It’s barely 4:30 a.m. and already the sun is streaking across the Trossachs. I sit up and unzip the door of my one-person tent, crawling out onto the summit of Ben A’an with my sleeping bag wrapped around me so I can properly enjoy the dawn light transforming Loch Achray and the distant Arrochar Alps with pink and crimson hues. As I watch the sunrise, I boil water over my camping stove then wrap my hands around a steaming mug of coffee, and think that this must be the perfect way to celebrate summer solstice.
Wild camping, known as backcountry or dispersed camping in the US, has become my favorite way to mark the summer solstice, a day which I love to celebrate outdoors. It’s definitely getting hot out there, but spending time outside during the summer solstice is truly the most appropriate way to honor the transition from spring into summer. This guide to how to celebrate the summer solstice outdoors explains the significance of the day, plus some of my favorite ways to celebrate it in nature.
