Camping at the Kern River

The last weekend of March TJ and I headed up to the Sequoia National Forest to camp along the Kern River with some friends of ours. Most of the time these kinds of adventures happen with old friends from various seasons of life, or as an organized group outing, or because of regularly being the North Face, Patagonia clad outdoorsy types.

This was none of the above.

Our excursion was with some of our old and current baristas at Peet's Coffee, who have become dear friends of ours, and a couple of their friends. The idea of camping had been thrown around for awhile, and although TJ and I had anticipated being the ones to plan it...eventually...hopefully...we hadn't and they did.

A few of us that went have camped quite a bit. For the others, it was a highly anticipated event, complete with a Facebook invite page that was updated on the daily. This wasn't going to be any old camping trip, this was going to be an outdoor adventure for the history books.

And it was.

But not because we got in bear fights or caught fish with our hands or peaked a mountain or lived off of one can of beans and two squares of toilet paper the whole time. It is going down in the history books because it was simple and beautiful and based on cultivating relationships and memories...organically.

Things that some of us had done many times before, were new and exciting for others. This was a reminder that even the smallest things from a different perspective can again be filled with wonder. Building campfires, creating a rain shelter, making dinner over a flame, perhaps even peeing in the bushes.

Things that some of us had done many times before, with a new group of people became an opportunity to encourage one another, lend a helping hand, look out and care for the others. It was team building of sorts, but with no purpose other than being aware of the risks we were taking and desiring to help one another along.

We might have been the last group of people that someone would have put together, but we all found a bond through getting out of our comfort zones and daily routine to greet the outdoors, and I am really happy we did.

I thought it before, but am convinced of it now: Coffee brings people together.