So you see a North Face commercial or a red bull video and you want to take a stab at going out in nature to start your first adventure. Whether you are wanting to learn to kayak, snowboard, mountain bike, mountaineer, backpack or camp this series will help you learn to plan, prepare, and provide tips and tricks to going out and conquering your first trips. This series will be in no order however; I believe each blog will give insight only provided by experience.
This first blog is going to be about adventuring for cheap. A lot of people see our photos on Instagram (@southernsummitco) and ask me how I afford to go on all these awesome trips. I have been able to go on several 4-5 day trips with only spending a 40-50 dollars. Whether you are a college student or just stingy, here are my tips for adventuring cheap.
1) Go on an adventure with a group. Going on an adventure with a group is important for several reasons which I will talk about in later blogs. (i.e. mentorship, safety) However, when you go in a group you can cut costs by splitting bills. For example, if you go on an adventure 5 hours away go with four people and split the gas four ways. Side note don’t forget to hook up the driver for allowing you to use their car, they will appreciate it and will be more willing to do it again.
2) Split food costs and go to the grocery store before your trip. Bulk buying food and making homemade snacks will cut major costs. Buying food in advance will normally help out due to the fact most awesome places are no where near civilization or the prices are raised due to being in a tourist location.
3) Rent gear from your college or local stores. If you are going on a trip and you are in college try going to local rec center and renting gear. It is a good way to try new sports as well as get to use gear that might not be used as frequent such as canoes or whitewater kayaks. This is actually how I got started in to whitewater, shout out to my local university rec center!
4) Don’t buy excessive gear (a future blog will explain what is necessary to bring on your first adventures). Just because the newest gadget for your trail adventure seems like a must buy stick to the essentials when you get started. A mistake my father and I did was go to the store and go on an expensive shopping spree from random gadget to solar panel charges, was the stuff cool well, yes.. However, I barely use any of it because one its to heavy and two I prefer not to worry about technology besides for my camera when I am out on an adventure.
5) Car camping and backpacking – if you are going to a place to do an activity such as mountain bike or whitewater kayak. Car camp or back pack at a local national forest or state park. No sense to get a hotel if you can help it plus the best memories come from late night adventures with friends in the woods.
If you can think of any other ways to cut costs on an adventure leave a comment below!
-Southern Summit Crew
IG: southernsummitco
Southern Summit Collection 