You're not wrong, but isn't "consumption" the entire point of every vacation ever? Do you do anything other than consume when you, say, go for a cruise? Road trip across the country? Go be a tourist in a city abroad? What could you possibly get out of a vacation other than "consuming"?
Consumer-brain people can't help but project their own desire to consume consume consume.
You state that there's a truck. Those are expensive. Is that a requirement? Can I just use my car or take the train?
You imply the beer is overpriced. Is expensive beer a requirement? Is a box of the cheapest beer they sell at the market not acceptable?
You imply that I have to buy the gear to go. Is buying new gear a requirement? Yes, I have bought gear at one time, but I have had it for a long time.
You imply that the sauna requires a "fitness club membership". Is a fitness club membership a requirement? Can I not use the one in the cabin? Or what about the one I built in my home?
Trucks, expensive beer, buying new gear, even paying a subscription for a "fitness club" are all YOUR consumer mindset, probably American. Yes, consumption is happening, but your own projection of what is wanted vs what is required says a lot about your wants more than what you're trying to say about the person you're replying to.
> Lifestyle tat for the outdoorsy set is an absolutely massive market that dwarfs the entire Disney empire.
I'm sure it is.
Just because other people wish to consume the luxury gorp core outdoorsy market doesn't mean that I am obligated to. I just want to be outside, exploring the terrain and feeling the air and relaxing.
Yes, you can be reductionist about the word "consume", but what I am describing is a far cry from a highly curated, disneyland experience, where you buy fried food and take a picture with a man in a mascot costume.
Depends how far you want to go with reducing things down to consumption. Does going somewhere to hike, climb, or camp count as just consumption? I can't stand going somewhere to only look at things or eat things, it gets very boring very quickly, but I like meeting people and going on adventures, exploring nature in as physical way as possible regardless of viewpoint availability.
You can be reductionist about the word consume, but I think there's a far difference between exploring and engaging in the world around you. Engaging people, meeting them on mutual terms (and not just on your terms, as a "customer"), and engaging the world.
Versus multiple yearly curated luxury theme park vacations where you eat prepared fried food and go on prepared boat rides and take photos with people in mascot outfits and you're paying everyone to be nice and predictable to you.
I think a better question is how much people consume in general. There are plenty of people who replace their car every 2-3 years but that doesn't get nearly as much scorn and mockery.
Yes, consuming is an experience, and experience is one of the ideal things to do on vacation in particular.
Surely it's still legal to have just as many new and rewarding experiences, in a new or familiar environment for the same duration of time, and none of them are actual consumer activities.
It can be as fantastic as possible without doing any more significant or out-of-the ordinary consumption than otherwise.
If you can't get the most out of both plain experiences and dedicated consumption, any travel might not be as worthwhile as it could be.
Engaging with the world, with people, with experiences, and places is good! Yes, there is a consumptive element to it, but you can be reductionist about that all the way down.
It's a far cry from taking a vacation where, for the entire time, you are The Customer. Where you are paying for predictable catered experiences and food, where everyone is trying to serve you in some way.
