>>2463857Personal betterment and a connection to those people who were more at home in the wild. Also because I can now.
It's initially for the skills. Survival skills like fire making, being comfortable when out. When I found out that's actually rarer than I initially assumed I wanted to be one who had those skills. I always liked being outside, I just wanted to be "good" at it.
Humanity, at least in the west, has been in their homes and dabbling with society larger than basic tribal units for a long time. But even then, there were people, scouts, rangers, whatever you want to call them, that cut trails and explored the world outside the known bounds. Explorers like Lewis and Clark, or even what the United States Forest Rangers were like in their initial forms for example. I want to be that man because I feel like I'm meant to be that man.
Lastly, I was sick for a decade with the shits. Now thanks to some medicine, I'm not nearly as bad and can have better, less shit filled trips. Ironic that a man who wants to be outside and "wilder" is stuck relying on modern medicine to stave off ass cancer.
So, I guess my philosophy is that I believe the woods is where I find a better version of myself.
