On Saturday I was packing Nightcrawlers and cleaning up in shop when I asked my Twitter & Facebook friends to recommend a new outdoor podcast for me to listen to and put on in the shop. Before I got any suggestions I found The Outdoor Podcast after doing a little searching for something outdoorsy, but was not specifically dedicated to fishing or hunting. This was a fun & refreshing listen, and not at all like what I am about to write!
As I searched I found a lot of the sites I was looking at for camping,hiking, or just hanging out outdoors seemed to have some reference to “survival” or self-reliance. If you are just surfing the web looking for camping and hiking blogs or podcasts and only taking a topical glance at the names and “about” info many can make hanging out outdoors pretty scary! Survival, wilderness preparedness, camping necessities, all of these sound like good things, but if you just take a quick glance as I am sure a lot of new comers & those looking at our sports for the first time could easily get scared with just a “once over” of the “highlights”. Many of the sites I looked at made it sound like if you are heading outside for more than an hour or two and you’re not going with a larger group of people or to meet family friend or colleagues, your morning hike or afternoon getaway will only lead to you being stranded, injured, and lost with no one coming to look for you for days on end! Is this really where we have gotten to? If you head outside without specific written agendas and your entire family knowing where you’re going, and checking in at every trailhead or creek bank, you’re going to end up needing every survival skill God could bless a person with?
Now please don’t get me wrong. I certainly agree that you NEED to be PREPARED for ANY trip outdoors. You should always let someone know where your going and when you plan to return. I even recommend letting people know which trails or treestands you will be using if you can. I think you should be prepared to stay longer than you plan on, just in case! But if you are new to the outdoors, trying to do some research to see what it’s all about, or if it’s something you might like to get involved in, the things that come up on the first few Google & Bing pages could be intimidating. Being an outdoorsman & outfitter I found some of the sites informative & fun. I just worry that many of us have forgotten that not all of our audience are seasoned sportswomen or outdoor junkies. If we keep posting all the technical/advanced word and techniques we could be turning newbies off, and I am certain that we don’t need or want that. I hope we have not gotten to the point that ANY outdoor activity that is not a “conventional” sport is sure to lead to someone being lost, alone, and doomed.
That’s my rant for today. I want to leave you with a question: If you were going to direct a friend or family member to an outdoors site, blog, or podcast where they could learn about your favorite activity what would it be?
Upstate Wisconsin 