|
Post by rachelcarson1953 on Aug 13, 2022 3:12:36 GMT
When I was a kid, my dad and the next-door neighbor became good friends, and both our families would go camping together. I was an only child, so it was fun to have two 'temporary brothers' and a 'temporary mom' that was a great cook!
I went camping the last time with just my parents after my husband had died. By then we had upgraded to an RV with a bathroom, and I brought along my pet cat. Just a few years later, Dad was gone, and I haven't camped since then. That was 20 years ago.
I am starting to get 'the bug' again, and this time I am looking at 'hot tents' that accommodate a small woodburning stove. I have watched some videos on YouTube, and since I live in a rural area, I can try out new equipment in the safety of my back yard.
Any advice and/or amusing stories?
|
|
|
Post by politicidal on Aug 15, 2022 22:20:30 GMT
Pack lots of insect repellent.
|
|
|
Post by twothousandonemark on Aug 16, 2022 1:59:48 GMT
I like hiking. Camping was fun when I was younger, for 2 nights max.
|
|
|
Post by Ass_E9 on Aug 16, 2022 2:30:31 GMT
Pack lots of insect repellent. Seriously, it's no fun having to get minor surgery to have a tick removed from one's neck.
And this was after only being in nature for less than two hours attending a birthday party as a child.
|
|
|
Post by Feologild Oakes on Aug 16, 2022 7:22:15 GMT
I enjoy hiking
I enjoyed camping as a child, but i have not gone camping in 25-30 years, so i don`t know if i would enjoy it now.
|
|
|
Post by mystery on Aug 17, 2022 5:08:13 GMT
I do a lot of trekking when I'm overseas. I feel like you can't really know a country until you've gone exploring by foot. I never went camping when I was growing up, so my first camping trip was actually on a safari in Africa-- which is pretty much like jumping into the deep end of a pool that is also filled with crocodiles. Some of the highlights(?) were trying to sleep while listening to lions sniffing around right outside my tent, monkeys stealing our things and running away with them, unknowingly sleeping in a tent with a tarantula the size of a dinner plate, and being in a safari vehicle that got charged by a bull elephant with enormous tusks. Not surprisingly, I wasn't in any huge rush to go on another safari after that. I did go on safari on my last trip to Africa, and it was much safer, although I really have no stories to tell about it. That's usually how it works...
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Aug 17, 2022 13:40:15 GMT
When camping as a child we had gone to these natural water slides. It was a stream that eventually connected to a big river in western PA. The rock bed had been so watered down that it was slick and smooth and you could essentially slide along this stream for a while and it would drop you into these calmer pools of water. Lots of fun, nice tourist attraction. At one of these pools was a big rock, say 15-20 feet high. People were jumping off the rock into a large pool of water. Well one woman jumped off and there must have been a jagged rock somewhere randomly…when she came up screaming it scared the crap out of me. She was clutching her thigh which was only about half there. The other half had been cleaved off and was floating down the stream toward the river. We decided to go back to the campground after that. Enough rock slides for one day.
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Aug 17, 2022 13:53:02 GMT
On a lighter note…I used to hunt. Never successfully, I don’t think I had a killer mindset, but I always enjoyed the nature part of it. Once during deer season I was deep in the woods leaning up against a tree near a small field. The sun was just starting to peek through the trees. Still early Dawn. I heard branches breaking off to my right at the edge of this little field. I could see a black four legged figure dashing through some trees and entering the small field. My first thought was “Someone’s dog got loose and now it’s running through the woods and would scare all the deer. Just great.” But as it got closer it got bigger and I thought “That’s a pretty big dog.” As it barreled from my 3 o clock to my 9 o clock it got within about 15 yards of me and I saw it clear as day…not a dog. Black Bear. Not the most terrifying of bears I’m sure but I will tell you that when you realize one is sprinting awfully close to you while you’re sitting in the middle of the woods relatively alone (some family were a few hundred yards away), it can cause you to catch your breath. It had no interest in me tho. Something had spooked it and it was trucking away. As a teen who had a hard enough time waking up to go hunting, seeing a black bear 15 yards away at dawn got my adrenaline pumping something fierce.
|
|
|
Post by rachelcarson1953 on Aug 17, 2022 15:40:36 GMT
On a lighter note…I used to hunt. Never successfully, I don’t think I had a killer mindset, but I always enjoyed the nature part of it. Once during deer season I was deep in the woods leaning up against a tree near a small field. The sun was just starting to peek through the trees. Still early Dawn. I heard branches breaking off to my right at the edge of this little field. I could see a black four legged figure dashing through some trees and entering the small field. My first thought was “Someone’s dog got loose and now it’s running through the woods and would scare all the deer. Just great.” But as it got closer it got bigger and I thought “That’s a pretty big dog.” As it barreled from my 3 o clock to my 9 o clock it got within about 15 yards of me and I saw it clear as day…not a dog. Black Bear. Not the most terrifying of bears I’m sure but I will tell you that when you realize one is sprinting awfully close to you while you’re sitting in the middle of the woods relatively alone (some family were a few hundred yards away), it can cause you to catch your breath. It had no interest in me tho. Something had spooked it and it was trucking away. As a teen who had a hard enough time waking up to go hunting, seeing a black bear 15 yards away at dawn got my adrenaline pumping something fierce. Wow! That's all I can think of to say!
|
|
|
Post by Nora on Aug 18, 2022 3:01:43 GMT
i like the IDEA of it. But in reality I hate insect and humidity and the lesser comforts camping brings. I do enjoy hiking though but want to take a shower and do my business in a nice hotel room at the end of the day
|
|
|
Post by James on Aug 18, 2022 3:24:43 GMT
Nothing too grand to share, but I really don't like camping, particularly in a tent and would prefer to be at a cottage.
As for hiking, it isn't too bad when the trail isn't too steep and if it's bug-free.
|
|
|
Post by ellynmacg on Aug 18, 2022 22:39:20 GMT
As a Blue Bird and then as a full-fledged Camp Fire Girl (which will tell you that it didn't happen yesterday, the Camp Fire organization having long since gone co-ed), I went off to summer camp, high in the San Bernardino mountains for two weeks for each of two years. Loved it the first time; the second time...not so much. We slept out under the stars both years, and when I returned the first time, I had caught quite a bad cold--involving my first real case of laryngitis. It seems the nights in those parts get pretty chilly a mile up--even in summer.
The next time I recall sleeping out overnight came in April 1981, when a friend--who later became my husband--and I camped on the desert floor near Edwards Air Force Base to watch the first landing (this one was successful) of space shuttle Columbia. What an inspirational and exhilarating sight that was!
|
|
|
Post by enigma72 on Aug 20, 2022 22:51:57 GMT
I camped in Yosemite, the Redwoods and other camping sites. We had a tent, air mattresses and a butane stove.
It was so much fun!
I loved it!
Now my back couldn't take it.
|
|
|
Post by Sandman on Aug 21, 2022 16:35:54 GMT
I camped in Yosemite, the Redwoods and other camping sites. We had a tent, air mattresses and a butane stove. It was so much fun! I loved it! Now my back couldn't take it. I like both hiking and camping. I look at camping like this. Go and get away from ordinary life for awhile. I know when the camping is over all the luxuries of home will be there when we get back. I have even camped by myself before and enjoyed it.
|
|
|
Post by enigma72 on Aug 21, 2022 17:34:25 GMT
I prefer like this, Sandmanthere are bathrooms, running water, BBQ's and fire pits. PLUS when bears come around, the rangers shoo them off. Your experience is too risky for me. IF I knew I'd be safe, I would consider your way. But too many things can go wrong.
|
|
|
Post by ShadowSouL: Padawan of Yoda on Aug 22, 2022 3:57:26 GMT
Watch out for the serial killers.
|
|
|
Post by Jep Gambardella on Aug 22, 2022 4:03:14 GMT
I can probably count on my fingers the number of times in my life I went camping. In other words, no, not a fan.
I do enjoy hiking, although I don’t do it as often as I wished.
|
|
|
Post by Sandman on Aug 23, 2022 0:53:45 GMT
Your experience is too risky for me. IF I knew I'd be safe, I would consider your way. But too many things can go wrong. enigma72 I have camped out in the woods all by myself a several times and liked it. My question is when you say "too many things can go wrong" What do you mean?
|
|
|
|
Post by enigma72 on Aug 23, 2022 2:35:40 GMT
Sandmanbears , snakes, animals I want to be near a medical facility/doctor. I'm a worry wart. I don't even like being bitten by a million mosquitos while walking across a meadow.
|
|