Veterans in Parks

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”

-John Muir

I have always felt inspired by John Muir. I think it has something to do with my military background. He felt more at home in the mountains or up a tree than in any civilized place. The way we trained in the military—out of doors, with just basic supplies, forced to embrace our surroundings—was not that different from the way Muir thrust himself into nature.

Never have I spent more time off of the beaten path, literally, than when I was in the military. Orienteering, survival training, learning to escape and evade the enemy. There were no trails, just a vast forest and a compass (sometimes). And as much as the military is about team building and the relying on you buddy, I sure found myself alone in the woods quite often.

Muir did the same thing. He lost himself intentionally to find himself. Often he took a bare minimum of food and set off for days at a time, gathering water along the way. His was a religious obsession—spiritual and emotional— with the outdoors, and it led him to National Parks. Famously to Yosemite, but many others as well. He that found these places provided precisely the solace he was in search of.

Muir was not a military veteran, in fact he was raised in Scotland. But something about his spirit speaks to the veteran parts of me.

For those of us who have borne the hardships of combat, we may not always feel in touch with the world around us. Whether its some leftover psychological wound or a resounding moral injury or just run-of-the-mill mental health challenges, getting outdoors can often turn what feels like a downward spiral into a virtuous cycle.

I often leave the house late in the afternoon to spend just an hour on a trail. Breathing. Communing. Listening. Learning. We call it “forrest bathing,” and it provides the same refreshment and comfort as a warm bath. But it’s those longer trips requiring the mission preparation, tactical execution, and time-on-target precision that remind me of the good things about military service.

As veterans, we fought to defend our country. That doesn’t always feel as clean and easy as it sounds. But in returning home, the National Parks tend to represent something pure, something good, something that we can be proud to have fought for.

The National Park-to-Park Tour will have many opportunities to highlight veterans in Parks and to fight for increased access to public lands for veterans. Most importantly, we hope to demonstrate that veterans can and should bring their families with them on these adventures. It’s a chance to transfer those way-finding and survival skills to young ones. If you are veteran, don’t let family and children be an excuse to stay out of nature, make it the reason that you return to the field. Find the time and ability to enjoy our National Parks for healing, service, and recreation.

For more information on veterans and National Parks, learn more about NPCA’s veteran program.