Twine

When tackling this task, I sought to emulate the humour of the first backcountry camping trip I took with my wife, whilst also sarcastically conveying some of the sense of dread we genuinely felt when making our way to the first campsite with darkness soon to follow. Bush (1945) noted that science (and by extension technology) has “...provided the swiftest communication between individuals...”, and I felt that this Twine could not only help communicate the stages of our journey to the reader but by breaking each stage into short events in much the same way as our paths changed, it helps the reader empathize with the choices we were faced within our journey. The humour of death around every wrong turn was obviously exaggerated, though one can never be sure of what wildlife you may encounter in a national park, and I was all too aware that hiking in after dusk was a foolhardy proposition; I can recall thinking “we are not going to be those fools whose story of demise ends as a cautionary tale on the evening news”! Finally, I ended the story with a final appreciation for the arrival home; for much as I yearn for a good camping trip to reconnect with natural beauty and experience the peace of a campsite few have been able to see, I often find the that the greatest value is the newfound appreciation you have for your home, a hot shower and a warm cup of tea with milk upon the return. Though our story was neither quite as depressing nor hilarious, I hope the reader feels interested enough to look into camping themselves one day!

References

Bush, V. (1945). As we may think. The Atlantic Monthly, 176(1) (Links to an external site.), 101-108.