If you are dating an outdoorsy guy you know the struggle he can put a girl through – even if you’re an outdoorsy girl yourself. My ex-boyfriend lived and breathed the outdoors. It was one of the main attractions I had for him. However I quickly learned if he said we were going to dinner, and I dressed cute, we would be going for a night hike, or fishing, or something not, heels and dress appropriate afterwords.
One adventure when I found myself trying to balance as I walked across a log to avoid wading through the mud, I jokingly told him I was going to write a survival guide for his next girlfriend. And with my ex-boyfriend, it really is a survival guide. But guys simply don’t think the same as women, and I figure it’s not just my ex’s girlfriends that can benefit. It’s any girl dating an outdoorsy guy.
So I’ve compiled a list on how to survive when dating an outdoorsy guy.
1. Give up trying to wear cute clothes. Sorry, you’ll be climbing a mountain in those heels.
I had a favorite pair of jeans. I thought they looked so good on me, so I wore them often. Once we went camping and crawling around in a cave. I thought my jeans would be perfect for that type of activity. But we also ended up on a 10-mile hike in which we had to swim across a creek.
I took my jeans off and tried to swim with them above my head, but it didn’t work too well. I was stuck in wet jeans the rest of the hike.
Moisture wicking and quick drying clothes are your best bet. There are much more options now than there have been in the past for cute outdoor clothes. So you have that to be thankful for.
If you really want to wear a skirt, several brands are starting to make hiking skirts. I prefer not to wear them because I don’t like the way I look in them with hiking boots. But every body type is different.
One of my best friends recently went on a hiking date. She didn’t like the way she looked in hiking boots and shorts, so she chose a more flattering shoe. She ended up with a sprained ankle.
2. Pack for any occasion
One thing I learned with my ex-boyfriend is I never knew what I was going to get into. For Christmas one year I got a new pair of trail runners. When he wanted to go hiking three hours north of where we live, I didn’t think anything about it.
The farther we got north, the more snow I saw on the ground. He looked over and said to me, “Do those shoes have Gortex? Because we are going to be hiking in snow.” Ugh, no they didn’t. And I was wearing jeans, so the cold moisture was up to my knees by the end of the day.
We live in Arkansas. We don’t get a lot of snow, and there was none on the ground at my house.
I am now fully equipped with snow gear. You know, just in case.
You’ll also want to keep your swimsuit handy too. You’ll never know when he’ll say, “Let’s jump in the creek to cool off.”
3. Keep bug spray and sun screen in your car
Another lesson I learned is I never knew when I was going to end up in thicket. My ex didn’t go many places where there were established trails, so we were constantly bushwhacking.
I once got into seed ticks so badly I called the doctor’s office when I got home to see if he could help me. I took a bath with literally a whole box of baking soda.
And if you are traipsing around with your outdoorsy boyfriend you are going to be in the sun a lot. Sun screen is your friend, and as you age, you’ll thank yourself for wearing it.
4. If he’s a hunter, and you’re not, learn to sit in the woods for hours upon hours or pick up a hobby during hunting season
In the South we have a term called a “Deer Widow.” A “Deer Widow” is a woman whose husband disappears during deer season because he’s always hunting.
Some women love hunting. And if that is you, you are lucky. I love the outdoors, but I never really got into hunting. I didn’t like sitting in one spot freezing my butt off.
My sister went hunting with her husband once. She sat and read a magazine while he waited for a deer to come by. I’m pretty sure he thought he was not going to get a deer that day.
Outdoorsy guy survival
Sometimes guys just don’t understand what it’s like to be a girl. But he chose you because you like the outdoors and will probably like you better dirty, sweaty, and covered in mud.
He is going to like you for being outdoorsy. And not for manicured nails and soft curly hair. So relax and be yourself.
