If you had to spend a month in the wilderness, plenty of food and shelter, but no modern conveniences, what would you miss the most?

AS long as Mrs Squeeky is there , I would miss nothing when I returned home.

Not having to mind an alarm clock.

Been there done that. I would miss nothing. Isn’t it amazing how adaptable most of us are?!!?!

And I would miss none of the modern conveniences when I left civilization for the wild!

Returning home? That would be the ideal vacation. So… all of it.

When I spent six weeks in rural Laos, I think I missed a hot shower the most. I heated a pot of water over the gas flame and added it to my bucket, which I then poured over myself in an open air “bathroom” and it was pretty miserable on chilly mornings (we were at a pretty high elevation in the mountains). Oh, and a toilet – squatting over the hole in the floor sucked, too. I spent the entire time eating white rice and one type of green plant (I have no idea what it was, I just called it “shrubbery” since it was rather, er, fibrous) and found myself craving cheese, and bread, and pizza.

But it was a wonderful experience and I would go back in a heartbeat.

@syz Was that back in the 60s – 70s? (Air America?)

@Dan_Lyons 1996 ish And we dug up land mines every day at our construction site.

Wow! Nothing’s changed there in 30 – 40 years!

CARTOON NETWORK

I would “miss” my medications in the sense that I would probably die.

Also been there done that, for 5 years, adored it. A small old battery operated radio. A cast-iron bath with a fire underneath. And like @syz I would go back there in a heartbeat.

What I would like would be something to read or computer. I would say I would like a phone to talk to someone, but according to the question, I would be there with someone.

Computer or cellphone.

Hot shower

@turtlesandbox Yeah that would be the only thing I would miss as well.

My laptop and the internet.

When I returned home? I would miss the solitude (even with the missus).

Sorry, I read the title wrong. I read “If you had to spend a month in the wilderness, plenty of food and shelter, but no modern conveniences, what would you miss the most at home?”

Edited: The nature, the animals, the trees, the fresh air.

I also read it wrong. I would miss the solitude.

Oh jesus I think half of us read it wrong.

Much of nature simply can’t be observed until you immerse yourself in it. After living in a national park for 7 weeks last summer (I wasn’t completely without modern conveniences but it was a lot more natural than I’m used to), I can attest that it’s a completely different experience than just going on a short camping trip. You develop a sense for things that you can’t get without making observations over a period of time; the moon moves across the sky by this much each night, the yellowthroats live on this part of the mountain, the katydids chirp faster when it’s warmer out. I’m a big fan of those subtle things and it takes a good degree of intimacy with nature to find them. Makes me feel like most of us out here living our modern lives are missing out on a whole lot…more than we can even imagine.

I’d miss that connection.

Also…probably even bigger for me. Readjusting the hustle-bustle of “normal” life was the hardest part. Living in the park felt the way I imagine it’d feel to be stoned for a solid two straight months. Just perpetually blown away by everything I see and experience, super relaxed all the time. I felt like I would never know stress again. That obviously wasn’t true…and coming back to that was a bummer.

I would miss the quiet and the solitude for sure.

I would miss my social life most. The solitude would drive me crazy in a matter of days.

I would miss being stress free. I would miss being able to live to my own timetable. i would miss having to work for simple things, instead of them being on tap. I would miss being close to nature.

I don’t think I would come back!

Well, hell, I got the question exactly backwards, too.

The biggest shock that I had when I got back, and the thing that I missed the most, was the lack of commercialism – the “I need”, “I want”, “I must have” of our society is stifling. I was able to maintain for a while, but eventually it wears off and you get caught back up in the rat race.

haha I got it all backwards too. What would I miss the most when I got back home? Only the part about not having to commute to work, and that’s a very small thing against all the other things I would have hated about being stuck in the middle of nowhere for a month.

@downtide wouldn’t you miss having the time off work?

@anniereborn Living in the wilderness for a month would be more “work” than sitting at my office desk all day.

I would miss not having to do anything. Every day of my life is jam packed from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed, often with the pressure of getting things done on time. When I hear people complaining that they are bored I actually sometimes feel jealous because I can’t remember the last time I had so little to do that I could be bored.

@Leanne1986 “I would miss not having to do anything.” Are you kidding girl! When there are no mod cons there is definitely work to do, just for starters you need to keep a fire going, wood needs to be collected and split/chopped, food needs to be gathered and caught and prepared and cooked… There is no such thing as “not having to do anything”, no mam!

@Adagio Looks like I will never be bored then!

@Adagio that’s exactly why I said it would be harder work than going to work!

@downtide Harder work, maybe, but so much more satisfying and enjoyable, I love that kind of stuff.