STAFF PICKS: Indoor Activities for Outdoorsy People

We may have hit the pause on our outdoor exploits but,
according to our global team of adventurers, there’s
still plenty to do/not do.

For all you people coming off a week-long Netflix binge, here are some outdoorsy things to try at home or in your own backyard.

…And a couple of things that have nothing to do with the outdoors—because we’ve got no time for rules when it comes to blogs right now. No time for pants either.

RELAX

• At home making soothing nature sounds to comfort yourself? Don’t do that—try Naturespace instead.
• Meditate with the free Smiling Mind app.
• Do nothing. At. All. It’s ok.

‘One of the things I’m doing right now is guilt-free lounging. I’m a person that always has something to do or a project. Some of us deal with stress by adding more projects to the list. I think it’s important to remember you can also just be. Binge watch a show, sleep in, be lazy.

Giving yourself the permission to have off-days or hard days—or days where you do nothing—is just as healthy as taking on a project. The world is telling us to slow down for once and we should listen.’

—Colette McInerney, Sea to Summit global ambassador

GEAR MAINTENANCE AND ORGANIZATION

• Purge your gear collection of stuff you don’t need any more and put it aside to donate or sell later.
• Clean, repair, restore and store your outdoor gear so it’s ready to go when you head out into the wild again.
• Re-waterproof any sad, leaky gear.
• Wash your down or synthetic sleeping bag. It’s gross.

‘I’m going to spend my spare time in my gear garage, happily cleaning and reorganizing it top to bottom—all the while dreaming of future adventures.’

—Ryan

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‘I’m using this time to organize and clean all my outdoor gear. For my climbing gear—I washed my rope, re-organized my rack and color-taped every piece of gear (so I know what is mine on trips with friends). With camping gear—I’ve washed all of my technical jackets; raincoats, synthetic jackets, down jackets, base layers etc. and have re-waterproofed where necessary.
I have also re-conditioned my leather boots and proofed my GORE-TEX shoes.’

—Steve

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‘Once you clean out your backpacks, add a sunscreen (in a stick-type dispenser) to the lid pocket or inside pocket of each of your packs. You need never again find yourself on a hike where someone in the group is suffering from self-induced sunburn. While you’re in there, throw in a lip balm.’

—Barry

OUTDOOR AND SURVIVAL SKILLS

• Learn survival tips from a real Aussie bushman.
• Find an online Wilderness First Aid Course and learn how to pack a first aid kit.
• Learn how to use a compass.
• Learn all the features of your GPS by watching online tutorials.

‘Learn some International Sign language. It’s a great way to communicate in the outdoors whilst still enjoying the silence.’

—Bill

EXERCISE

• Download the DownDog app for your daily yoga workout—it’s free until the 1st May 2020!
• Try one of these nine free fitness apps.



READ + WATCH  + LISTEN

• This interview about an Aussie photographer’s hike through the Himalayas with a party of monks.
• Banff Mountain Film Festival has released free mini film festival to watch from home.
• Check out the all-female climbing movie Pretty Strong online.
• One of these best-reviewed adventure books.
• Join your adventure tribe with one of these outdoor podcasts.
• About The Legend of Baltimore Jack—an absolute gem of an article.
• This Lockdown Surf X Film Festival.

CREATE + LEARN

• Master the art of outdoor photography with Chris Burkard.
• Journal or write about your past adventures, your next one—or just complain about your day. Get it down on paper.
• Download and edit all those pictures you’ve taken on your past adventures—then set them up as a slideshow on your TV, a spare monitor in your kitchen or home office.
• Learn how to brew kombucha.
• Learn how to brew beer.
• Learn how to make bread in a bread machine.
• Learn to grow hydroponic vegetables inside.
• Download Duolingo and learn a language for your next overseas trip.

‘Pick up that guitar, harmonica or ukulele you have somewhere in your house and learn to play at least one tune on it. Even an inexpert rendition of ‘COVID-19’ to the tune of ‘Come on Eileen’ will be a crowd-pleaser when we’re allowed to have crowds again.’

—Barry

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‘Perfect the art of flat-lay photography with all your gear (you’ll want to savor the moment you organize and clean it all, right?). This is also a good way to have a visual record of all the stuff that you have.’

—Ben

JUST FOR CLIMBERS

• Order a hangboard to practice those holds.
• Clean and store your climbing gear.
• Keep up that forearm training.

‘Set up your rock rings or hangboard for some at-home climbing training—and get prison-yard shredded!’

—Seth

BIKE LOVERS

• Check out our best gear for bikepacking.
• Learn the art of the Track Stand.
• Give your bike a DIY home service.
• Share one of your bikepacking routes with Bikepacking.com.
• Be inspired by this epic bikepacking trip around the world.
• Learn how to save space on a long-term bikepacking adventure.
• Get bike-snarky.

IN THE BACKYARD

• Get a smokeless fire pit and spend your evenings fireside.
• Learn the slacker’s art of slacklining.
• Hang a hammock to momentarily transport yourself to a tropical island.
• Pack a lunch and blanket and head outside to enjoy some sunshine.

‘Have a camp-in movie night—grab a projector and pair it with your Bluetooth speaker for a movie night in the backyard.’

—Jordan

‘I’m experimenting with planting. If you’re new to it, like me, it’s a great chance to learn more about the plants you have. If you’re looking for a challenge, you could try to grow something from seed or from cuttings. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, now is a great time for it!’ 

—Hazel Findlay, Sea to Summit ambassador

ON THE BALCONY

• Grab your camp stove and practice some camp cooking recipes in the fresh air—try our Mexican Veggie Bowl or Curried Chicken and Chickpeas with Rice for starters! Outdoor cooking will be a cinch when you hit the trails again.
• String those outdoor lights outside, just because.

THROUGH THE WINDOW

‘If you happen to be friends with your neighbors, or want to be, now is a great time to try Window Charades after dark. Turn the lights on and play from afar (with two different hats to pull from). Zero contact, but hopefully 100% fun—I’m going to try it this week!’

—Ada

PLAN

• Map out your next local road trip or adventure to help small businesses and national parks—and to have something to look forward to.
• Download handy apps like AllTrails and FATMAP to help you plan your next hike or camping trip.
• Learn how to pack and prepare for a thru-hike.

FUN WITH DOGS

• Use your old climbing ropes to make backyard dog toys!
• Train your dog for the outdoors.

HELP SOMEONE ELSE

• Send friends, families and co-workers a personalized playlist, reading list or viewing list.
• Call, message and email your people to see how they’re doing—and know how to respond if they’re not ok.
• Show your support for a local business—call them, email them, ask them how they are and if you can help spread the word about their online or delivery services. Give them an online review if you love their work.
• Be kind on social media. People and businesses are doing their best to make the most of a bad situation.

KID-FRIENDLY

‘We cut up some magazines and did a pretty sweet camping scene with an old catalog.’

—Brandon

• Have a race to see who can set-up camp the fastest (even if it’s in your lounge). You’ll be grateful for the free underage labor when family camping trips pick up again.
• Create a mini-orienteering course around the house and backyard. It’s a great way to teach kids compass skills.
• Knot tying with kids—you’ll be surprised how fast they learn when they’re allowed to tie mum or dad to a chair.
• Teach your kids all the best card games.
• Karaoke Night.
• Dance parties with costumes—or a silent disco with headphones!
• Get your relatives and friends to join the Houseparty App for face-to-face catch-ups.
• Compete solo, with family or with a virtual team in Cotopaxi's Questival.
• Camping with kids on the porch.
• Backyard Schnitzeljagd (that’s ‘schnitzel yagd’ for you non-German speakers), also known as a scavenger hunt.
• Go on a 3D animal safari at home.

‘Take your kids camping indoors. Especially with the Easter holidays coming up, there will be a lot of cancelled camping trips. And I know my kids are going to be pretty disappointed that we aren’t going away. So we’ll probably pull the mats out from under beds, find sleeping bags and headlamps and do a sleepover in the living room.’

—Brendan

DON’T DO THIS AT HOME…

‘A friend of mine taught their kids belaying off their two-story house! I probably wouldn’t try this at home though—he’s a climbing instructor.’

—Bill

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‘The boys and I will be spending our time practicing our archery skills out the back—but don’t tell anybody.’

—Seth

Most of all—while you’re sitting idle or tackling an at-home project, remember that the outdoors is not only waiting, it’s getting some much-needed R&R. Outdoor adventures will be sweeter than ever once we’re all unleashed.

Got any more ideas of things to do at home? Find us on Facebook or Instagram and let us know. Tag @seatosummitaustralia or #seatosummit to share your photos with us.