simply needs to be completed before the real adventure begins.
When we’re traveling somewhere new, we try to look around.
There’s scenery outside the window.
There are interesting places along the way.
There are people to meet and things to learn.
Sometimes slowing down makes the trip better.
That philosophy goes all the way back to Chuck’s childhood camping trips, when his mom encouraged the family to explore and appreciate the places they visited instead of rushing through them.
It’s something we’ve carried with us ever since.
Enjoy the Whole Adventure
After traveling together for decades, we’ve learned that adventures rarely happen exactly as expected.
And maybe that’s a good thing.
If everything always went perfectly, we’d probably have fewer stories to tell.
So we’ll keep planning our trips.
We’ll keep packing the gear.
We’ll keep choosing the next destination.
But we’ll also leave a little room for whatever happens along the way.
Because sometimes the road to the adventure becomes one of the best parts of the adventure itself.
