With the ever rising gas prices, and directly related overall cost of daily living items going up, people spending less money on hobbies/recreation...it had me thinking. In reality, this hobby/sport can be as cheap or as expensive as you make it in reality, but as a whole, don't you think we're lucky to be able to pursue an activity that is still somewhat affordable in today's times?

I got out of offroading due to the overwhelming costs it involved. The closest offroad park is now 2hrs away, my built truck got about 17mpg, you generally came away from a run with at least ONE broken item on your vehicle if you were lucky, a built vehicle requires maitenance, daily park fees in excess of $30, tires in the $800 range that last 1-2years...less if you blow one on the trail, ever-lingering threat of snapping big $$$ parts such as axle shafts, R&Ps, driveshafts, etc. Bowhunting/archery, however, seems to be a much more affordable hobby. Really if you look at the barebones equipment scenario, here's what you need:

Bow (can be 30yrs old, or one day old)
Land to hunt (here can be the more expensive part, but generaly there's public land for most people who don't want to or have the option to own/leas)
Camo (again doesn't need to be head to toe scent blocker, micro-fleece, etc)...heck you technically don't even need the camo
License
Arrows
Gas to drive to your lease/land (ok...here's where your major expense comes in)

Cost of watching the woods come to life on an October morning 20ft up: PRICELESS

Thought I would put a somewhat positive spin on today's somewhat "bad" times. What do you guys think?