On Camping, Is THIS You?

[HopeDream]

Jim makes a good point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdqIpYhM6PE

I like campfires and nature walks, but I'm not a huge "roughing-it" person. My family did a little camping when I was young, but a cabin by the ocean is more my style. Growing up, my family also did quite a bit of hosteling - you bring a sleeping bag and cook for yourself, but sleep on comfy bunkbeds indoors instead of a tent. I liked meeting so many international people.

My dad loves camping and mountaineering.

Re camping espresso pot: Yes they make them! (great on campfires, and has a ledge for your demitasse)

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...4442545343&FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374302696295

 

[chemgirl]

Haha great thread idea!

I totally camp, although I don't squash bugs with my bare hand. That's what flip flops and rolled up magazines are for.

I have to say that I much prefer a 5 star resort with some sun. I would pick Vegas over camping any day, but I will tag along if friends plan a camping trip.

I think a big part of camping is being comfortable with your surroundings and knowing a few simple rules. For example: never leave your food in a cooler next to your tent, never touch the walls of a nylon tent (especially when its raining) and never leave the flap of your tent unzipped!

The last time I went camping it was with girls who are really not the camping type. They kept on leaving the flap to the tent open while they wandered around and frogs got in to the tent! I had to scoop them out while the other girls pointed and squealed. Its been a few years and they still talk about "that time Chemgirl touched a frog."

 

[ForteKitty]

i love camping in Yosemite or Sequoia, but we have to have good food. Talking tri tip and salmon for dinner, and blueberry chocolate pancakes and omlets in the morning. I can handle not showering for 4 days IF there is a river or lake, or IF there is a solar shower set up. (BIG plastic tub of warm water hanging from a tree that showers water at me) We always book a site w/ a bathroom w/ sink. I can't pee on the floor because it always ends up on my shoes.

 

[rosetta]

Urgh. No thanks.

 

[Autumnovember]

Love camping! I love everything about it. We usually go white water rafting too when we go camping. I bring my bronzer with me and thats it. We don't go to places where its muggy at night....it actually gets really cold so lots of blankets and cuddling. We love going with other people...lots of fun drinking/conversations/bon fired/s'mores galore. We go to sites that have clean bathrooms/showers. The best part is all the delicious food we get to cook right over the fire!

 

[marcy]

I don't like to camp but sadly DH does. We used to have a 26 foot trailer and trust me I was cranky the entire time we were there. We go way out in the country and dry camp so there is no power or hookups there. Over a year ago we got 39 foot 5th wheeler and it's pretty nice so now camping isn't quite as bad. Sadly we still have dirt, bugs and last fall we had MICE in the RV (I screamed like a girl) so that was awful. I've reached a point where I don't mind it but I wouldn't pick it as something I really want to do.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

I don't see the point of camping for camping's sake. For example, my husband and I are staying in a hotel long term on a Pacific island (evacuated from Japan), and some of our friends suggested camping on the beach this past weekend. Why? So... you want to go sleep in a tent on the sand when there's a shower and a comfy bed 15 minutes away? What's the point? We hung out with everyone on the beach for the cookout and then came back to the hotel.

If we were to actually go somewhere and DO something that required camping, then I'd be all for it. I do enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and water activities, etc. I've been camping many times, but always when the the destination was far away from my bed. I camp as a matter of practicality, not for fun. Bugs don't bother me (although a centipede would definitely scare me!!!), and I don't mind going without a shower, but given the option, I'd prefer a shower.

s'mores are required when I camp, by the way.

 

[Tuckins1]

I used to go when I was young and I loved it. Now, however, I wouldn't be caught dead without a proper bed and indoor plumbing!! I do still enjoy being outdoors, just not overnight.

 

[MonkeyPie]

It was dark, and after a scramble for the flashlight, we found the can had been knocked over by a GINORMOUS CENTIPEDE! It was easily 6 inches long, and hideous.

I have you beat - I once "camped" for a family reunion. I slept in the tent, hated life, got up the next morning feeling like crap. I was a teenager but dammit, I liked my bed. Stumbled into the bathroom (yeah, we skipped the "no showers" part, thank GOD) and found a centipede. It was 14 inches long, bright orange, and fast as a freaking dog.

Needless to say, that will never be happening again.

 

[kittybean]

iLander, I once saw that "I love not camping" motif on a mug, and since that day, I have regretted not buying that mug for myself. I love my bed, my giant shower, my Clarisonic, my makeup, my hair dryer, my straightening iron, and my kitchen for making myself a delicious breakfast. Ergo, I really do love not camping, and I am definitely not wash-and-wear. (I did camp as a child, but I try to black out those dark times.)

 

[TravelingGal]

I'm actually surprised so few PSers like camping! I love camping! But I admit, I am a car camper...meaning, throw everything in the car, pull up to a convenient campsite and have fun! My friends and I are not hot dog and burger campers...we go all out and eat GOOD FOOD.

I don't bother with make up when I camp. Usually the duration is short, so I only take one shower, but I can go without because everyone stinks too. I just like hanging out by the fire, eating, chatting and drinking. Haven't camped with the kid yet, but I imagine that will be very different experience.

I just like being outside. And food always tastes amazing when camping! Beer tastes even BETTER!

 

[soocool]

My sister has 3 boys and they camped 2 weeks every summer for almost 20 years. I never wanted to join them, but DD did once and after several hours called me to pick her up. Now anytime someone says "let's go camping" she runs and hides. Don't know if it was the whole camping thing or 3 boys at a campsite that has scarred and scared her from ever camping again.

I did warn her, but like any teen she never listened to me.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

I like camping when it's the only type of accommodation available (out in the middle of nowhere). I don't like camping in caravan parks where there are 3 bedroom apartments with their hot showers and toilets just laughing at me because I'm staying in a tent. (HATE sharing public bathrooms).

My husband was talking about getting some sort of offroad trailer camper thing so that we could go camping in remote places and honestly the idea scared me a bit. Thankfully we just bought a boat instead so we will be towing that if we go anywhere. Now I'll just have to get used to fishing!

 

[dragonfly411]

I camp. SO and I have a 12 person tent, it's a little mini house. If the campsite has power (Silver River in Ocala, Wekiva Springs in central FL, etc.) then we bring an AC unit that cools our entire tent off. If not, then we rough it. I Enjoy it for the most part, but I do bring makeup. I will do my makeup in the reflection of a puddle if I have to. I don't feel put together without at least mascara and a touch of SPF foundation.

I actually had my worst camping experience in an older model camper. It was one we left at the campsite in our hunting woods and apparently a hole had rotted through the bathroom behind the toilet in the floor. There were mice getting in!!! I woke up in the night to the feeling of something scurrying across my foot!!!!! Then I could hear them jumping around in the oven and refrigerator!!!!!!! GAH! I slept in the truck that night. I've never had bad experiences otherwise, and generally enjoy camping.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I love camping! In fact, I hate resorts, but love camping. I love the smell of fires and dirt, I love hanging out with the dogs. I love hot dogs, s'mores, talking around the campfire, setting up the tent. I love being able to leave my front door and hike. I once showered in a waterfall...I wish I could do that every day!

 

[iLander]

It was dark, and after a scramble for the flashlight, we found the can had been knocked over by a GINORMOUS CENTIPEDE! It was easily 6 inches long, and hideous.

I have you beat - I once "camped" for a family reunion. I slept in the tent, hated life, got up the next morning feeling like crap. I was a teenager but dammit, I liked my bed. Stumbled into the bathroom (yeah, we skipped the "no showers" part, thank GOD) and found a centipede. It was 14 inches long, bright orange, and fast as a freaking dog.

What the heck is it with the centipedes?

Are they attracted to the smell of campfires or something? Do campfires smell like "hot girl centipede" or something?

 

[iLander]

iLander, I once saw that "I love not camping" motif on a mug, and since that day, I have regretted not buying that mug for myself. I love my bed, my giant shower, my Clarisonic, my makeup, my hair dryer, my straightening iron, and my kitchen for making myself a delicious breakfast. Ergo, I really do love not camping, and I am definitely not wash-and-wear. (I did camp as a child, but I try to black out those dark times.)

I have it on a set of coasters. Considering I never use coasters, it has to be pretty darn funny for me to buy them.

 

[iLander]

In fact, I remember the night my little sister was conceived in a tent. Parents had a tent, kids had a tent. Big storm, parents tent blew away. *shudder* I was 6. It was awful.

Don't you HATE things you can't unsee?!! Ugh, I have a couple of those, makes me wish for brain floss . . .

 

[somethingshiny]

I would camp if I had Harry Potter's tent.

 

[stone-cold11]

Guy here. Camping... what camping? Usually just sleep on the ground with only my coat as protection from the weather, but that is in tropics... All kinds of terrain though, swamp, cemetery, jungle, hills. No fire, no light, no electricity, 7-10 days. Just biscuit for a meal, 2 meals a day. Fun times...

Umm . . . dude . . . you sure you're not thinking of some kind of war you were in?

This sounds like hell, and they say war is hell . . .

Just messin' with you

Most started during my army days and picked up the habit. Travel light, fast and long. :p I also do not like sleeping on soft bed, makes me snore and usually got up sore/tired in the morning. I usually sleep on the floor if it is up to my choice. :p

Actually the cemetery was one of the most comfortable place I have slept in. Swamp is no fun though, too wet most of the time, gets into you clothes and crawlies/slimeys everywhere. But interesting at night, stuffs starts to glow from the decomposition when your eyes get used to the dark.

 

[shihtzulover]

Camping is definitely not for me. It's pretty weird to everyone around here, because they all love camping, and they don't understand my view at all. Luckily, my fiance is like me, and has no desire to ever go camping. Even worse than camping (at least to me) is the prospect of swimming in a river. Tons of my friends did that in middle/high school, and they would sometimes see poisonous snakes and such. Ummm...not for me! To each his own though!

 

[MustangGal]

DH and I met on a boy scout/girl scout camp-out, so as you can imagine we do like camping. We have a tent trailer now, but are taking the old tent and the todder out to the woods next month. I don't necessarily sleep the best, but it's nice to get away to the trees, no TV and hang out around a fire with friends. I don't wear make-up on a normal day, so it doesn't bother me to go a weekend without. Peeing in the woods is not my favorite, but the times we desert camped was worse, no trees to hide behind!

 

[jaysonsmom]

Another PSer who hates camping....my kids and husband love it, so I give in every 2 years or so. Howeever, I HAVE to sleep in the RV (we borrow from SIL), have full hook-ups (electricity, water, sewage) so that I don't have to use a campsite bathroom.

I don't even like living out of a suitcase or traveling for fun. I just got back from a sandals resort in St. Lucia, and I can honestly say I'd rather be home. I want my own bathroom, I want to grab clothes from my closet, and choose from my abundance of shoes. I don't want to plan which clothes to bring, and which 5 pairs of shoes to bring...(dh has set a limit to how many pairs I'm allowed)

 

[Missy]

I have never camped nor ever wish to camp. My dh OTOH was a big camper/backpacker before me and even went on a 7 month cross country bicycle trip with his best friend where they slept outdoors in all kinds of conditions.

I am probably as far as a camping girl as you can get. I hate bugs, I hate temps that are too hot, too cold, too wet and I hate not being in the comfort of my own bed. So much so that we have duplicated almost all the comforts of our home in our vacation home so I never have to be without my favorite things.

Some might say I lack an adventurous spirit but I say I know who I am and what I like and I feel no need to branch out. This girl knows her limitations and preferences and there is no need to experiment with what I know will be an adventure in disaster. LOL I remember the time my dh and I stayed in a log cabin in the Grand Canyon and that was roughing it for me!

 

[HollyS]

If the motel/hotel doesn't have an in-room coffee pot and an ironing board, I think I'm roughing it.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I grew up doing pretty hardcore camping - backpacking really. That means you carry everything in including your tent, food, and sleeping bag. I remember doing two weeks on dehydrated food once. I've hiked the grand canyon twice (each one is about 40 miles). I've hiked in idaho, colorado, wyoming, california, nevada, arizona, oregon... etc. when I went camping with a friend's family and the mom brought her fuzzy robe and a hair dryer I about died laughing. When you hike in the canyon in particular you're looking at several days without even a shower let alone a hair dryer. You spend your time reflecting on the different colors of dust stuck to the back of your calves instead of shaving your legs. You do good to chip some of it off with your nails while you sit around the campsite.

I don't like to live like this but I'm definitely not so prissy I can't for a few days. I don't have to look my best every day - who cares!

That said I married a man who thinks camping means having an RV. Whatever! lol

 

[Missy]

I don't have to look my best every day - who cares!

Hey Sara, I can't speak for everyone here who dislikes camping but for me it isn't about wanting to look my best every day at all but rather it's all about wanting to be comfortable every day. Not having to deal with uncomfortable sleeping and weather conditions and dealing with bugs/dirt etc. I know some people love camping and I do see the allure for those people. I mean, I love hiking and cycling and being outdoors and enjoying nature for sure but I draw the line when it comes to sleeping in nature without a comfie bed and hot shower and all that good stuff if you KWIM.

 

[ksinger]

I grew up doing pretty hardcore camping - backpacking really. That means you carry everything in including your tent, food, and sleeping bag. I remember doing two weeks on dehydrated food once. I've hiked the grand canyon twice (each one is about 40 miles). I've hiked in idaho, colorado, wyoming, california, nevada, arizona, oregon... etc. when I went camping with a friend's family and the mom brought her fuzzy robe and a hair dryer I about died laughing. When you hike in the canyon in particular you're looking at several days without even a shower let alone a hair dryer. You spend your time reflecting on the different colors of dust stuck to the back of your calves instead of shaving your legs. You do good to chip some of it off with your nails while you sit around the campsite.

I don't like to live like this but I'm definitely not so prissy I can't for a few days. I don't have to look my best every day - who cares!

That said I married a man who thinks camping means having an RV. Whatever! lol

LOL! I didn't do as much as you, but I had to laugh. I never have considered myself outdoorsy, but after this thread, I've clearly been hardcore and tougher than I thought.

And yeah...canyon hiking. Hiked Grand Gulch in Utah. THAT was an adventure. Hiked in - been dry for MONTHS, that night it began to RAIN. OMG, we had to hoof it outta there as fast as possible, and it was FREEZING. We found then, the limits of our rain gear. Inadequate is the word. NOT a good scenario. I've never been so scared on a hike. In a CANYON. In a RAINSTORM. I had these visions of a big flash flood taking us away. The motel and the hot showers we finally found was a religious experience.

Also camped on a 20% incline on one hike. (No other choice type of scenario). That was interesting too: wake up every 1/2 hour to find yourself at the bottom of the tent, which is braced with boulders on the outside. Push BAAAACK up, go to sleep...slide DOWWWWN, wake up... what a thrash.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I don't have to look my best every day - who cares!

Hey Sara, I can't speak for everyone here who dislikes camping but for me it isn't about wanting to look my best every day at all but rather it's all about wanting to be comfortable every day. Not having to deal with uncomfortable sleeping and weather conditions and dealing with bugs/dirt etc. I know some people love camping and I do see the allure for those people. I mean, I love hiking and cycling and being outdoors and enjoying nature for sure but I draw the line when it comes to sleeping in nature without a comfie bed and hot shower and all that good stuff if you KWIM.

some things are worth sacrificing comfort for - there are so many days to live in the lap of luxury, it feels good in some ways to strip life to the bare essentials. Sure, you can lay on a blanket out in the middle of nowhere looking at the most starry sky you have ever seen, but you don't wake up to the open sky growing brighter and the chittering of birds.

Nature isn't for everyone. But sometimes it's fun to play in the mud. I'm not too old for that!

 

[Cehrabehra]

I grew up doing pretty hardcore camping - backpacking really. That means you carry everything in including your tent, food, and sleeping bag. I remember doing two weeks on dehydrated food once. I've hiked the grand canyon twice (each one is about 40 miles). I've hiked in idaho, colorado, wyoming, california, nevada, arizona, oregon... etc. when I went camping with a friend's family and the mom brought her fuzzy robe and a hair dryer I about died laughing. When you hike in the canyon in particular you're looking at several days without even a shower let alone a hair dryer. You spend your time reflecting on the different colors of dust stuck to the back of your calves instead of shaving your legs. You do good to chip some of it off with your nails while you sit around the campsite.

I don't like to live like this but I'm definitely not so prissy I can't for a few days. I don't have to look my best every day - who cares!

That said I married a man who thinks camping means having an RV. Whatever! lol

LOL! I didn't do as much as you, but I had to laugh. I never have considered myself outdoorsy, but after this thread, I've clearly been hardcore and tougher than I thought.

And yeah...canyon hiking. Hiked Grand Gulch in Utah. THAT was an adventure. Hiked in - been dry for MONTHS, that night it began to RAIN. OMG, we had to hoof it outta there as fast as possible, and it was FREEZING. We found then, the limits of our rain gear. Inadequate is the word. NOT a good scenario. I've never been so scared on a hike. In a CANYON. In a RAINSTORM. I had these visions of a big flash flood taking us away. The motel and the hot showers we finally found was a religious experience.

Also camped on a 20% incline on one hike. (No other choice type of scenario). That was interesting too: wake up every 1/2 hour to find yourself at the bottom of the tent, which is braced with boulders on the outside. Push BAAAACK up, go to sleep...slide DOWWWWN, wake up... what a thrash.

lol - yeah here we're hardcore haha! I'm so NOT hardcore in a normal population cross section lol (maybe we have found the limits of diversity here? hehe - I'm stirring controversy even! ) Anyway, oh yeah that shower after days of being dirty and dusty is soooo nice - the best ever! Especially since you're tired and sore and it just sort of cleanses you. Your first night in a bed again is luxurious. I've slept on an incline before - not fun! I've slept on rocks - not fun! But this one time I slept on a grassy bank of a river and it was so soft - one of the softest beds I've ever slept on and the full moon and the sound of the river all night and crickets etc. it just lulled me into the most spectacular slumber... poetic, truly! Great memory! Of course staring at the most stars I've ever seen (at the bottom of the GC it's like a darkroom and it is SOO DARK) was really awe inspiring too but I was constantly in fear of scorpions so it was more of a mixed bag lol