🚗 Take a day trip | Outdoorsy Newsletter

Being outdoors helps me feel more grounded. Yes, literally, but also mentally, emotionally.

I learned there’s a technical name for this: ecotherapy, or being in nature to boost growth and healing, particularly mental health. It’s also called green care or green therapy.

According to the experts: “Not everyone who does nature therapy has a mental health condition. Anyone can reap the benefits of ecotherapy.”

And here’s a fun fact: Doctors in some countries such as New Zealand and Canada even issue “green prescriptions.”

I hope you have the chance to unplug and connect to the world through Mother Nature this weekend, if not through this newsletter.

📮 What do you like to do when you’re feeling stuck? How does nature help you? Tell me about your experience by emailing me back.

Got cabin fever, too? Need something new to do? I got you. Pack up the car, we’re hitting the road for a day trip. Later we’ll hear about the first Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, and try to keep up with cool kids who double as outdoor enthusiasts.

☀️ Your weekend weather outlook: One word, gorgeous. Aside from some rain early Friday, it should be sunny every day. Expect highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s. (A little bird told me the low dew points may make it feel like a crisp fall weekend. We’ll be the judge of that.)

— Paola Pérez

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You know what it’s like. You reach the point of stir crazy where everything irritates you, nothing feels comforting, and you’re itching for another adventure.

We don’t have to live like that.

If you’re feeling cooped up and looking for a fun foray out of the house, there are plenty of things to do in our region to fill your day. There’s something for everyone to enjoy, whether you’re looking to:

🍅 Pick your own fruit and vegetables

🚸 Spend family-friendly quality time with your kids

🌊 Feel the majesty of nature through waterfalls

🍷 Explore wine country (or try craft beer, if that’s more your thing) with a beautiful backdrop

Get your hands dirty, be one with nature and more with our full list of experiences in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

🎤 Now we’re passing the microphone to Jason Nark. You’ll always find his work here.

When Earl Shaffer scrambled to the summit of Maine’s Mt. Katahdin on an August afternoon in 1948, the York County native was an anomaly, someone who took the leisurely hobby hiking to the extreme.

Shaffer, 29 at the time, was the first person to thru-hike the 2,000-plus miles of the Appalachian Trail, a feat its founders never imagined possible and never intended for. Even after Shaffer, who served in the South Pacific during World War II, it seemed unlikely the masses would follow his path.

“Not many will want to duplicate Shaffer’s feat. Not many should try,” a newspaper wrote about Shaffer in 1949.

In the ensuing decades, Shaffer himself would complete the trail two more times, once heading southbound from Maine to Georgia, then one last time when he was 79. All told, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, some 20,000 people have completed the trail over the decades, either thru-hiking over several months, like Shaffer, or completing sections over time. — Jason Nark

Keep reading about family and hiking enthusiasts honoring Shaffer’s legacy and celebrating the 75th anniversary of his accomplishment.

Allow me to introduce you to Sariah Cochran, who is spending her summer working as a counselor at Camp Schuylkill.

The summer camp hosts 150 children aged 4-12 each day, who explore the 365 acres of preserved land at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.

Guiding them are counselors like Cochran, who leads the 4-to-5-year-old Crawling Caterpillars along with two other counselors.

In her own words: “I like being active. I like being outdoors a lot, and that’s somehow my job.”

Cochran described the Camp Schuylkill day as being “centered toward fun.” Though there’s plenty of learning, too. Sometimes the campers even step into the role of teacher, pointing out plants or flowers they recognize.

Pictured above, she’s walking along with the kids as they identify plants on their morning hike.

The Inquirer joined Cochran and the Caterpillars for a morning at camp. Continue reading to see the work that goes into helping young people explore the wilderness.

🎤 Jason says: I stopped at Laurel Lake, near Pine Grove Furnace State Park, last weekend while reporting on the Appalachian Trail.

A grounding view.

I leave you with this touching camping experience courtesy of Jeff Arnold of Haddon Township, NJ:

“This past weekend I was camping at Hickory Run State Park with my 3-year old granddaughter. She was up past dark, which is very unusual, so I carried her to a dark and open spot to look at the stars. She leaned back in my arms as far as she could and just stared at the sky and said, ‘Napa I’ve never seen stars before beautiful.’ I have been camping my entire life and this is one of my fondest moments ever.”

If that doesn’t make your day, I don’t know what will. Thank you for sharing that moment with us, Jeff.

📮 Give us a review of your outdoors experience for a chance to be featured in this newsletter by emailing me back.

Here’s a Carl Sagan quote for the soul: “She had studied the universe all her life, but had overlooked its clearest message: For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”

👋🏽 Catch some sun (but don’t forget the sunscreen). See you on the next adventure.