Favorite Smells in the Outdoors

[ppine]

The olfactory sense in humans seems to be tied to long term memory. If I smell 2-cycle outboard oil burning in the morning on a clean lake, I feel like I am 9 years old again. What are your all-time favorite outdoor smells?

 

[Refrigerator]

Backpacking stench. Smoke smell and the longer I'm out there the better.

 

[ponderosa]

Sage brush and aspen trees, especially after it has rained.

 

[DMan]

I love the smell of a campfire, especially when you're relaxing at the end of a great day. And it's hard to beat the aroma of pine trees when you're walking in the woods.

 

[oldsarge]

Too many to count. But any time I smell leaves, Grass or fires in general, I'm taken back to Panama were at the end of the dry season the whole country is ablaze with dried out grass burning all over. Between that and the smell of diesel exhaust on a hot really humid day. I can easily close my eyes and be back in Panama.

 

[chiefbowes]

The smell of fresh air after a rain.

 

[Bojib]

The smell of a campfire. It's one of the best smells I've ever smelt.

Lots of good memories from sitting up late around a campfire telling tall tales.

Also.... the smell of the ocean. I live several hours away, so it isn't something I get to enjoy that often. Once every couple or few years if I'm lucky.

 

[Grandpa]

New mowed alfalfa, sagebrush, and evergreens

 

[briansnat]

Coppertone sunscreen. Brings me back to my childhood fishing and crabbing trips down the shore. The smell of wood smoke always makes me think of a campfire. Of course the scent of a pine forest.

And though most people don't like it, the smell of a DEET insect repellent simply sings outdoors to me. I know, I'm weird.

 

[ppine]

Great answers. I'd include canvas infused with woodsmoke, horse sweat, coffee, bacon, and Jeffrey pines on a hot summer day, and the smell of cows.
Cows out in the open, the big wide open.
A fire of sage and juniper after a rain.

edit-Reading this thread sparked another one. Low tide at Chesapeake Bay. Low tide in the San Juan Is, and low tide in SE Alaska. They are all different, but they are all wonderful.

 

[Hikenhunter]

The smell of burning wood makes me feel relaxed. I also like the clean smell of the air in the morning right after a night of rain.

 

[TroyS]

I love the smell of a campfire, especially when you're relaxing at the end of a great day. And it's hard to beat the aroma of pine trees when you're walking in the woods.

Completely agree with you. That smell of the campfire and the pine trees brings me back memories of camping as a kid with my dad. I always look forward to it every time, and it gives me that sense of comfort that I always get from camping even now with my own family.

 

[clewand550]

I love the smell of a campfire. Nothing better than sitting by a campfire and taking in the warm feeling and smell of the hot fire in front of you. I also love the smell of marshmallows or burgers on the campfire. It all smells like camping to me.

 

[Judy Ann]

Pluff mud in the early morning
Flowering trees in the spring excluding Bradford Pears
Freshly cut lumber
BBQ smoking
Fields of clover
The smell of Magnolias on a hot, humid night
Ocean breezes in the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic
Wet rocks and dirt by a mountain stream after a summer rain
Lack of smells during a snowstorm

 

[dinosaur]

I like the earth smells in the morning when the frost burns off from the sun and that first cup of hot coffee.

 

[Marshmallow]

I love the smell of pine, especially right after it's been cut. Smoke of any kind, whether it's from a bonfire or a camp fire is also high on the list. Roasted marshmallow smell, steaks on the grill and that sickeningly sweet smell of cherry Icees are also high ranking picks.

 

[JenVarsity]

Rain. I love the smell of the land right before and after it rains. It makes me think that everything changes and grows...it reminds me of being hopeful.

 

[littlefire]

I'm stuck between the campfire smell and sunscreen. I love the smell of both. Having bonfires at the beach often brings me back to my younger years of camping with family.

 

[clewand550]

I love the smell of a campfire. It too brings back some wonderful memories. A campfire smell seems so relaxing to me. I feel like I am on vacation and there is no stress at all. I also love the smell of nature. The trees, the flowers and the fresh air are some of my favorites along with a hot campfire.

 

[MissyKitty]

I love the smell of waking nature in the spring. Especially when i sit at a campfire and there is a thunderstorm approaching. There is something in the air just before it arrives, i really like it.