Community Health & Wellness

Sleeping under stars — even in winter! (Just like dad)

Posted on October 1st, 2026 By: Vince Dice

In the early 1980s, Scott Harter made the local newspaper for sleeping outside every night for 14 months.

Now his 10-year-old son, Axel, aims to beat the family record. Axel passed a year of sleeping outside on Sept. 16. If (when) he makes it to Nov. 16, he’ll surpass dad.

Axel doesn’t intend to stop there, either. “And then I’ll probably go to two years and then set a new goal from there,” he said.

Axel Harter in his tent on the family’s porch, with cat Pistol and dog Scout. Photo by Vince Dice

Inspired by a headline

Axel’s sleeping-under-the-stars journey started in summer 2025, when Rachel Harter — Scott’s wife, Axel and 9-year-old Jett’s mom — read her kids a framed copy of the Peninsula Gateway from Nov. 10, 1982. The top headline blared: “Sleeping under stars — even in winter!”

When Axel said he wanted to follow in dad’s footsteps, Rachel hesitated at first. She feared he wouldn’t sleep well during the school year.

The Nov. 10, 1982, edition of the Peninsula Gateway featured a story about Scott Harter, who slept outside for 14 months. Forty-four years later, his son Axel is trying to set a new family record. Photo by Vince Dice

“Then I left for a work trip and Scott, having an adventurous spirit, said (to Axel), ‘This is your chance!’ Lo and behold, he slept really well,” Rachel said.

“I had always praised Scott’s parents for being really cool and letting him do it. And when my turn came, I said no.”

It turns out she needn’t have worried. Axel sleeps better under the stars.

Occasionally, a falling branch or a noisy critter will disturb his repose. Sometimes the family dog, Scout, barks at something. But mostly, the conditions don’t bother him.

“It’s pretty comfortable. I don’t get that cold and I don’t get that hot,” Axel said. “I stay in the middle. … That actually really helps me go to sleep.”

The Harter family in Axel’s tent on their porch. From left are Jett, Rachel, Axel, Scout (the dog) and Scott. Photo by Vince Dice

Dad’s story

Just as Axel was inspired by reading the Gateway story about his dad, an act of journalism also inspired young Scott.

When he was 9 years old, he read an article about kids sleeping outside in a National Geographic publication called World Magazine.

“That article spawned that idea, so I talked to my parents,” Scott said. “Both of my parents were school teachers, so they were open to different ideas, kids exploring things.”

Father and son report similar experiences. Sleeping through rainstorms, enjoying the chirping of birds, family pets joining them in their tents.

Axel’s summertime set-up includes a stump, a platform and a small stairway. Photo courtesy of Rachel Harter

It helps that Scott’s childhood home is just a field away from where the Harters live now, near Rosedale and Sehmel Homestead Park.

“It’s pretty nostalgic for me to watch Axel go thru this. It’s pretty similar. I slept on the front porch of this house over here,” Scott said, pointing out a window.

So why did Scott go back inside after 14 months? A teacher encouraged him to write to the Guinness Book of World Records to see if they were interested in his achievement.

“They sent a letter back to me that said, ‘We really appreciate your letter, but we have somebody on record for sleeping outside for 20 years.’ So I said, to heck with it,” Scott said. “I started doing the math and I said, I don’t think I’m gonna find a girl to marry me if I’m sleeping outside.”

Axel Harter is keeping a diary to record his sleeping-outside adventure. Photo by Vince Dice

‘Is everything OK?’

So maybe Axel won’t make it long enough to qualify for the Guinness Book. But his 12-plus months in a tent are a regular topic of conversation among acquaintances and friends. He even inspired a classmate at Springfield Christian School in Tacoma to give it a try this summer.

Of course, sometimes people don’t quite get the story straight.

The first teacher who heard about it emailed Rachel: “I’ve been hearing rumors in class that Axel is sleeping outside. I just wanted to make sure everything is OK at home.”

Yes, thanks, everything is fine. He’s doing this on purpose.

Weather conditions haven’t bothered him. Axel has a pretty nice tent (a Night Cat pop-up camping tent with a cot, much more weather-tolerant than his dad’s set-up 40 years ago) to keep him relatively comfortable.

He puts up a tarp when it rains and move the tent into shade when it’s hot. The only things that bothered him were the record rains in December 2025 and the summer wildfire smoke. But he stuck it out.

Rachel noted that Axel hasn’t really gotten sick during his sleeping outside adventure, speculating that perhaps the fresh air contributes to fighting off bugs.

Axel Harter dozes in his tent while on a family camping trip. Photo courtesy of Rachel Harter

Inside is good, too

So what about little brother Jett? Does he plan to take a run at the family record in his time?

Jett spends his fair share of time outside on the family’s idyllic property, and occasionally joins his brother in sleeping outside. But all four Harters agree that he is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of his brother and dad.

Maybe he takes after his mom?

Rachel makes a tradition of camping out the night before each boy’s birthday, “to soak in the final moments of the younger age.” Axel’s birthday isn’t the ideal season for that — Dec. 8.

“I made it to 12:30″ on the morning of Dec. 8 before retreating to the warm indoors, Rachel said.

Axel Harter says his tent-cot setup keeps him plenty warm during cold weather. During rainstorms, he puts up a cot to keep dry. Photo by Vince Dice