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Do you like being spontaneous or planning ahead?

My ex-husband called himself "Mr. Spontaneous." He complained I wasn't spontaneous enough because I like to plan and be prepared.

Yesterday a friend invited me to visit her property in Cle Elum, WA, 75 miles away. She is moving there with her boyfriend. They plan to convert the barn to living space.

"You didn't mention that we are spending the night," I said as we headed up Blewett Pass. "Do you want to go back home?" Kami asked.

Hmm... no luggage, toiletries or change of clothes.

"No," I replied. "I'll manage."

I brought hiking boots, a down sweater, down vest, raincoat, a warm hat and gloves. And a book to read. (I looked up the weather report before leaving.)

With no toothpaste in the RV, we brushed our teeth with Listerine mouthwash. Temperatures dropped to 17 degrees last night. Thank goodness the RV had heat! I wore all the warm clothes I brought.

This morning, as the sun melted frost, I ran around gathering branches of rose hips and snow berries to help Kami decorate the entrance to the barn.

She had bought pumpkins and gourds at a fruit stand along the way. Also brought metal decorations.

I felt proud of myself for being spontaneous. We had a marvelous time!

LiterateHiker 9 Oct 15
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45 comments (26 - 45)

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1

I'm a spontaneous planner.

I like to suddenly come up with things to do, but also half the fun of it is planning the best time and making sure I have the time and funds, or time to raise the funds. I've been overly spontaneous in the past and have learned my lesson from those experiences.

Good job doing something outside your comfort zone. Sounds like you had a lot of fun in the process!

Also, lovely writing and story telling.

@Misanthrope

Thank you!

1

Mixture of both. My ex took most if not all the spontaneity out of me really but given the opportunity I'll happily just do some thing for the hell of it but there are some things I like to plan. There is a distinct different between being spontaneous and going with the flow than having a fucking disaster on your hands and hanging on for grim death.

@ipdg77

Hilarious conclusion!

Because I am directionally-impaired, I LOVE hiking with Karen. Karen has a compass embedded in her brain. Knowing I easily get lost, I stick to the trail. Karen take me to beautiful places I would never go.

"Let's go up to that ridge," Karen suggests. I usually agree because she always gets us back to the car.

However, I say no if it's icy, insanely steep and dangerous, and we have no ice axe, rope or crampons. I know my limits and assess the risk. This keeps me safe while hiking.

The test of my day pack is:

"Can I spend the night in the mountains if I get injured or lost?"

My pack is heavy because I carry extra food, water and clothing, and a well-stocked, first aid kit. I have saved many ill-prepared hikers with a medical emergency.

"Let them learn from experience," I have been thinking lately, if they are just going to be uncomfortable. They can always turn back.

How a group of climbers was rescued on Mt. Stuart, October 10, 2018

[nwhikers.net]

Climbers die and are rescued on Mt. Stuart all the time.

@LiterateHiker I think your mate is very well prepared but exudes what appears to be spontaneity because it's based round her knowledge and experience. You may well have a back pack the size of Mt Rushmore to cover all eventualities but that's based around your wanting to feel safe not based around you being a donut lol You're sensible and your safe, that's a credit to you

I'd cheerfully go hiking with you and I bet we wouldn't get lost if you were on point 🙂

@OwlInASack

Thank you for your funny story.

Once, I forgot to pack spoons and forks for a week-long backpacking trip. We had lots of fun eating with our Swiss army knives and stirring with a stick. Never forgot that again!

1

I always seem to end up being spontaneous no matter how much I plan ahead. ?

1

I gotta admit....that sounds awful.

1

I gotta be ready, and you need to think ahead for that. When I have the basics covered, I can be spontaneous within the framework of good preparation. Sounds like you had a good time with your buddies this time, though.

1

I too, am a planner. But sometimes it's fun to improvise.

1

Nice story and pictures. I can be both. I like spontaneous but some planning is nice. If you hadn't had your warm clothes it would have been less fun.

1

Both, depending upon circumstances.
Glad you had a good time.

Had it been me, I'd have been pissed off she didn't tell me there was an overnight involved. That was very inconsiderate.

Especially since you're STILL recovering from pneumonia.
But that's just me.

1

I definitely like to plan stuff. I am great with my hands but the one thing I cannot make is more time! so it is precious to me. The occasional spontaneous outing is fun though... Just enough to get you out of your comfort zone sometimes... 😉

1

yes, i do.

when i went to europe for the first time i had every reservation in place for every town i intended to visit.

while i was staying out in the french countryside, another year, a friend called from paris. i dropped everything and took a bus to a train and a train to paris, to meet him.

i can do both!

g

1

I prefer not to plan things ahead because my narcolepsy certainly doesn't. I even dread making appointments because of it. I'm sick of telling people or even myself that I'll go do a thing at a specific time and then not going anywhere because my body decided to be half-asleep. I mean, sure, I'll plan big things, but regular social things, nope.

1

I plan things months in advance. However, it always turns out to be spontanious!

1

I like to plan ahead and also enjoy the journey.

1

I am totally spontaneous! I usually don't plan more than a few hours ahead! 😀

1

Keep planning to the minimum and improvise along the way. When things are too planned they become boring.

1

A mixture of both is great , planning for security and spontaneity for excitement.

1

It's about balance...and flexibility ?

1

Planned spontaneity for me. ? I do like to plan ahead, but I don't care to have every minute penciled in. The major points, like travel, need to be detailed, but the rest can be a rough outline with lots of flexibility.

This is me as well. I am all for a sudden adventure, but take 15 minutes to make the trip more fun and less unneeded difficulty.

1

That's a great story !!!!

0

I don't like surprises but I also don't like planning. I have been fortunate that my partners love to plan, and do a very good job of it.

I always tell my wife, boil it down to 2 or 3 options and THEN let's talk. It works super well for us.

Of course if she didn't like planning or were no good at it, the result would likely be that I'd do it, but we'd travel less.

When I've traveled alone in the past I tend to wing it more, and if your objective is to see some new sights and mostly chill, without feeling some obligation to tick off everything on a list, that can actually be relaxing. In my experience people tend to regard trips as something they will "waste" if they don't "get it perfect" rather than as just an opportunity to BE rather than DO.

My ultimate dream would be to spend several months in a location, and go totally "native". This would work because I'm a 100% telecommute who can work from anywhere, and am not even completely tethered to my client's local time. I'd love to hang in, say, Oslo and learn Norwegian on the side, etc. It doesn't work for us right now though because we have dogs, and other local obligations, and, truth be told, the older I get, the more that idea appeals in between my ears than it probably would in actual reality.

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