Diane Vukovic Author Page

Contributing Writer

I’m a 30-something year old woman with two daughters. Because my husband has a physical disability, that leaves me to do a lot of the “adventurous” things with our girls. We go trekking, wild camping, and backpacking. We’ve traveled to some very remote parts of the world, like the jungles of Peru, peaks of Albania, and even to the desert while I was pregnant!

Most people think I am crazy to go wild camping in the remote mountains with my daughter (her first major trip was when she was 3; we’ll see about the baby). They especially think it is crazy that we go alone without a man to “protect” us. But these experiences are the basis of our best memories together – like picking blueberries for our camp breakfast, sleeping in a cave, and that time we saw a viper just 1 meter from our tent.

I love that my daughter feels secure in nature and knows how to handle herself safely. And all of my best accomplishments and memories occurred while traveling or wild camping – like when I saved our hiking group’s campout by making a fire in the rain. Or when my daughter reached the summit of her first mountain. Or that time, I had to fight off an attacker by biting and kicking.

It isn’t always fun, and there is definitely some complaining along the way (as you’d expect from kids anywhere). But I’m glad to have had these experiences and they are definitely worth it.

I don’t expect everyone to do the “crazy” things we do (if you do, then more power to you!). However, I hope that by sharing my experiences, I can inspire people to push the limits of what they find comfortable, connect with nature, and live a more self-sufficient and independent life.

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