Your post reads to me a lot like just getting away from everything in a setting where you couldn't be tempted otherwise was what you found beneficial. Which is

Your post reads to me a lot like just getting away from everything in a setting where you couldn't be tempted otherwise was what you found beneficial. Which is great, but makes me wonder if the meditation aspect isn't what's central to the experience. ------------ I do a good amount of solo backpacking (or with a long-term friend who can appreciate hours of silence as much as I can, instead of filling the time with constant conversation), and I feel I could write the same post as you from that experience, but it doesn't really involve anything I would label "meditation".