Camping

[skcin]

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?

[daniellaaarisen]

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

[HejiraNYC]

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? Camping just makes you sleep deprived, hungry and smelly.

[McTrouble]

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.

[ButterCookie]

I'd do it now. Now that I've had my hair cut off 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.

[Richard B]

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.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Camping just makes you sleep deprived, hungry and smelly.

Then you're doing it wrong!

[CreepingDeath]

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.

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

[vivfox]

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.

[xxxmx]

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.

[Aussie W/Heart]

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

[mezzoforte]

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.

[daniellaaarisen]

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.

[sara1998]

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!

[GarboSpeaks!]

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! 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.