Camping

[Werewolfen]

2 things that make camping nice, a tent and a cot.

This thread makes me want to go on a trip. I enjoy seeing others who enjoy the outdoors.

 

[kyuuei]

2 things that make camping nice, a tent and a cot.

This thread makes me want to go on a trip. I enjoy seeing others who enjoy the outdoors.

I have an old army cot, but those things are bulky, heavy, and the time it takes to assemble one I might as well get a decent roll-out mat.

 

[Ivy]

I love camping, and don't do nearly enough of it. With small children we've been too wussy to go beyond car-camping, which we do a couple times a year, but I'd like to get into more serious backpacking as they get older. I don't care for the social experience of a campground- I've never been the type that just gets cozy with the other campers and ends up making awesome friends, so I'd love to get some actual solitude out of the experience.

I highly, highly recommend steepandcheap.com for supplies. If you have time to babysit it, you can get some super deals on outdoors equipment there.

 

[kyuuei]

Just thought of this.. what sort of food do ya'll eat while camping?

Im sure Id like to splurge every so often and stop at a must-see restaurant in an area.. but I'd like to do some camp cooking too.. Ideas and tricks? Or just eat a ton of granola and quit crying?

 

[Ivy]

http://www.amazon.com/The-Well-Fed-...345915348&sr=8-1&keywords=well+fed+backpacker

This is a really good book- if you don't want to or can't buy it, you can see a huge list of suggestions on the "Look Inside!" pages at Amazon.

 

[spirilis]

The few camping trips I've done with my wife (in tents with the car parked at the campsite) we brought a propane stove and cooked bacon, eggs, etc. with a cooler to keep everything. Boy scout camping trips, again with the trucks closeby, it'd be all kinds of meals (sausages, bacon, eggs, sandwiches with PB&J, etc) but one of the mainstays was chili. Every time someone would have their own daredevil recipe to test out on the whole group.

Granola and trail mix are good snacks to keep around too. Some folks do protein bars, they're not for me though...
Just keep in mind that if it's during hot weather, many of those things will melt and get yucky ... those "indulgent" trail mixes you find at walmart/etc. with chocolate and peanut butter chips mixed in don't fare too well
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edit: Or what Ivy just posted. I might have to buy that for kicks.

 

[kyuuei]

http://www.amazon.com/The-Well-Fed-...345915348&sr=8-1&keywords=well+fed+backpacker

This is a really good book- if you don't want to or can't buy it, you can see a huge list of suggestions on the "Look Inside!" pages at Amazon.

Its a pretty good book that gave me some ideas.. Thank you kindly!

The few camping trips I've done with my wife (in tents with the car parked at the campsite) we brought a propane stove and cooked bacon, eggs, etc. with a cooler to keep everything. Boy scout camping trips, again with the trucks closeby, it'd be all kinds of meals (sausages, bacon, eggs, sandwiches with PB&J, etc) but one of the mainstays was chili. Every time someone would have their own daredevil recipe to test out on the whole group.

Granola and trail mix are good snacks to keep around too. Some folks do protein bars, they're not for me though...
Just keep in mind that if it's during hot weather, many of those things will melt and get yucky ... those "indulgent" trail mixes you find at walmart/etc. with chocolate and peanut butter chips mixed in don't fare too well
----
edit: Or what Ivy just posted. I might have to buy that for kicks.

Yeah, I was thinking it'd be cool to actually cook meals though, instead of relying on quick foods. I think I might bust out some cooler-camping if I end up finding a place I want to stay a bit longer.. but otherwise I'll keep it simple.

I was thinking some rice, miso, a bit of stock, shiitake mushrooms and a few veggies would make a hearty porridge. Couple it with a hard cheese and some dried sausage cut up.

Oats, some cinnamon, and some fruit cut up would make a good breakfast. I think lunch could be as simple as sandwiches and fruit as well.

The idea is, at most places: Get there in the morning, grab the backpack, and set out. Stop at lunch time, eat, and then set up a camp site. Play around all afternoon. At night, cook a nice warm meal, and play around until I'm tired and then go to sleep. Wake up, cook some breakfast, explore all day, set up camp again maybe and cook dinner if it's a large place, and sleep off all the playing. Wake up in the morning, breakfast, shove everything back in the car and head out towards the next site.

So I'll be flip-flopping between car-camping and actual camping.

 

[JAVO]

Will you be carrying everything you need to camp while walking? Do you plan to go on to the next site without going back to the car first? It sounds like you want to do at least some of the backpacking style of camping?

 

[Werewolfen]

Today's camping has made awesome advances with innovative creations and ideas. The old style clunky army cot has been left behind for futuristic and stylish looking cots like REI's comfort cot>



Camping food depends more on individual tastes. Fish ? I like trout but some people don't. The good thing about fishing near your camping spot is you have a food source at your location.

I camped a lot with my cousins and they would bring everything with them except the kitchen sink. Things like coffee table sized coolers packed down with ice,beer, ground chuck for grilled hamburgers,sometimes t-bone steaks, buns , potatoes and tinfoil for baking them on hot coals, condiments to go along with it, canned goods of various vegetables with pots to heat them in over a grill.

Funny thing is, they would have all of these things and sit back by the campfire proclaiming how badass they were from "roughing it".

Every camping spot I've ever camped at , a vehicle was always within eyesight and a short walk away to get whatever was needed. The longest I ever camped was 3 weeks at a lake. There were hot showers on site and every camping lot had a grill anchored into the ground with an electrical outlet on each lot and this was at Lake Tobesofkee in GA.

Location also determines your "camping experience"

After thinking this much about camping I'm wanting to grill something.

 

[Usehername]

I was thinking about, in the semi-distant future, taking a tour across the US and camping in different camp sites for the stays in different areas..

Those who've traveled a lot, camped before, or really enjoy that sort of thing.. Any tips, recommendations, etc? Products that saved you, and stuff you took with you that ended up being useless? Packing lists you use? Anything I can't think of regarding discussing the subject?

• PB & honey packed in their jars to be spread on bagels, because bread gets decimated in your pack
• Freezer bag sized Ziplocs of deep-frozen stirfry, spaghetti with sauce and meatballs mixed in, etc. so that if you're in the wild for a few days it can slowly thaw
• eggs can stay next to the deep-frozen meals for refrigeration
• trail mix
• dried fruit
• "just add water" pancake mix
• oranges and apples pack better than most other fresh fruit
• canned food, like Ravioli

This is a canoe-trip list where you're only portaging the food, though, so YMMV.

 

[kyuuei]

Will you be carrying everything you need to camp while walking? Do you plan to go on to the next site without going back to the car first? It sounds like you want to do at least some of the backpacking style of camping?

Yes, that is the idea anyways.. Car camp between destinations, and once I get somewhere awesome settle down for a couple days and explore it myself.

Today's camping has made awesome advances with innovative creations and ideas. The old style clunky army cot has been left behind for futuristic and stylish looking cots like REI's comfort cot>

View attachment 7752

Camping food depends more on individual tastes. Fish ? I like trout but some people don't. The good thing about fishing near your camping spot is you have a food source at your location.

I camped a lot with my cousins and they would bring everything with them except the kitchen sink. Things like coffee table sized coolers packed down with ice,beer, ground chuck for grilled hamburgers,sometimes t-bone steaks, buns , potatoes and tinfoil for baking them on hot coals, condiments to go along with it, canned goods of various vegetables with pots to heat them in over a grill.

Funny thing is, they would have all of these things and sit back by the campfire proclaiming how badass they were from "roughing it".

Every camping spot I've ever camped at , a vehicle was always within eyesight and a short walk away to get whatever was needed. The longest I ever camped was 3 weeks at a lake. There were hot showers on site and every camping lot had a grill anchored into the ground with an electrical outlet on each lot and this was at Lake Tobesofkee in GA.

Location also determines your "camping experience"

After thinking this much about camping I'm wanting to grill something.

I could go for grilled food right now.. I'd probably appreciate a hot-shower-spot with electricity for car-camping, but I'll also be exploring to places where there is literally nothing.
[MENTION=315]Usehername[/MENTION] the frozen-to-thaw idea is a pretty good one, I think they'd probably keep a long time especially in the shade.

 

[Werewolfen]

I was searching for new ideas for camping and came across the "Tentsile Unique Camping Shelter". Who ever thought up this is a genius. It's sold only in England and I couldn't find a price, I think you have to email them to get the price on their website. Suspended in the air by 3 anchor points and with a rope ladder to get into it, it keeps you off the wet cold ground, out of reach from anyone or anything. That's an awesome tent design. It comes in 3 models, for 2 people , 3-4 people , 5-8 people.




http://www.tentsile.com/gallery.html

 

[cascadeco]

I posted this in [MENTION=71]JAVO[/MENTION]'s thread the other day, but I LOVE this food for backpacking trips... all dehydrated, nutritious, filling, flavorful.

http://www.packitgourmet.com/

 

[kyuuei]

I was searching for new ideas for camping and came across the "Tentsile Unique Camping Shelter". Who ever thought up this is a genius. It's sold only in England and I couldn't find a price, I think you have to email them to get the price on their website. Suspended in the air by 3 anchor points and with a rope ladder to get into it, it keeps you off the wet cold ground, out of reach from anyone or anything. That's an awesome tent design. It comes in 3 models, for 2 people , 3-4 people , 5-8 people.

View attachment 7760


http://www.tentsile.com/gallery.html

It's so awesome! Like a pop-up tree house!

I posted this in [MENTION=71]JAVO[/MENTION]'s thread the other day, but I LOVE this food for backpacking trips... all dehydrated, nutritious, filling, flavorful.

http://www.packitgourmet.com/

Im always a bit wary of pre-made foods, since MREs and their preservatives hurt my stomach so much... but if you're saying they taste great and are pretty fresh I may have to try these out in the neat future and see what I think.

 

[JAVO]

Im always a bit wary of pre-made foods, since MREs and their preservatives hurt my stomach so much... but if you're saying they taste great and are pretty fresh I may have to try these out in the neat future and see what I think.

MRE stands for Meals Really for Enemy.

I've tried MRE's and they taste like crap compared to the stuff made for backpackers. Of course, maybe the MRE's I tried were really, really old.

 

[kyuuei]

^ No, you're spot on. They're awful things. Full of fat, calories, and little nutritional value. I usually lose around 10 lbs. when we're in the field for longer than a week. Usually for the field: breakfast is hot, lunch and dinner are MREs. I'll eat the small portions I can out of the packages, and the rest might as well have never existed. I usually ensure I bring enough food to last the entire time so I don't end up with headaches from malnutrition.