Does anyone here go camping

In My Humble Opinion
1

By camping i mean hard camping, where you only have a backpack full of supplies with you. I have heard of 3 levels of camping from soft to hard, i have only done medium camping so far (spending time in a camper that had electricity). I want to start getting into hard camping where i make my own tent each night and sleep in that.

Is it an expensive hobby to get into? Can you go hard camping in any woods or can you only do it in campgrounds? Are goverment owned woods open to hard camping? Is it dangerous?

2

A camper with electricity isn’t camping - it’s a low-rent motel! :smiley:

Best way to get started backpacking is to find friends who do it, and go with them. That way you can borrow equipment and not have to lay out the bucks for something you might not like. As for costs, well, go online and browse the REI website for a good overview on prices. At the very least, you will need: boots, sleeping bag, tent, pack, first aid kit, water bottles, camp stove, cook kit, and a bunch of stuff that people will be along later to fill you in on. It is possible to do a lot with a little. The catch is you have to have a moderate amount of experience to be able to do that.

There are a number of publicly accessable camping areas around the country. Get a copy of Backpacker magazine and prowl. Better yet, go into your local backpacking store and ask. They will be glad to give you suggestions.

The major restrictions on camping these days involve open fires and bears. If you are reasonably careful, you are safer in the woods than you are in the city.

3

I have to ask, if that’s “medium” what is “soft”? Pitching a tent in your living room? :wink: I would think of “soft” as being in a camper, “medium” in a tent and “hard” what is often called wilderness camping - you and a sleeping bag in the open air. That, I’ve never done.

The tent thing though, sure, loads of times. It’s great fun BUT you have to be sure you have all the equipment silenus mentions, including a sleeping bag warm enough for the night-time temperature (its warmth level should be labeled when you buy it). And, you really want to make sure to find out what the people running the camp advise WRT bears and follow their advice to the letter - those creatures are not to be messed with.

I haven’t been camping in years, I really miss it.

4

“Medium camping” is with a camper and electricity? I laugh. That’s for sissies.

We camp. We use tents and air mattresses, and a propane stove, and I feel like I’m cheating.
We have four tents. One’s a 6-8 person tent, with a big central room and 2 small “rooms” off the sides. That’s our newest one. It’s a Coleman. Then we also have an L.L. Bean tent that sleeps 4-6 people; it’s a big dome tent. We have two smaller tents that are supposed to sleep 3-4 people, but really only hold 2.
We have a propane stove, and all the necessary equipment for cooking outside. I’ve gotten pretty good at knowing what travels well, and how to cook outside. We have a fold-up picnic table, and camp chairs. Our sleeping bags are rated for 20° below. In the spring, they’re almost too warm.
We have two soft plastic fold-up 5-gallon water containers, plus 3 or 4 hard plastic 5-gallon water jugs. You can never have too much fresh water with you.

We load it all in the back of our truck, find a campground within 2-3 hour’s drive, unload, set up camp, and relax.
We’ve tried the thin pads to sleep on, but the air mattresses are better. It’s too hard to sleep directly on the ground in a sleeping bag. Yes, I am that wimpy. The cots are too bulky. It’s also hard to find a perfectly level spot, so once you find a fairly level spot, it’s easy to pump the air mattress up and sleep on that. It’s best to sleep in layers, so if you get too warm, you can just take something off.

5

The three levels of camping that we always refered to are car camping, hike camping, and Backpacking.

Car camping is when you drive up with a bunch crap in your car and throw the tent down next to the car. Hike camping is when you park the car, throw everything in a backpack, maybe grab a cooler, and camp a mile or two into the wilderness. Backpacking is putting everything into a backpack, and being picked up two weeks later, 150 miles away.

Don’t undertake real backpacking lightly. You usually need at least $500 worth of equipment, because each extra ounce you carry can be a big deal, and a bag that is rated for cold, and very light is very expensive. At least they have those microfiltration pumps now, Iodine water sucks. But either car camping of hike camping are good steps on that way. At least in Colorado much of the State and federal lands are open for camping.

6

I’m a boy scout, so I camp fairly often (in fact I’m leaving tomorrow for a weeklong summer camp. But it’s not really “true” camping- we get meals in a dining hall and we sleep in partially enclosed cabins). Usually, my troop drives up to the place where we’re camping, and we pitch tents, cook our meals with camp stoves, etc. Just car camping. I’ve also done similar car camping with my dad and brother a few times (my mom’s too much of a wimp to sleep in the wilderness :slight_smile: ).

I’ve only done actual backpacking once. It was a short trip through the Santa Cruz mountains with a few friends, who were much more experianced in backpacking than I was.

7

I do all kinds of camping, from backpacking to staying in my camping tent trailer or my friend’s camper. Both are fun and have their various advantages. By far, the biggest advantage to backpacking, IMO, is that you can get to locations most people won’t or can’t get to. It took a few trips to figure out what to bring and what not to bring as weight is a main issue with backpacking. Here’s a few suggestions for backpacking:

I try to backpack near mountain creeks or rivers, so I have a water supply. If you are in this scenario, bring a nalgene or similar tough water bottle and a good water filter. Nothing beats taking a “pit stop” and filtering and drinking fresh cool mountain stream water. And a filter is much lighter than trying to pack enough water.

Bring light food. Canned food is heavy and should be avoided if you can. Dried food, MREs, and similar things are pretty light weight. Bring a small backpacking stove to do any cooking. Bring some snacks to munch on while you are hiking like some granola bars or something that doesn’t need refigeration.

Bring a sleeping bag that is appropriate for the temperature. Nothing is worse than shivering all night because your bag isn’t warm enough.

Bring a small and light sleeping mat. You will need this layer for comfort as well as insulating your body against the ground.

Bring a good hatchet and good knife and have a friend bring an army shovel. You may need to dig a hole, chop down a small tree, or cut a stick for roasting marshmallows.

Bring toilet paper or paper towl. It’s not fun to wipe your ass with leaves or pine needles.

Bring a small medical kit. Some bandages, band-aids, ibuprofen, etc. Enough to make a splint if someone should roll an ankle or something. You can make a splint from nearby trees and an ace bandage. Mosquito repellent is also important if there will be biting insects.

Pay attention to the weather. If major storms are forcasted, maybe postpone the trip a week. It’s not fun to just sit in rain for a whole weekend.

Go on a shorter trip first, maybe just a one night stay with a fairly short hike in (maybe less than 5 miles). This way if you absolutely have to get back, you can. Do this a few times until you can fine tune what you need to bring and feel comfortable.
That should be enough to get you going. As you can see, it’s not too expensive. I usually bring the above items, and a fishing pole and tackle (we fish a lot while camping). Cost is not too great, as you can get a small backpacking stove for pretty cheap, and sleeping bags aren’t too much either. Just remember when you are shopping that weight matters.

8

Sorry I lost my train of thought there and missed my point.

A backpacking sleeping bag should be at least -10 rated(if your going above 10,000 feet even in the summer, and under 4 pounds and very squishable. Those cost hundreds of dollars. You need an expensive fitted backpack, as well or you’ll be stuck in the middle of the mountains with a back that will not move.

But for car camping and hike camping, the weight of the sleeping back, and quality of the backpack don’t matter so much. For car camping it doesn’t matter if the bag weighs 10 pounds, cause your only carrying it 20 feet or so, and for hike camping you only need to go a mile or so.

Update… Apparently prices have gone down since I last shopped for equipment. I just checked out www.campmor.com(a great webiste for good deals) and here is a pretty good backpacking bag for $140 (as long as you’re not too tall :slight_smile:

As for the backpack be carefull if you buy one over the web. They are adjustable to some extent, and it is a good thing to have a professional help you fit it to you. It might feel okay now, but three hours and 75 pounds later it could be a huge problem.

9

I just walked in the door from camping.

We go all the time. We have to huge tents, an air mattress, 2 propane stoves and a refillable tank, a small charcoal grill, a huge 5 day cooler, a two person fold out camping chair, little fold out end tables, two tent lights, two super thick sleeping bags that zip together, and a kitchen, complete with a sink. And a box full of other whatnots like marshmallow prongs, etc. etc.

We pitch tents, and we go all times of year, winter, summer, rain or shine, all over the place. Yosemite is way high on my favorite list at the moment.

I consider the camping we do pretty luxurious.

When we were in Yosemite a friend that joined us had all of his gear in one backpack, and his tent was a hammock tent. Pretty darn cool.

10

Car camping is what I’m used to, but I have done backpacking. That was a 5 day trip with 9 other people.

If that’s what you want to get into I recommend finding some people who know what they are doing and go with a few times, or do short trips as beltbuckle says. It especially helps with your stamina… I was in really bad shape when I went on the 5 day hike, when I got home from camp I was in MUCH better shape but I was a real whiner the whole time because it was nuts. The experience was amazing, but never again. At least for 5 days.

If you do go backpacking you can rent sleeping bags and such, but if you are going to be doing it on a regular basis it’s just better to buy the equipment. Saves you money in the long run and you’d just feel better not sleeping in the same bag as who knows how many people.

Water filters are great (don’t want beaver fever), but expensive. Around $500 for a good quality one (we were warned not to break them at summer camp)

Pack light. You don’t need a lot of clothes, just one lighter outfit (shorts and a t-shirt), one set of fleece (pants and jacket) and a rain suit is the best plus extra undies and socks.

Get good quality hiking boots, break them in well.

Duct tape is your friend. It works awesome for preventing blisters. Just tape up your foot where it is most likely to rub and you won’t get them. It sounds weird as all heck, but it works. I taped up my heels and never got a blister, but later had to pop blisters along the ball of my foot and cover with moleskin and duct tape to keep it from getting worse.

DEET based bug spray and sunscreen are necessities. You may not have many bugs when you are out in the open but get into the woods…

If you hit the woods, plan where you are going and how long you will be gone. Then inform someone. I know the Parks up here have that rule, so if you aren’t back within 24 hours of your expected return they send out the search parties. I’m also certain you can find some great books with paths to follow and that give you an idea of what the trail would be like. You can also ask the Park Rangers, or wherever they have set up for backpackers if you go to one of the parks.

Now all that said, if I haven’t scared you off, backpacking can be a great experience and great to get in shape with. Personally I’ll just stick to my day hikes and car camping now, though it’s been forever since I’ve done either.

11

Personal water filters don’t have to be expensive. The one I got was less then $20 and it is easy to find replaceable filters for it.

12

I go camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in the Superior National Forest here in northern Minesota/canadian border. Its pretty hardcore camping. Simular to hike in camping, but in this case you’re in a canoe. Whatever you bring in, you have to bring out. No metal food containers and no gasoline engines. They limit the number of people going in so there are times when you will see no one for days and usually campsites will always be available.

Is it an expensive hobby to get into?

Initially yes. I joined a couple friends who had been doing it for years. Spent about $1000 bucks at first. Coming in, I had to buy alot of things. Rain Gear, Hiking boots, utensils, Leathermen, Fishing Pole/Tackle, Sleeping Bag, and a Tily Hat. Tily Hats rule btw. On top of that every trip we chip in for food, propane for our little cooker, camp and canoe rental, and extra money for emergencies. Every year I spend about $500 for a week of hard camping.
You have to get the higher quality stuff or you seriously will be sorry. Rain gear and good hiking boots are very important. You also want to trim down to what you absolutely only need. I go with only what I wear in and an exra set of clothes which doubles as a pillow. Weight is crucial as well. We do multiple portages a day, some 400+ rods, and every extra pound saved is great.

Can you go hard camping in any woods or can you only do it in campgrounds? Are goverment owned woods open to hard camping?

You will have to check. The Superior National Forest here in Minnesota is open to light camping. They have campgrounds, showers, stores, etc… But the BWCA is located inside the SNF and is for hardcore camping. Once in the BWCA you are on your own. We reserve our permits months in advance.

Is it dangerous?
Yes it is. If you are careful and plan extensively ahead of time you are in less danger. Be very flexible. The first year I went, I had a horrible time. It rained the entire week. When it didn’t rain, you had the light drizzle and hordes of mosquitoes so thick we had to eat with our mosquito nets on. I had really shitty rain gear, so I was constantly wet. Good rain gear a must!
In the BWCA there are bears as well. You have to hang your packs in between the trees so you don’t attract them to your camp. In the 5 years I’ve been camping there, I’ve only heard a bear at night once. It was outside our campsite and we were able to scare it off.
Two years ago, we were stuck 2 days out in the BWCA because of bad weather. The lakes were whitecapping and we just didn’t think it was safe enough to travel. So we ended up staying an extra day. We had only one extra meal and didn’t know how long the weather would stay. So we decided to brave the weather and head back anyways. Well, we ended up tipping the canoe and nearly lost everything we had. We were very stupid to go out in that weather. To make matters worse, I had opened up my lifejacket because I was getting hot from all the paddleling. When the canoe tipped, the lifejacket slipped over my elbows tangleing my arms.
You are at natures mercy with hardcore camping. Things can get really shitty fast. Thank god none of us have every been seriously hurt. With all that though, I go every year. The forests and air are so pristine. You wouldn’t believe how quiet it can get at night. That far north, sometimes we get to see the Northern Lights and that is something no picture can ever do rightly.

13

If you’re looking for some good information on how to get started in true backpacking and low-impact (to the earth, not to you) camping, I strongly recommend picking up a copy of the NOLS wilderness guide. I would consider this the single best resource for learning how to enjoy the backcountry safely and efficiently.

Here is the blurb from Amazon:

If you really want to learn to be incredibly self-sufficient, look into attending NOLS itself. I attended after I got out of the Army, and it really redefined the way I viewed hiking, the backcountry and the environment in general.

If you want to focus more on the methodology of hiking proper, and less on low-impact/semi-dangerous environments, check out The Complete Walker. Another phenomenal book.

Also worth checking out:

The Backpacker’s Field Manual. It’s a comprehensive reference of backcountry skills for the novice to advanced hikers. Good book, but not as good as the NOLS book.

And if you want to really get crazy with things, take a gander at this text on Ultralight Backpacking. It’s pretty crazy, but Ray Jardine and his wife regularly hike the AT, the SN, PC and other major trails with packs weighing in at the 10-20 pound range. Yes, it’s insane, but I’ve adopted certain of their techniques and really learned a lot.

Enjoy!

14

i realized that those initials might be unfamiliar after I’d posted. :smack:
Perview, dammit!

AT = Appalachian Trail
SN = Sierra Nevada
PC = Pacific Crest

Those are three of the major trail systems in North America. They are all incredible, gorgeous and worth checking out. I’ve done about half the AT so far. Someday I’ll through hike it, though.

15

I’ve been backpacking in Arizona, New England, and Europe, which were all very different experiences. I mention that because, to me, equally as important as having the right gear is knowing your terrain. That means everything from having a good topo map and understanding how to use it, to being realistic about how much ground you can cover in a day given the topography and weather, to having an idea of where you’ll be sleeping and getting water. Talk to locals (try ranger stations or local outdoor shops) or others who’ve recently been in the area – what’s changed, what do they think would be important to know? Most people I know love to talk about the outdoors, suggest routes, and generally help a newbie. Yes, you’ll run into snobs, but pay them no mind. Talking about a route is like reliving the trip for me, what fun! (Of course I’m not gonna tell you my secret special spots, though. :wink: )

Preparing yourself in this manner will greatly cut down on the “dangerousness” (is that a word?). I live in New Hampshire, and I am endlessly hearing about people who do dumb things and need to be rescued. I would say 95% of the time, it is lack of preparedness, ignoring the weather, or overestimating their own abilities. With the advent of cell phones, people seem to be bolder. You would be amazed to read the things people call on their cell phones from the woods about. I support charging people for a portion of their rescue if it is due to true negligence. Even skilled outdoorsfolk can have a disaster, it is true; however, don’t forget that you can also get hurt driving in your car to the trail. But yes, people do die in the woods. I read it every year.

Good luck with your new interest. Anyone who likes to get out in the woods and wants to learn how to do it in a low-impact and safe way is a friend of mine!

By the way, I’m with ruadh – what’s “soft camping”? :wink:

16

Soft camping = no room service. :smiley:

17

I’m into wilderness canoeing.
http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/

18

I think soft camping is camping in a pre built cabin with electricity, cable, running water, etc. Medium camping is camping in a camper, and hard is camping in the forest in a tent.

19

Then soft camping is a motel with a tree outside it. Medium camping is RVing. Hard camping is actually setting foot outside a city.

To me, soft camping is car camping. The truck hauls all the stuff. Medium camping is using canoes or horses to pack the gear. Hard camping is backpacking, where every ounce is on your back.

20

Yeah, thats the definition I heard more or less.