‘œDo you remember the first time? I can’t remember a worse time. But you know that we’ve changed so much since then’¦’ – Pulp
My first night in a bivvy bag was grim. I was under-dressed and cold. I was scared that I would suffocate or get shot by an angry farmer. I kept slipping down the slope off my sleeping mat. My shoes made a terrible pillow. I barely slept.
A familiar story to many veteran microadventure practitioners, I am sure. Thankfully I wasn’t put off altogether, tried again, and learned from my mistakes. Nowadays I find the notion of heading out of a city, climbing a random hill and kipping up there to be less daunting or stressful than trying to find a hotel room in that city. I love microadventures. I don’t worry about them at all.
But for those who have not spent a night out in a bivvy bag, it can be a daunting prospect. I have really enjoyed seeing people trying microadventures using tips from my books or blogs. Many have loved the experience, and become converts. This shows that it is easy, fun and rewarding to teach, encourage and guide someone to their first microadventure.
So I’mm going to ask you to get involved.
This summer I challenge you to inspire, recruit and launch a newcomer off on their first microadventure mission. Would you be willing to pass on the skills you have learned, to share tips about good places close to where you live, and perhaps to loan gear and accompany someone on their first microadventure?
If you know someone who you could take under your wing and cajole them into action, then please do it. You’ll both have a lot of fun. Get going.
Otherwise, my idea is to focus on all the Facebook Microadventure groups and Meetup groups as a good way for ‘˜newbies’ and ‘˜experts’ to get in touch with each other and hatch plans.
Here’s what I intend to do.
- Bring the list of Facebook Microadventure groups and Meetup groups up to date. If you know of any that are not on this list, please tell me.
- Try to find people in each group willing to take on the task of finding and helping newcomers.
- Share the happy success stories of people who’ve tried their first microadventure in order to encourage other worried fence-sitters that it’s worth giving it a try. I’mll use my own social media channels to help spread people’s stories and photos to a wider audience.
Please let me know if you can think of any better ideas for getting new people involved!
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