Table of Contents
Camping
I’ve been struggling with addiction for 12 years. The last three years I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to get clean and sober. All the other rehabs I have been to have never had an outdoors component like Back2Basics. Before my addiction and in the very beginning, camping and other outdoor activities were a big part of my life. However as my addiction progressed, my outdoor life diminished. The other programs I was at did teach me a lot. However they never taught me to have fun in sobriety and that is what I feel Back2Basics does with the outdoor trips. Every other time I got sober I never thought I’d be able to go camping again sober but Back2Basics showed me I can. Instead of drinking and doing drugs all day I can enjoy the beauty of the place I’m camping at by going on hikes. There are a lot of memorable hikes already since the 2 and a half months I’ve been here. Not all the hikes are “enjoyable” while you’re doing the hiking, but when you get to the top of the mountain or the destination and see the view and think now you just hiked that whole way and didn’t give up, it makes it one hundred percent worth it! The best example of a hike I have like that is observation point in Zion National Park. It was 2,350 elevation gain on a 4.8 mile trail. It was a hot day in the beginning of June. It was my third week at Back2Basics and my second trip, the day before we did the Angels Landing Hike. Staff pointed where we were hiking to and we all kind of laughed because it seemed so ridiculously high. The whole hike up was so miserable in the heat. I felt like quitting at least a dozen times, but with the help of others I pushed on and made it and saw the best view I’ve ever seen. This is like my sobriety because with the help of others and by not giving up I can make it!