Are we losing the art of going feral?


Not familiar? That’s ok. Not a lot of people are anymore. In this increasingly fast-paced, technology fueled, globalizing world full of high speed travel options and hassle-free packaged tours, the art of going feral may slowly be disappearing.

A term that’s stolen from the surf-world, the concept of going feral essentially encompasses anyone who sets off into the marginally known with minimalist packing for an extended period of time with virtually nothing that resembles a plan. It’s embracing unforeseen challenges and making uncertainty your number one travel companion in the quest for an ambiguous goal.

As many who go feral will admit, many times the greatest rewards from an excursion are different than those they originally set out hoping to find.

For anyone itching to go feral sometime soon, this recent feature from Surfline outlines the basic necessities of surviving a feral excursion. Sometimes, as they are keen to point out, this can mean burying your passport, paying off anyone you have to, or protecting your camp with monkey’s skulls purchased from a local witch doctor to fend off would-be robbers.

While this style of travel is not for everyone, for others, it’s everything they live for. Surfers who hire a fishing boat captain to drop them on a remote island and pick them up two weeks later are examples of those who have gone feral. So are kayakers who engage in 1,800 miles of self-sustained paddling through grizzly country, or hardy trekkers who undertake an effort such as thru-hiking the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail, all in an effort to leave this fast-paced world behind and reconnect with nature. It’s all very transcendental, really.

Why not just hop in the RV and drive to the nearest lake then, you might ask? Because for those who go feral, there is a certain sweetness and adrenaline that lies in the quest. To undertake their own personal Hero’s Journey, and to come back having conquered the elements, their fears, uncertainty, dangerous situations, foreign lands, and most importantly, those who said it couldn’t be done.

What are your thoughts on going feral? Irresponsible? Inspiring? Appealing? Disgusting? We all travel in our own way for our own reasons, and for some, going feral is simply the best way there will ever be.