What I Learned Living Out of My Tent For 7 Months
Pursuing your passions and simplifying your life
In 2017, I spent seven months living out of my tent and traveling around the world. It was by far one of the best experiences of my entire life — so far.
I did not go into the year planning on spending that much time in a tent, but rather it was a byproduct of my larger plans. By the end of my seven months, I had realized that I had learned so many valuable lessons by living a simple lifestyle.
Throughout this year and the seven months I called my tent home, I was able to meet some of the most kind-hearted people, see some of the most beautiful places, and learn a whole lot about myself as a person.
My plans for the year included spending the first three of these months in the summer working as a wilderness guide for a local non-profit, paddling through the remote lakes and rivers of Manitoba and Ontario. While the remaining four months would be spent in the remote areas of Patagonia, Chile doing conservation-related field research in my semester abroad.
It was a dream year, getting to live out some of my favorite passions in the most beautiful places. I have since continued to spend weeks and months traveling and living out of my tent, though not consecutively as I had done in 2017. All of these lessons I learned from living simply and nomadically in my tent, continue to apply to my daily life back home.
1. Less is More
If there is one main takeaway that I learned while living out of my tent for seven months in a row, it is that less is always more. Everything that I owned fit into an 80L hiking pack that I could easily carry around with me as I traveled. If it couldn’t fit in my pack, I didn’t need it.
This quickly limited me to carry only the essentials and nothing more. In our society, it seems that the more space we have, the more desire we have to fill it up with things, useful or not.
Although back home I had a lot more possessions and things in my room, house, etc., in my tent, I was stripped down to the bare essentials. I had a roof over my head (a rather thin roof) to keep me dry (at least mostly), clothes to keep me warm, and food to eat.
Without the distractions of electronics, or other things that make us “happy,” so much more time was invested into what I have come to learn is most important. Investing more time into the conversations and relationships formed with the people that surround you, as well as a very close connection and knowledge about the natural world around me. All of these things would have been much harder to focus my attention on had I brought with me the distractions and other things that are unessential to a happy life.
Things don’t make you happy. Experiences and people do.
2. If You Don’t Like Where You Are, Move
Living life nomadically in a 7ft x 3ft piece of waterproof nylon quickly gives you the freedom and mobility to move your “home” as you please. Something that is not readily available for most “traditional” homeowners.
While spending time in Patagonia especially, our environments were constantly changing on a daily. Some days we would be in a temperate rainforest, others on the dry steppe along the Argentina border. This sometimes meant really wet ground, steep slopes, or uncomfortable rocks beneath you. Luckily, no one was there to tell us “you have to stay right here.” If you are in an undesirable place, you can move until you find a better one.
In life, sometimes we are stuck in undesirable jobs, places, or a whole variety of other factors that make us unhappy. Sometimes these things can be easily adjusted, some may need some more time to change. Life in a tent has taught me that no matter what the factors may be, you always have the option to change where you are and where you are going. Sometimes it may take a bit longer to find what you are looking for, but in the end, the decision is always worth it.
3. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone — Take Every Opportunity
“Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone. So every time you are afraid, take one step forward.” — Lionel Richie.
Over the past 10 years or so, I have found the statement above to be increasingly true as I try to look at everything as a new opportunity to grow. While traveling and living out of my tent, I found that going to new places and doing things in the outdoors pushes you to the edge of your comfort zone time and time again.
Whether it is trying to overcome a language barrier, trying a new activity, or meeting new people, you are pushed into situations and environments that are new to you. Sometimes this can be overwhelming, but ultimately looking back, it can have the potential for profound self-growth without you even realizing it at the moment.
I’ve learned that with every decision you make in life, you have two options. One option is to not take the opportunity presented to you and ultimately your life stays the same — there is no self-growth.
The other option is to take the opportunity. Regardless of if you fail or succeed when taking this new chance or opportunity, you gain something from the experience. You may find a new passion, find something you aren’t very good at or meet people you would not have otherwise.
Take the opportunity. You will grow and become a better person because of it.
4. Connect to What’s Around You
Sleeping in a tent makes you almost as grounded to the earth as it gets. You are quite literally sleeping on the ground and the only thing keeping you “protected” from the outside elements is millimeters of fabric. In just about every sense, you are connected with the landscape around you, something I would expect most people who are staying in a tent are trying to accomplish.
However, I find it interesting how little people actually know about the natural world around them at any given time. The natural world is an incredible place and I think it is a shame to travel to or through a place without even putting in some effort to learn more about what’s around you. Something I am certainly guilty of from time to time too.
In Patagonia, my studies focused on conservation work and conducting studies in the landscape surrounding us. This required us to have a very in-depth knowledge of all the flora and fauna of the region to accurately perform our studies. To this day, I can still probably tell you what every plant, bird, or animal is (although some of the scientific names have escaped me).
It was an amazing feeling knowing everything that surrounded me in a place that had previously seemed so foreign months ago, I now felt more connected to it in a lot of ways. This greatly motivated me to better educate myself when I came home to better understand what has surrounded me my entire life growing up, that I had never previously attempted to connect with. Same thing when I travel to new places.
In doing this, everything around me now had a name and an ecological purpose. I think if everyone made an effort to learn more about their surroundings, the natural world would be a better place because of it.
As humans, we are more likely to protect things we know and have connections with, so learning and connecting with the world around us is an important first step for us to take in hopes of protecting it.
5. Be Alone (Sometimes)
I have spent a lot of my time in the outdoors with groups of people. Days, weeks, or even months spent with the same people every minute of every day. What I have come to learn is that everyone needs time to be by themselves. Whether you use the thin walls of your tent as a mental barrier from others or you go for a walk, that time to be by yourself is important. It is not only important for yourself but as well as for the group as a whole.
It is important to have time to think and reflect without the outside pressures or distractions around you. Journaling, walking, or sitting in solitude by yourself gives you those opportunities to recharge and release any built-up stress.
Most people’s daily lives follow pre-determined schedules that don’t allow for much or any time to take a break and be by yourself. We are told that we must go, go, go all day or our day is wasted. Making the effort and being intentional about setting aside for yourself each day, in whatever form it may be is essential in the long run of things.
It is just as important to be with others. As mentioned above, people help make experiences what they are. They help you through the tough times and make you laugh. I would never have met the people I had in my experiences had I spent it off on my own all alone. Rather, it is important to be present with others, but intentional when you need that time to be alone.
6. The Best Places Are Hard to Reach
I feel extremely lucky that during my time living out of my tent, I was able to travel to some of the world’s most remote places. Places that no one would ever be able to reach unless you had a tent and a weeks’ worth of time to travel to them. These are the experiences that fuel my sense of adventure.
I have never been drawn to places that have swarms of people visiting them, especially when it comes to the outdoors. These places, however, are usually this way because of the ease of access, comfortable accommodations, or because people saw it on social media.
A nomadic lifestyle and tent allowed me and the people I was with to get off the beaten path and explore these hard-to-reach places. I quickly realized that these places held a much deeper significance to me because of the hard work reaching them, the solitude they provided, and the awe-inspiring views.
The path less traveled is always worth the pursuit.
Final Thoughts
I feel incredibly grateful for the people I have met, places I have been, and lessons I have learned through months of living in a tent. Fortunately, I have found that you do not need to spend seven months living in a tent to apply these lessons to your life today, just a little bit of intentionality and drive to make the changes you are looking to make.
Life is too short. Take those chances, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone. Be with those who make you happy, and get out and see the world. Whether it’s in your own backyard or across the world, life is one big adventure and it can teach us a lot no matter where you are. All you have to do is go.
