When I started thinking about moving out on my own last year I spent most of my time trying to think about how to have what I needed to keep up my standard of living, but part of my plans swirled around what sorts of things I wanted to do with Finn when it was just me and him. As noted here I had taken Finn hiking over the previous years and that encouraged me that the outdoors was a great place to bond with him. To that end the day before I moved out to my own place I bought a Coleman tent to use with Finn- the first tent of my adult life.
I had been trying to get a camping trip with Finn and my dad for years in my prior life, but the plug got pulled on that in 2023 and the momentum there was lost when Dad's camper was lost in the July 4th fire. So I decided to take it on myself, partially to finally get Finn to a campsite and partially to have something aspirational to focus on (aka that wasn't just about me moving out on my own). In February I looked around the state at the different campsites within driving distance to Leander. I made some reservations at Inks Lake Park, at place I have often been near by never went to, Colorado Bend Park and a park down in Lockhart (that I still haven't been to yet).
I then spent a good month building up camping supplies, either via shopping online or by checking the many Walmarts nearby and looking at their clearance sections. I had a basic plan of what I needed but I had a lot of fun filling in the gaps and leaning into collecting equipment. One thing I was inspired to do was to go primitive camping by myself- aka the kind of camping where you had to hike in the equipment and be away from sources of water and power. To that end I needed the first camping backpack of my adult life, and when it showed up on my doorstep it really felt like I was ready for new adventures in my life.
On March 1st I took myself camping by myself to get a feel for it at Inks Park. It was the first time I had been camping since my childhood, when someone else was taking me and was in charge. The campsite was basically in the corner of a parking lot close to other campsites, but River did a good job chilling at the campsite and I went early enough to really get a feel for the place. I cooked myself the best steak I have had, and overall enjoyed the night as the experience was more relaxing than I had imagined. It was an encouraging start to a year full of camping.
Two weekends later I went primitive camping at Inks park. I had to hike a mile to the campsite, and I had to pack strategically to have enough water and food to last the whole time. An accident with the water made it all a close call, and it got colder than I expected that night for mid March in Texas, but overall I had a very peaceful night that I think I will look back fondly on as a moment in time when I claimed back some of my identity. That night I did a lot of soul searching, and coming to terms with what my new life is all about. The next day the hike back felt like I had accomplished a major milestone in life.
The weekend after that I took Finn camping finally at a park in Georgetown sorta last minute when a planned camp at Inks with him fell through. He really seemed to enjoy the concept of sleeping out in nature, and that trip I worked out how to use dog mode in my car to keep River occupied while I did campsite setup. The first trip with Finn was a huge success- I had made good decisions with equipment and Finn seemed to enjoy the experience. At that point I had been camping three weekends of March (so out of five possible) and had proven that I could really lean into the dreams I had made the previous December.
I planned to take Finn camping again the first weekend of April, but that trip had drama. Don't want to share too many details here, but it became a time for me to push my independence and in a way camping directly became the spear tip to define my new life when the old vetos certain people were used to weren't there anymore. At that time Finn has started Kindergarten which was throwing me for a loop where it all was more stressful than I wanted, but the experience of us camping together hopefully gave him some memories he will have even as an adult. That was really the trip when he decided he really liked camping.
After that trip I pulled back on camping expecting the Texas heat to mess up any plans during the summer. I picked it up again in September and took him camping at Inks Park finally. During the Inks trip we were close to the playground and Finn felt like an experienced camper so he had a blast with the combination of the two. I had less scrambling than I had during the Spring and I enjoyed the fact that by then I felt like I had camping down. When we are grabbing McDonalds the morning after it dawned on me that at that point I had already taken him camping in 2025 more than I ever expected to.
Then in early October I went camping by myself at Colorado Bend Park, a place I found in February but hadn't visited yet. During this trip I got there right before the sun set and lost cell signal, but the next day I really enjoyed hiking the trail to a big waterfall with River- me and her exploring there felt like an accomplishment after a year of taking her hiking and camping around Austin. Unlike the trips earlier in the year I didn't feel like I was trying to build out my new identity- it felt built and I just was coming to terms with it.
I have some reservations with Finn for future camps, some at Inks some at Colorado Bend. My plan is to hit those sites hard next Spring and maybe visit some new ones myself with the hope I build up to a bigger trip maybe to Big Bend or somewhere like that further from Austin and closer to where I went camping as a kid. Also would like to resurrect the concept of camping with my dad, as I think Finn would enjoy that sort of memory with him one day.
But overall I am pretty happy with my effort to take Finn camping in 2025, what was a distraction to keep me going last December turned into some real memories this year. I will always associate this time in my life with camping with Finn.
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