This weekend, I visited another nature-loving friend who recently brought forth a new human into the world with her partner. We spent the weekend chatting about her birth story, her baby’s firsts, and how much the new human has grown in such a short time. However, I sensed a little drop in enthusiasm when the conversation focused on me and my ongoing escapades.

Although this friend was excited about her new bundle of joy and getting used to having another person in her home, she was reminded of her love for the outdoors when I came to visit her and her growing family. My friend mentioned that she really wanted to go on “real hikes” and camping trips with me but was hesitant about entering the outdoors with such a new human and a heavy full-time work schedule.

“First of all,” I told her, “there are no such things as “real hikes. A hike is a hike. It doesn’t matter where it is, how long the distance is, or how long you take to complete that distance.” Hiking means walking outdoors on a trail, or off a trail for recreational purposes. In my mind, those people who walk and jog a marathon have still completed a marathon. When you snap a picture at the end of the race at the finish line, no one who matters will ignore the fact that you have still completed a marathon.

I also reminded my friend that “every bit of nature counts. You can enjoy and commune in nature daily by just stepping outside and admiring the plants and animals around you. Your little one can still enjoy the outdoors by admiring the plants that appear in their everyday life.” Plants in a garden or on your front porch are not less than those you see in the wilderness on the side of the mountain. You don’t need to go through unimaginable feats to enjoy nature. You only need to place yourself outside.

She mentioned still wanting to go camping when the baby was older, which made sense, but we did make plans to go out in nature that weekend. We later spent the time we had together playing with her little one in their garden and at a local park. It was such a beautiful winter day. All four of us were bundled up and enjoyed our nature hike along the park trails. We didn’t need to summit a mountain to enjoy ourselves outside. We just needed to be outside.

When we got up the following day, we brought our breakfast outside and waited for the sun to continue rising over the tall fence in my friend’s backyard. My friend excitedly showed me all of the plants they had planted or the previous owners of their home had already grown. We took turns showing the plants and animals to the baby that sat quietly on our hips. We both smiled as her little one grabbed onto a shrub growing in their garden and watched as the tiny human became mesmerized by the brilliant shades of green.