Helpful Info. What Did You Learn by Camping?

[Maverick]

Camping is like Church, people go for a variety of reason.....just going is mostly all that matters....go light or go loaded up.....just start taking your kids early and they will always want to go, don't wait till they are teenagers....when they are young they will not mind burnt hotdogs, being dirty and no TV.......Camping does not mean you have to re-enact Rambo or Jeremiah Johnson and survive off of nothing.....fun, relaxation and stress relief...

Unless one is learning wildwood (aka bushcraft) traits such as building shelter, fire or practicing navigation and learning foraging. Camping can be a learning experience and not just relaxation

 

[drt4lfe]

If you wanna do bushcraft and survival stuff that is fine ( Recreational ) Camping is just that.....

 

[DrHenley]

I learned that...

I'm allergic to pine smoke
Never pitch your tent on an incline
Being out in the cold increases your libido
Just because the sky was clear at 10 pm when you decided to sleep under the stars doesn't mean that there won't be a downpour at 3 am.
If someone tries to get you to go on a snipe hunt, SAY NO!

 

[Maverick]

If you wanna do bushcraft and survival stuff that is fine ( Recreational ) Camping is just that.....

I don't know, I always thought it to be recreational to teach my kids and boy scouts on many of our journey's. Recreational is viewed differently from person to person and since I don't do it for employment it is considered recreational by definition

 

[drt4lfe]

whatever floats your boat maverick.....I replied to what ( my thoughts ) were about Camping ( Recreational ) and you started telling me otherwise.....by all means do whatever you want.....

 

[bigpaul]

i think there is a difference between American camping and British camping, most british people when they talk about camping its mostly about going to a registered camp site with a shop and flushing toilets, even showers too, whereas I think most Americans are referring to what we would call "wild" camping with no resources only what we can carry on our backs.

 

[drt4lfe]

i think there is a difference between American camping and British camping, most british people when they talk about camping its mostly about going to a registered camp site with a shop and flushing toilets, even showers too, whereas I think most Americans are referring to what we would call "wild" camping with no resources only what we can carry on our backs.

Americans camp at sites with showers and stuff too, more so than those who ( wild ) camp....Camping in America can run from million dollar RV's to lightweight minimum travel light, freeze at night hardcore extremists....most pull a RV behind a truck, rent a spot, hook up water, sewage, and electric, party hard for a few days to a few weeks and then go home....or a few buddies get together and setup to hunt for a few days....I have no doubt there are many British hardcore adventure types that rough it also....some like to lay in a lounge chair all day, drink beer and cook on the grill( most Americans )....some like to test themselves...

 

[bigpaul]

I've mostly gone for the "wild" type camping, what we used to call here "backpacking", no roads where I went, no stores either,carrying everything on my back.

 

[DrHenley]

"Wild Camping" as you call it would generally be referred to as "Backpacking" or "Camping Out" by Americans. But in truth, it is a spectrum with no hard and fast boundaries. What I generally call "Camping" would mean pitching a tent (or sleeping under the stars on the ground) and building a fire with scavenged wood, whether or not you drive up to the campsite or hike to it. There might be a subtle distinction between "Camping" and "Camping Out." I haven't really thought about it.

Sleeping in a permanent tent on a platform would not be "Camping" in my book. Although the place could be called a "Camp." "Deer Camp" could mean a "cottage" in the woods (or near the woods) with all the luxuries of home. But staying at deer camp isn't "camping."

 

[Maverick]

i think there is a difference between American camping and British camping, most british people when they talk about camping its mostly about going to a registered camp site with a shop and flushing toilets, even showers too, whereas I think most Americans are referring to what we would call "wild" camping with no resources only what we can carry on our backs.

Very few wild camp (aka primitive camping, they don't call it wild camping anymore) in this Country today. As drt4lfe stated above, most folks in the US pay opt for the luxury and convenience. We never used them paid camp sites ourselves, we either hiked/packed in or we taken our horses and a few times used the quads. The whole thought of driving in and setting up camp around other unknown campers just doesn't appeal to me.

 

[bigpaul]

I've done most of my camping on my own, on Dartmoor which is our local national park, peat moorland, very few trees, granite "tors" open landscape, very bleak.

 

[DrHenley]

LOL, I went on a "Campout" in Taiwan.

100 people on a concrete platform singing songs around a bonfire. Then everyone went home to sleep.

 

[Maverick]

LOL, I went on a "Campout" in Taiwan.

100 people on a concrete platform singing songs around a bonfire. Then everyone went home to sleep.

*sigh

 

[bigpaul]

dosent sound like a camp out to me, more of a "singalong"!

 

[DrHenley]

We actually do have a name for it in the U.S.

"Bonfire"

 

[bigpaul]

We actually do have a name for it in the U.S.

"Bonfire"

yeah, same here.

 

[jimLE]

now i wanna go camping after reading all of this.i've even gone as far as pitch it.just to make sure it's still waterproof,and to air it out..

 

[Arcticdude]

The wife and I decided last spring to camp out on the ranch until the house is built. Of course we had no idea that this was going to be the worst winter in years. I recently asked her about camping out at one of our alpine lakes later this summer. I never heard her use language like that before. So I guess what I learned about camping is I'll have to go it alone from now on.

 

[Brent S]

now i wanna go camping after reading all of this.i've even gone as far as pitch it.just to make sure it's still waterproof,and to air it out..

It's not spring yet, but I'm starting to get the bug too. There's a trout stream just three miles from me that has a great trail about 4 miles back to a huge rock faced waterfall. Really great spot. Just wish the water was a little bit warmer for swimming though! It's good to get away from the world once in a while.

 

[jimLE]

yeah it is great to get away from things for a while..i wouldn't be surprised if i can campout the beginning of next month,with the way this winter is going for us so far..it'd be a matter of making sure i stay warm at night.then build a campfire in the morning,if it should get cold at night..