Camping
 

Have you ever been camping?

Do you love it, or are you forced to do it by someone you love? used to be forced by parents & now refuse to go?

Tent, camper or cabin?

Private campground, state or national park, or resort?

What activities do you like to do while you're there?

Favorite campgounds?

This isn't traditional camping... but I actually lived in a tipi on a very traditional Lakhota Sioux reservation for almost 6 months. I hated the idea of camping before that experience but now, I can't wait to go live outdoors again.

We did a lot of hiking for the most part. We used the tipi as our home base and then we'd hike 12-15 miles per day and make temporary campgrounds for a night or two. Sometimes these would be by lakes, in which case we swam and canoed, etc.

I've gone "traditional camping" too, with a bunch of friends. Basically, we swam and tanned all day in a river by Big Sur and then we'd hike to the beach from our campsite. At night, we'd have interesting cooking adventures and get super drunk :lol:

Y'alls are crazy. Yes, there is nothing like going out into the great outdoors, breathing in the fresh air, and discovering nature. But there is also nothing like a hot shower, electricity, a clean, warm bed and a pillow. Why can't you just hike during the day and then drive somewhere civilized to spend the night? :shrug: Camping just makes you sleep deprived, hungry and smelly.

Tent? - absolutely no way!!!

Do log cabins count as camping?

If so I have log-cabined in Yellowstone National Park, Jasper National Park, Mammoth Lakes, and Jackson Hole.

I'd do it now. Now that I've had my hair cut off :lol: Shallow as it is, I refused beforehand because I'd have wanted to blow dry and straighten my hair etc. Now I just get up and go. I actually quite like the idea of those tents with pods that only just fit a blow up mattress in and zipping myself in there.

Love camping...errr...rather backpacking. Been all over California and Oregon camping/backpacking. Sequoia National Forest is my fav. I can get lost for weeks in there.

I feel silly "roughing" it at a resort, so I prefer a tent, I even love laying out without a tent (weather permitting) just in a sleeping bag. In the mountains, the weather can be so unpredictable.

I avoid campgrounds where people can drive up, unload and pretend to camp.

Then you're doing it wrong!

Have you ever been camping? Twice

Do you love it, or are you forced to do it by someone you love? used to be forced by parents & now refuse to go? Forced to go with my parents.

Tent, camper or cabin? First time was a cabin, the second my mother and I were too cold in the tents, so we took all of our stuff and slept in the truck.

Private campground, state or national park, or resort? We went to a private campground, but if I went now it would have to be a resort. :D

What activities do you like to do while you're there? My brothers and I used to shoot random things (never animals). It was really dangerous, actually. My step-father had heavy duty guns, (I should have aimed at the bastard). These weren't your standard BB guns.

Favorite campgounds? N/A

In 1986 my sister and I traveled across the USA together from Massachusetts to California. We camped out at KOA campgrounds all the way. There you can take a shower and use a bathroom that is indoors and modern. We slept in a tent. Great memories. My sister was def. the outdoors type. She showed me how to tie the food up in a tree so the bears can't get to it. Luckily we never saw any bears cause that is def. a fear of mine.
I remember listening to my newest cassette of Stevie demos a lot on that trip. The two best songs on the tape were Mirror Mirror and A Thousand Days. It was July and on one late evening while we were camped out at the Four Corners I had to leave the tent to go use the facilities and playing very softly out of someone else's tent on their radio was Has Anyone Ever Written... and this goes down in my history as the only time I ever heard it on the radio.

Love it. We go out island camping this time of year. Strap all of the supplies to the kayaks, everyone brings a few logs for a bonfire, it's not too muggy at night... Priceless.

Back in the 80's, in my late teens & early 20''s, most weekends we enjoyed getting out of the city, driving 2hrs with 3 car loads of friends and head down the coast of Victoria along the The Great Ocean Road & camp at a beautiful secluded beach, main essentials included, Bourbon & coke, Pot, Bikini's & surfboards. Sometimes we'd sleep under the stars in summer beneath 8ft high canape of tea tree's right on the beach. We would stay up late listening to F/Mac, The Doors,Pink Floyd & Hendrix, sitting around the campfire.. We'd spend the weekend surfing, swimming in crystal clear rock pools,[ if we were lucky the boys caught crayfish for lunch] we were young & carefree.. Fun times:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Remember slumber parties? They're the greatest thing in the world in middle school, but with each year you become more and more aware that the remnants of 10 girls' popcorn bags are really annoying to vacuum, and your back kind of hurts in the morning, and sleeping on the floor is really unpleasant. Finally in 9th grade you turn to your friends and say, "I'm getting way too old for this sh*t."

I think camping is like that, x1000. Like many city children, I was flung off to the wilderness for six weeks every summer to be enriched by nature, or whatever, at sleepaway camp. We spent three nights each summer camping, which was fun the first year. But gradually I became less enchanted by the marshmallow roasts and increasingly aware that it's not as convenient for girls to go to the bathroom in the woods as it is for boys, and that sleeping bags really aren't a very substantial barrier against the hard, cold, lumpy ground. I can't imagine a circumstance that would make me agree to camp again. I'm way too old for that sh*t.

Funny that this thread popped up this week.... my roommate and her friends all went camping last night and did shrooms. One of them had a REALLY bad trip and the cops got involved. Everyone's in jail right now.

We need to plan a trip together one year, Paula. You know how I love it. A lot of my friends have campers that are in semi-permanent spots at a private campground. Of course we have water and electric, but there are bath houses as well so we don't fill up the campers tanks. There's even a rec hall to do karaoke in! Haha! And we drive around drunk off our asses on golf carts to get from site to site. I'll have a camper out there a soon as finances permit. It's such a blast!

My parents took me camping every year as a kid. Camper, tent, and no tent. lol. I hated it, because I hate spiders and I'd always have the most random "Effing REALLY" encounter w/ a spider on my trip (s). Did mom or dad? Nope, they gravitated toward me. UGH! But then a few years ago, I just had to get the hell out of dodge, so I packed Banshee up in the car, and we made our way from Redwood City, CA north. I had no plan what so ever. When I got tired I found a state park, popped a tent and took in the scenery. We made it to Vancouver Canada, and the trip was spanned over 15 days. The most wonderful experience of my life. Also, every mile north, I wondered why don't I live here?! And so upon my return I told hub, folks, and friends...SEE YA,and moved to Oregon! :lol: I've yet to camp in Oregon, but have a whole list of places to go, and Washington too. For California, there is no better, beautiful place (imho) than Fort Bragg and surrounding Mendocino County.

I have camped in the past, including once for a geology class in freezing weather.
These days 90% of my friends camp & try to get me to go a few times per year.
No way.
I like to hike, but people can forget about getting me to sleep outside.
My everyday life is not luxurious enough to prompt any desire in me to choose to rough it for a weekend.

- Jake

What I loved about your story was you saying how much you hate spiders when camping and so what did you do when you went on a trip by yourself? You went camping!:lol:

^ My friends don't call me dorkahauntus for nothing. lol

Was just that Iwasn't going to let something as lame-o as spiders cramp my 15 day get away, and lo and behold, not ONE spider issue! My dad used to scare the bejesus out of me with them and about them (always the prankster) so I swear half those moments were Dad induced. Can't prove it, but I betcha! :nod:

HEY, I also noticed the banner. You likey? Was my first ever attempt <3

I've been camping all my life, from Boy Scouts through adulthood. I love it. The only aspect of mountain camping I've ever disliked is the occasional snake sighting.

^Here we worry more about bears, skunks or racoons. But my brother told me about camping in AZ & how the ranger came to their site to tell them to stay away from a certain area - rattlesnake. :eek:

I usually have all those things when I camp. :shrug: Well, sometimes not the electricity. Never miss it.

Sounds awesome. We went from a tent to a popup camper a few years back, which I know some real campers don't consider camping. But we don't really spend much time in there - it's mostly for sleeping & in bad weather. But I'm not one of those people who pulls in, lets their dog out, then runs back in to watch TV all night. :rolleyes: Seriously, I've seen countless people do that.


We say that every year. But what you're talking about isn't camping, sister. :laugh: I pretty much refuse to go to a campground with a rec building.

Great story! :angel:

To answer my own questions, which I rudely posted & then took off for the weekend:

Never went camping as a kid. Never. Husband & I started going when we first started dating. LOVED it! Now we go 4 or 5 times a year.

Tented it for years, got a used popup about 4 years ago. We love it, esp. if the weather's crappy. We may move up to a small travel trailer, but I will never be an RV person who lives in the camper & never goes outside.

I hate resorts, and private places are really hit & miss. I tend to stick with state parks. The more remote the site, the better.

We bike. Kayak. Swim. Lots of hiking to see cool & interesting things & scenery. Cook over the campfire. Drink. Eat. Play cards or dominoes in bad weather. Play Baggo (cornhole, I think some of you guys call it?) Blongoball/ladderball/ladder golf. Washer toss. Sightseeing if there's anything worth seeing in the area.

I love it. Every year, I so look forward to it - we start in May & end in October. :thumbsup:

Trust me, last year was the first time I went camping like that. It's more of a sleepover for all of us... It's really a blast! I still enjoy camping in a tent and hiking, and all the fun stuff you like to do, but the idea that all of us are together and everyone knows everyone is fun as well.

We do that once a year with a group of friends - ditch the kids, rent cabins & just eat/drink/play games all weekend. :thumbsup:

I love camping. A lot. I used to go five or six times a summer, up near Estes Park, right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park in Roosevelt National Forest. My other favorite place is White River National Forest, in an area designated as Eagles Nest Wilderness Area.

Both places are remote, with no facilities - you don't need four-wheel-drive to get there, but you can't get a camper or any of that crap close enough to use it. There are no outhouses, plumbing, electricity or any other 'hookups'. There is no campground. What you get is a relatively flat area in the forest with a fire ring made of stones. The camp sites are far enough apart that you have total privacy. I like to describe it as "far enough apart that you can party all night without disturbing your neighbors, but close enough for them to hear you scream when the axe murderer comes" :laugh:

My favorite site holds about 6 tents, generously spaced. It's near a stream - and the mountain streams are very cold, so we put all of our beer right in the stream!

Aside from daytime hiking, most of our time is spent collecting wood, prepping and cooking food or just sitting around the fire all day drinking beer after delicious beer. We set up a makeshift kitchen with Coleman gas stoves and a gas grill, and we eat very well.

My camping group has grown a bit large - so many people want to go (and bring a new friend or two) that it's almost become a chore these days - it's hard to coordinate 13-18 people and their dogs, and we always bring too much of everything - the past few years I've been lucky to be able to go camping once per summer. Of course as more people join us, the word spreads faster about our camping area and it gets increasingly difficult to ensure the space is vacant. We used to be able to go up Friday...now we go Thursday afternoon....but this year we'll probably have to go Wednesday to make sure we get the site we like the most.

Camping in Colorado wilderness, of course bears are potentially an issue. In all honesty, I have never once encountered a bear while camping, but we still take precautions - all food is taken to the cars and put in the trunk every night before bed. ALL OF IT. No food in your tents, no dirty dishes left out, nothing that can be licked or crunched or chewed or tasted is left out of a car trunk once we get ready for bed. It's a little extra work, but worth it to ensure bears aren't tempted to visit. They love sweet and salty snacks, and especially marshmallows - bears will smash your car windows to get marshmallows. No joke.

I'm honestly more worried about mountain lions, but they are pretty rare along Colorado's eastern slope.

^ Now that's camping. :nod: There are a few places like that in NY - Adirondack Mountain region mostly. Also a couple of places you can only get to by boat.

And I've never personally had bear issues either, but last year they had a very strong warning not to leave anything out at any time in the ADK region. We'll see about this year.

Our activities depend on where we're at. My next trip is here, so hiking the gorge is a given:
http://dansville.lib.ny.us/stonybrk.html

Later this summer, we'll be shoving our kayak into the pond right off our campsite:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24494.html

And later still, boating with friends on their motorboat & jetski:
http://www.nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/21/details.aspx

Wow - that place looks stunning!

And I'm stuck in Indiana - where the worst of the wild animals are raccoons and mosquitos. I would love to camp like this!

I grew up in Michigan, so I can relate for sure! :lol: We went camping a few times in the Upper Penninsula, near Marquette. It was always campground-style with picnic tables. Crowded, and lots of bugs. I had fun as a kid, but the first time I was asked to go camping in Colorado it was 1996 and I was a bit hesitant to say the least. I was not prepared for the awesomeness of the whole experience! Mosquitos are a problem, but not nearly as bad as the Great Lakes region. The camp fire keeps them away for the m0st part.

On a side note, I adore raccoons. Dirty little fatties, they sure are cute. :p

There are at least 4 or 5 state parks in NY that are really similar. Letchworth is probably the most famous. Buttermilk Falls, Treman, Watkins Glen. Awesome places. I love hiking the old stone paths in the gorges - most were built by prisoners in the '20's & '30's.

There's a city in NY who's motto is "Ithaca: It's Gorges." Get it? :D

^you're a lesbian. Get it??

I think you're confusing me with Carrie. Who I'm sure also camps. In flannel shirts. :D

BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!:lol::lol::lol:

Oh man, and the mosquitos are AWFUL this year!!! My friends camper was wrecked over the winter or early spring by raccoons... they busted out part of the floor and nested in the cabinets and tore out parts of walls... everything had feces and urine on it. They've had to tear our floors and walls and everything inbetween and rebuild. We're going for the first time Saturday. Being the smart ass that I am, I have a statuette of a raccoon for them to use a decoration...

Wait, I thought you two were dating. And had a child together. :shrug:

Might as well be. :shrug:


Camping trip #1 done for this year. Had an awesome time, and it was a great campground.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...6325nu0mrj.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...5325nu0mrj.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...3325nu0mrj.jpg

what she said.

what she said.