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30' housetrailers nothwitstanding, why do y'all "rough it. Do you do it to save money or do you actually enjoy the obvious inconveniences . I propose this question without any personal implications whatsoever. When I was in college, finances dictated and I did a whole bunch of "roughing it". Currently I'm NOT inclined to do the tent scene but I can't say I will nevermore ( qoth the raven).
So what is it that causes YOU to "rough it"?
Mark
Marco
We got our 26 foot trailer about 2 years ago, and use it as much as possible. We love our trailer it nice to have and RV park are located just about every where but if we have to we own a genarator and can dry camp.
Ghost
Can't take a 26 foot trailer down this road. Well, you could but I wouldn't want to.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ronde09-82.jpg
So, pickup with canopy works fine and I can carry this guy back there also without worrying about things getting trashed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ie_kuma-30.jpg
GreyGhost,
But can I accept the testimonial of someone who claims MILWAUKEE is in OREGON ? Who are you running from?? :)
Mark
PS: Kerry, but can he carry stuff?
Mark. When I was a kid WWII had just ended and camping out was all our parents to afford. It got to be the norm. I really enjoyed camping out until a few years ago. Now the weather has to be nice or a motel or camper for me. I bought a SUV so I could sleep in it but haven't have chance to try it out yet.
Tim
Marco
Milwaukie is in Oregon but Milwaukee is not, got to rememeber we spell it right with an ie not ee. Me run, one I am to old to run and I have only run form people better armed then me or somthing bigger, (I am 6 feet 7inch, due to age and gravity and a few operation minus 2 inches) so something bigger is not offten. Kerry I dont need to take the trailer down that road, if there is an RV park with in 50 mile I can park it and take my truck down that road.
Ghost.
too broke to for anything else, however I love the sound of birds, bugs, the wind etc. and I never have a drunk in the room above me in a tent. So I think I will keep the tent and add some good cots.
Eric
I'll camp if it provides the best access to good hunting/fishing but camping just to camp doesn't appeal to me. Kinda like saying I have a perfectly good home/apartment to live in but I'll go sleep in the woods for a couple nights. Now if you don't have a good place to stay it's a different story but I'm blessed so camping only sounds appealing when it puts me close to something I can't find closer to home or close to a motel/hotel.
Personally, I love sleeping in a tent unless it is stinking hot and dead calm. I love cooking simple food over a fire. Simple is best. A must have campsite luxury is a nice hammock, though.
It really depends on how long I intend to be out. The longer the camp stay, the more likely I am to set the tents up. Yes, plural. When I was a boy, Dad and I would go to summer camp and 'build' our camp. We usually wound up with many amenities other campers did not have like a shower, elevated beds, and much more all lashed together from found wood. It was our way of showing off our camping skills. We had some really cool camps. We even built an elevated campfire one year so cooking was done without having to bend over. We NEVER used a stove for extended camps, always cooked over a fire. I still like to start a campfire with flint & steel once in a while, and I don't mean cheating with a magnesium fire starter.
These days, I set up the 18 x 10 two room tent for just me if I will be out for at least 3-4 nights. Cot, folding nightstand, etc in one room and an inflatable couch and a couple of camp chairs in the other for visitors. Shower tent which also holds a port-a-potty as I do not like making long hikes to find a latrine at night and the camp kitchen is comfortable to use and efficient. Naturally, there is a shelter with more camp chairs available to enjoy the camp in. This camp setup is an exercise in showing just how little you need to sacrifice when 'roughing' it.
I have a smaller tent I use for shorter stays, but will either sleep under the stars or in a cabin for a single night out. Always a cabin during the winter.
I am seriously considering building a teardrop trailer for the shorter trips. The only drawback I can see to a teardrop is that I can't stand up inside to pull my pants on in the morning. I have an idea to fix that issue, though. :)
Roughing it for us is Motel 6. Occasionally I will go to a campground, Pay my $9.00 and pitch a 2 man dome tent just for myself and to be close to the creek.
Last July we bought one of those monster cabin tents. Need a degree in mechanical engineering to put up and take the thing down. The three families we were
with (daughters, grandkids, in-laws) all have rvs and nice diesel trucks to pull them with. After two nights we took everything down, drove the 4 miles to Lee Vining and
got a nice room with a shower, a tv and air conditioning. We showered, shaved, and took a nap on a real matress 2 feet off the ground. Then went back to the
campground to eat with the folks. Fished with the grandkids then went back to the motel. HAHAHA
"Camping" in a trailer holds absolutely no appeal to me. Staying in a tent is so much more exciting. Not to mention, you leave a much smaller footprint and can go pretty much anywhere.
Marco,
As I have gotten older, well, old, my version of roughing it has changed considerably. The two man tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag and rucksack have given way to something a bit more comfortable. Folks at the last Idaho Fish-In called it a"The Condo".
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...9/IMGP0072.jpg
Having room to stand up to get dressed is nice, being able to sit on the bed to put my shoes on is also nice. Having a wood stove to keep everything toasty and dry is really nice. Having a place to warm up some grub and get hot water (hot water tank on the stove) is also nice. The tent alone is 12X12, plus the vestibule.
Not quite as nice as a motel or hotel room, but pretty darn close. Oh yeah, I spend less money than at a motel/hotel so I get to stay and fish longer.
REE
Ron, I've been dreaming of a tent like that for years. I haven't been able to justify it yet, but I'm working on it. :) It looks like a great setup.
Save money
Right now because I am unemployed and don't have much money, I camp. Even California's fairly expensive campsites ($20/night average) are still less than 1/3 the cost of a cheap motel room.
I admit though that the romance has gone out of camping for me. If I could afford it I would stay in motels instead.
We "rough it" 'cause we can stay right on the river here. Beats driving 10 minutes in the morning to get to a nice pool. Well, ... it's not exactly roughing it.
http://flyanglersonline.com/features...rtzonetent.jpg
We have everything we need!
http://flyanglersonline.com/features...notheryear.jpg
There are 4 tents et up along the river.
When I go camping...if it's just me, I go very minimalist. 1 1/2 man tent, light sleeping bag, foam mat for living and sleeping arrangements. Add a flashlight, clothes, food, and a few other essentials and I'm happy as a clam. For me, if I'm camping to fish, the camping is just an afterthought. Bring along what I need, but just enough that I can sleep comfortably. The focus is the fishing.
If i'm camping to camp, however (usually a fishing rod of some sort comes along anyway...just in case), I will bring a bit more, and a chair, extra tarps, a coffee pot, and other "luxuries" are added to the list.
For me, the heart and soul of the camping experience is the minimalist nature. Stripping away all the modern conveniences for a few days and really getting to spend some time with nature.
I find tents to be a PITA. Motels, eating arrangements are the problem. Most roadside motels don't have a kitchen, nor do they allow me to fire up the camp stove next to the bed. That leaves restaurants which add to the expense. I do bring a cooler of lunch stuff for stream side. I'm still stuck with motels during the colder months.
Now days for the lone quick overnighter I just use this. Inside is 8' of wonderful.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...6-08-10023.jpg
Used to have a VW Westfalia camper van that was the best way to go . That said , you were never sure if you were going to make it there (and back).Now I have an Aliner for extended trips . I still tent camp every now and then but mostly to prove to myself that I still can. The concession is I bring a cot.
best,
Steve
I've spent many a night in the far reaches of the world in a tent out of necessity because that was the only shelter to be found.
And while I admit that when I was younger camping out was fun, it hold no allure for me right now. However - given a set up Ron Eagle Elk or fcch - that's a far cry from the camping set-ups that I've been relegated to.
You, my friends, know how to CAMP!
The bigger the set up - the more comfortable the accommodations - and the more likely I'd be to stay in a mega tent instead of finding a local motel.
But for my three pole single dome? Nah - I've become too much of a wuss in my middle years. I'll find a hotel and end each day by rinsing the layer of fishing film that seems to coat me whenever I spend a full day out in the water.
Kuma comes with a dog backpack and loves to carry things when we hike. He usually packs the lunch while I carry the fishing gear. Problem with Kuma packing the lunch is I have to get to him before he gets to the river or the lunch gets wet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Kerry,
Repeat after me: Double Zip Lock Bags. If Kuma is anything like Bear, my old Malamute, cutting down on the smell of FOOD for your hiking partner isn't a bad thing either.
REE
Two children boys a station wagon for wife and I one tent Four to a 13 foot trailer with 5 three girls I had to get another 13foot with all the comforts of home. All the children went on their own but the wife and i still wanted to travel. Bought a smaller Dodge Dakota and a pop up 8 foot truck camper.Best camper Ive owned just pull into any city get into the back and eat. Spent 8 week on one trip from the Green River to Alberta. Wife thought it was funny when I said I was tired of camping----of course that ment four more weeks of fishing on the way home. BILL
I do it do save money. Most of the places I go here in CA are in national forests. Most national forests allow "dispersed camping" otherwise known as sleeping in the forest. I like to find a forest road across from a campground or day use area along the stream. that way, I have a rest room to use in the AM, but can still sleep in the back of my Ford Explorer for free. I can also get back into the more remote areas and sleep. I usually bring 3 or so gallons of water for drinking/cooking. I use a couple of camping pads beneath me for cushioning. I had the kids at my high school weld me up a bear box for food storage, as I keep nothing a bruin might want inside with me. (i do keep my 870 in there though) I have a one burner stove and a propane lantern. Everything necessary is kept in a camp box in my garage for spur-of-the-moment getaways.
My idea of roughing it is not having a coffee maker in the room.
My 16-year-old winter camps and fishes with an Army Ranger... They just pick a spot on gravel somewhere and roll out a tarp... A Ranger does not even use a sleeping pad. My son is learning to be tough! ;) They have a special camping spot that requires just a bit of effort to get to, and is on the edge of a big drop off straight to a large lake... Incredible views in the morning.
I often put a camp on my back and walk for hours to find a rock pile to sleep on, but I at least carry a pad. Usually spend at least several straight weeks camping minimally every year... And I am well past 50.
art
Because I like it. And because I don't consider it "roughing it".
There is a choice. You can be in total comfort and stare upward from your motel bunk at a ceiling that looks like the snow pattern on a TV set after a hard days fishing, or you can be at 10,000 ft. or where ever and see the universe sparkle and move right before your eyes with billions of stars you never saw before and lay in wonderment and uncontrollably by yourself point your finger up there and say: "Look at that"!
I don't think that's roughing-it. The pleasure is as close to catching your fish of a life time or orgasm.
Put a lid on it and you are losing something.
If I rough it, which to me is sleeping in a tent, I do it because tent camping is the only way to get access to where I want to fish. I don't consider staying in a cabin to be roughing it if the cabin has cots and the facilities to cook food and clean up.
When I was younger, I used to backpack in the Rockies and go on week long canoe trips in the Boundary Waters. Unfortunately carrying a heavy pack for a week or portaging a week's worth of stuff three or four times in a day does not agree with my body. I am still willing to do "modified" wilderness trips such camping for a few days in the Sylvania Wilderness where I don't have to portage all of my gear multiple times.
Sleeping on the ground in a tent is not bad if you have a good sleeping pad and food always tastes great when you are camping. The stars are spectacular.
When I rough it, it's a two person dome tent, a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, and a camp chair. Its cheap (free often) and I really enjoy the quiet simplicity of camping. This is how I grew up camping with my family (in a bigger tent thankfully). And, as others have said, tent camping can get you nice and close to the river.
We have a pop-up trailer for camping with our girls (3yr old, & 1year old), but I'd still rather paddle down the river in a canoe, sleep on a gravel bar, and cook with fire......There is no better way to get to a remote stretch of river to fish the dawn, dusk, or night bite. Cheers.
My idea of "Roughing It" is picking up the phone by the bed and calling "Room Service" in the hotel!
I guess that I rough it because I still can. When I was a kid, camping ment sleeping under the stars, so I guess my tent is a luxury. Part of the experience, for me, is listening to the bullfrogs, owls, and coyotes, as we did at the Kansas Fish-in.
Steve
Due to health reasons I have not camped for over a year now....but, when I am able....hammock tent..alcohol single stove...fire grate and water purifier....just, finding the right spot...taking my time....setting up a small simple camp....I like to camp simple, safe, and do so slowly enjoying every aspect of the camp...I do not consider it roughing it...I eat well, sleep well, and enjoy the camp preparations....Most of the time the KISS system is the best....A hot coffee under the stars while listening to nature is the best thing going after a good days fishing...
That is the best way for me. Stuff it all in my Kayak and take off to the remore places. Kiss all the way!!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by robgcp
I've always been a tent camper. My first family camping trip was to the Gaspe when I was 4 months old. My parents and I slept in a tent that consisted of a pair of army surplus shelter halves.
Many of my fondest childhood memories are of family camping trips and vagabonding all over the country
More recently, a collection of friends and siblings purchased a piece of property that we use just for group tent camping. At the camp I have a little site by the brook where I've built myself a wigwam to sleep in. During a Memorial weekend lighting storm downpore, I stayed dry while most of the tenters got wet :D
A few pictures from our camp
Kids playing board games
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yOQ3Iih4_AU/SJ...ouse%20051.jpg
Ice cream you scream....
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_yOQ3Iih4_AU/SJ...ouse%20059.jpg
Tending the dutch ovens
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_yOQ3Iih4_AU/SJ...ouse%20062.jpg
Group shot
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_yOQ3Iih4_AU/SJ..._03%5B1%5D.JPG
I use to "rough it" a lot when I was in my 20's. We'd take a small tent and camp in the snow in the middle of January during steelhead season and it never bothered me much. Mainly back then it was to save money. BUT...now that I'm pushing 40 yrs old sleeping on the ground in a tent, having to carry water to & from, having to start a fire to cook a bite to eat, long days of rain sitting in a tent, none of that holds any appeal to me anymore. After spending 10 hrs out on the river the last thing I want to do is lay my bones down on the hard ground, I need a bed so cabins suit me just fine now.
Steve