Everyone's Camping Now… And That's Exactly Why I'm Not

Can Camping "Cure Illnesses"?

Recently, there's been an increasing amount of content online related to camping.

Open a certain app, and you'll see a sea of ​​camping photos; open a certain app, and you'll see a screen full of camping guides. WeChat is full of camping-related articles. On a certain blog, even Shawn Yue praised camping as fun.

There's a reason camping is so popular. There's a saying circulating online that camping cures young people's "urban ills," and many people go camping to "cure their ills."

Urban ills, after all, are the more or less "illnesses" that come with spending too much time in the city. Involution, insomnia, anxiety...they all count.

Who wouldn't want to enjoy the outdoors if given the chance? Unfortunately, my budget doesn't allow it, so I'm stuck with online camping. When I'm at home with nothing to do, I always grab my phone and scroll through other people's camping vlogs. In those videos, everyone has their own tent, food and drink, and the scenery is beautiful, the days are peaceful and tranquil. Watching them makes me feel so relaxed and at ease.

If virtual camping is so therapeutic, wouldn't real camping be a cure-all? Not really. Many people go camping with the beautiful hope of relaxing, but instead of relaxing, they end up exhausted or even nearly dead. A quick search for "camping" online will bring up a flood of netizens' tragic stories.

The illusion of peaceful camping

The reality of camping is utterly miserable.

Many people fail before they even start camping, even before they even begin. For example, one netizen wanted to experience desert camping in Dunhuang, but couldn't get their tent to pitch. He pitched the left side, but the right collapsed. He pitched the right side, but the left collapsed. After finally getting it set up, he lay down and realized the sand wasn't smooth.

At night, a strong desert wind blew, forcing him to do a cross-legged stance, holding the tent with all his strength to prevent it from blowing away. The next morning, the tent didn't fall apart, but he felt like he was falling apart. Some netizens said regular campsites weren't great either. They went to a popular beach, but the crowds were so overwhelming that they couldn't find their tent after going to the restroom. It was already midnight, and the beach radio was constantly broadcasting missing-person announcements. Getting lost wasn't uncommon, but someone losing their urination was a complete novelty. Furthermore, the tents were stuffy, hot, and full of mosquitoes. After a night's sleep, everyone was dissatisfied, except for the mosquitoes.

Other netizens complained about the lack of soundproofing in tents. With so many tents in the campground, they could hear their neighbors snoring and talking clearly in their tents, making it impossible to sleep.

Some netizens were even more averse to camping. Every time they went camping, they encountered heavy rain, their tents leaked, and they woke up the next morning to find themselves in the vast ocean. They ultimately left without their tents.

More adventurous netizens would take risks and camp in open spaces closer to nature. There were no crowds or strong winds, but there were cows. There's no way around it; the ecology is so good. Buffaloes wandered into the camp, or rather, humans intruded into their territory. The result was a wild fight among the tents, with pots and pans scattered everywhere.

I have to admit, even though the city's boastful idiots online constantly boast about using a shovel to defeat tigers and a stick to fight a pack of wolves, in real life, they often can't even defeat a pig, let alone a cow. Yes, reality is that cruel.

Some people, having longed to camp, finally found time, found a vacant spot, and were chased away by urban management just as they were about to set up their tent.

Ah, this... After reading these bizarre experiences, my initial fantasies about camping were instantly sobered.

In other netizens' camping experiences, I clearly saw tangled nets, a hierarchy of contempt, and anxiety... My goodness, isn't camping a medicine? Why does it feel like it made my condition worse?

After camping, the "symptom" worsens.

In fact, camping is a complex outdoor activity. Ranked from difficult to easy, it can be broadly categorized into three types: wilderness camping, regular camping, and luxury camping. Of course, there are also specialized camping options like self-drive camping and RV camping.

Currently, the most popular type is luxury camping, also known as glamping, or moving-in camping. This type of camping is extremely gear-intensive, requiring you to practically move your entire home. Here's a table to illustrate just how much gear is needed for glamping.

In addition to the essential tents, sleeping bags, tables, and chairs, this type of camping also requires a coffee pot, cooking utensils, pots, and lanterns. Ultimately, it's all about comfort and style. People often pack a ton of gear and stay overnight in scenic locations near the city, enjoying coffee in the afternoon and grilling steaks in the evening—basically, doing everything they could do in the city outdoors.

It's precisely because of this abundance of gear and the desire for style that the in-crowd has begun.

During holidays, the number of people at internet-famous campsites rivals the number of people climbing the Great Wall during National Day. In a place where you can easily step into someone else's tent, everyone's gear is visible, and the quality of that gear is instantly apparent.

Take cooking, for example: those who use electricity might look down on those who use open flames, those who use wood might look down on those who use liquid fuel, those who use kerosene stoves might look down on those who use alcohol stoves, and those who use alcohol stoves might look down on those who use gas canisters...

To stand at the top of the contempt chain, looking down on everyone, you have to spend money and buy, buy, buy, buy. As a result, the camping world has become a place of "camping vouchers." Where once you could happily go camping for a few thousand yuan, now you're embarrassed to take photos without spending a fortune on camping gear.

Those who originally hoped to escape internal competition through camping have inexplicably found themselves trapped in another kind of internal competition, one that not only consumes energy but also costs money.

Another group of frequent campers seeks peace and quiet, away from crowds, work calls, and the clatter of power drills, so they can finally get a good night's sleep after a busy day.

The reality is, getting a good night's sleep in a campsite is a rare possibility. Not to mention the rustling of the wind and the snoring of neighbors, many people leave their amplifiers blasting rap late into the night.

Even more captivating than rap is karaoke with a microphone, turning sleepless nights into sleepless ones.

If the first two groups can more or less express their love for camping, the third group camps solely to make others more anxious. They don't come to camp, they come to take pictures.

They pose for photos, create striking poses, and even casually display the logos of their high-end gear. In their eyes, camping has become a form of online social currency. Camping isn't about relaxation, but about posting on social media. As the saying goes, the more appealing the photos, the more embarrassing the photos.

This has led to a host of misunderstandings about camping.

For example, whenever I think about camping, I wonder, why is camping gear so expensive? Why is everyone camping? I'm so down on myself!

Those people who keep saying they want to camp to cure their anxiety actually create more anxiety in their social media. I can't tell whether I envy them more or want to block them more.

How can I reverse the trend?

In fact, I think if you really want to go camping, the most important thing is to avoid following trends, avoid comparisons, and do what feels comfortable.

I happen to have a few friends who camp 70, 80, or 90 times a year. I asked them, "Why do you love camping so much, even though it's so tiring sometimes?"

One of the veteran campers said that they just love the feeling of arriving in a deserted place after a long journey, setting up a tent, having a meal, and having a cup of coffee.

It may be tiring and uncomfortable, but the sense of accomplishment of conquering nature, the freshness of a new environment, and the satisfaction of being away from the city are still very appealing.

Another veteran said that the unexpected moments of camping, the moments when you need to "save the day," are precisely what he enjoys most.

After all, in the city, life is just about home and office, and most of the time it's the same. But camping can bring unexpected things, allowing people to discover potential they didn't even know they had...

Yes, when we talk about camping, we're actually talking about building the life we ​​want with our own hands.

I don't have the money to afford a high-end outdoor bed with heating and moisture-proofing, but I can choose to spend the day in the wild and come back to sleep at night!

Yes, I'm weak and can't beat a cow, but I can choose a place without animals!

Yes, my photography skills are poor, I can't pose, and my photos look shabby, but I can choose not to post them on WeChat Moments!

After all, we've traveled so far and done so much, and in the end, isn't it ourselves we want to please?