Emerson and Camping

I love authors ad poets like Emerson and Thoreau because they write about things I've also experienced.  Their descriptions of nature turn into statements of beliefs, values, and lifestyles which is just amazing.  I remember the first nights of the more legitimate camping I've done (When I was little, camping consisted of playing Sega and Nintendo64 late at night with my brother in a tent in the backyard.  Let's say I wasn't the most outdoorsy of kids.)  On those first nights was when I got my first impression of the place.  Camping on the Superior Hiking Trail in Northern Minnesota was wonderful because you can actually see the stars, more than I ever imagined were out there.  They really do "light the universe" (6) as Emerson describes.  Being without the everyday luxuries of running water, electricity, shelter, showers, and tasty fresh food, I started to get "a certain reverence" (6) for nature, since everything I had to do to survive and enjoy my trip relied on those resources that nature provides.  While at school I had just finished my senior project (teaching environmental education to 2nd graders), senior forum (big, super stressful speech), and senior ethic (paper), on trail I didn't have any of those worries.  Outside of school and our built and developed world, "all mean egotism vanishes" (8).  I was much more interested in what was around me than about my own work or schedule.  Can't wait to go back this summer!  Here's a link if anyone's interested in hiking/camping in the North Shore this summer:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/tettegouche/index.html