Many of my most thrilling encounters with the so-called non-human world have taken place on backpacking trips with my father. We’ve been backpacking since I was five and only managed to carry my pack, containing only breakfast, for about a mile before handing it off to my dad, who carried it in addition to the rest of the gear. These trips are great experiences and really quite a lot of fun.

Right before I left for college, I had one of the most memorable trips. On the morning of the third day of the trip, we woke up and ate breakfast, oatmeal as usual. After breakfast, we wondered off into the undergrowth about a hundred feet and brushed out teeth. We began packing and preparing to leave camp, when we noticed a juvenile black bear walked out of the woods uphill from the camp. He looked at us and we looked at him. He wore a, ‘what are you guys still doing here?’ look. And, it was true, we were late leaving camp that morning. After scrutinizing us, he walked around the camp, investigating the other tent sites and looking for food. We took plenty of pictures and remarked about how amazing and unique this experience was. Eventually, he arrived at out toothpaste and proceeded to investigate it. Looked back at us one more time and wondered back off into the woods. That experience was the highlight of the trip, and one of my favorite memories of backpacking with my father.

Of course we should save nature. But, perhaps ironically, we need nature to save nature. People need to see what it is that they’re working to save. And, our national parks work to achieve this goal.