“Sitting quietly on fall’s porch for a few minutes and ridding yourself of the ringing in your ears after summer’s nightclub shuts down is like washing the dirt off your soul.”
I have mixed feelings about fall. On one hand, it’s beautiful – everything is changing colors from that dry August tone into the deeper, darker hues of autumn. The air is tentatively feeling sharper, as though it’s testing the waters before it makes a decision to jump right into winter. Mornings are brisker, crisper, and clearer. A feeling of change hangs over everything, like the world is preparing for bed.
On the other hand, though, everything is dying. The leaves are the first to go, losing their color and clinging to the branches before they fall to the ground. Summer’s warmth isn’t quite gone, but it’s on its way out the door. Nights get colder, forcing either layers or walls for protection.
But one thing remains clear: Fall is a great time for adventure, for many reasons. Here are five of them.
1. Crowds. One of the worst things about summer is the deluge of tourist whales. They trickle in slowly at first, then the floodgate can’t hold them back any longer and they spill, flailing over each other in a writhing mass of sunscreen and umbrellas, into your previously quiet town. Of course, many towns need that influx of tourist dollars, but that doesn’t mean you have to enjoy taking photos of total strangers with four different cameras. As summer leaves like a wave receding back into the sea, it scours the beaches of the sunburned masses. And in its wake just the locals remain, gasping for air.
2. Waves. With the advent of the winter months comes the onslaught of winter swells. They march down the coast, banging into points and tripping over reefs, unleashing their power on your favorite break. You know it’s fall when the first of those big dark blobs pops up on the forecast. Although summer’s south swells can pack a punch, there’s just something unmistakable about those ominous impending fall swells – they’re the ones that get your heart pumping and keep your eyes open at night in anticipation.
3. Fires. I always love a good fire, but sometimes in the summer, I find myself making one purely out of habit. It’s too hot on those balmy nights to sit beside a roaring fire trying to look comfortable while you’re sweating through your tank top, trying to find that happy medium between reaping the benefits of the light and keeping your body temperature below the temperature of the sun. It’s a great evening – usually sometime in late September or early October (for me, anyways) – when you start a fire and realize when the sun drops that you can actually stand being near it.
4. Re-discovery. There are nooks and crannies everywhere, and for the most part, you need to see them more than once to really discover them. If it’s truly a hidden spot, you’ll need to check it on different sized swells and directions. Summer time is perfect for finding visual beauty, but heading back to that spot when the seasons have changed for the scenery and finding an empty wave breaking in the middle of it all is one of those things that words haven’t been invented for.
5. Reflection. Summer just seems like a time for fun, and exclusively fun. Parties, bikinis, cold beer, and warm nights pervade the warmer months. That’s all well and good, but there’s a lot to be said for the serenity of a colder, quieter season that lends itself to quiet reflection instead of sweaty drunkenness. Sitting quietly on fall’s porch for a few minutes and ridding yourself of the ringing in your ears after summer’s nightclub shuts down is like washing the dirt off your soul.
Add your own favorite reason why fall is the best season for adventure! Best one wins $200 worth of gear from Howler Brothers, perfect for those fall surf trips. While you’re at it, take a peek at previous installments of Call of the Wild powered by Howler Bros. Congratulations to Brian Vincent for winning the last prize pack!
