Does everybody tent camp?

[Alaskan Adventurer]

The problem with campers/travel trailers is that they can't go places you can go on foot. I love long backpacking trips, so a tent/hammock is a necessity. You are very limited in a travel trailer, which is the unfortunate part.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[maui]

i have enjoyed tent camping when i was younger but now, the wife does not like that idea. she wants to get a pop-up trailer.
true, you can not get to all the places with a pop-up so hiking is ok. the wife says she is getting too old and the bones hurt sleeping in a tent. got to keep her happy.
ron

 

[Produce Guy]

Best tent camping I ever did was with my brother Tom and myself,back in 1984 in Big Bend National Park,the last week of December.Perfect weather everyday,high in the 80's lows in the 50's until the last 2 days.If I remember my brother and I decided to stay because they said it was gonna snow in the Basin where we camping,well the park ranger told us that we shouldn't risk it because we had a cheap 2 pole tent and what we needed was at least $300=$500 5 or 6 sided tent that could take the wind that was coming to the park.Well we stayed and drove back into the nearest town that had warmer clothes than what we brought.When we got back these guys next to us had 2 of those $500 tents with 5 or 6 poles and I have to amit that their tents were not flapping in the wind like our's were,BUT later on that day when they decide to go on a hike and we decide to stayput and eat the ranger came back around to tell us that it was gonna get really ,really windy,like50-60 mph,and that we should put enough weight inside our tent so it wouldn't blow away,and would'nt you know it,right after he said it a big old west Texas wind comes thru the campsite picks up BOTH of those tents andsent them flying in the air like 2 UFOs .Well the ranger looked at us and we all just laugh
P.S. they found their tents the next day ,about 2 miles down the mountain road with lots of holes and those next 2 nites they either camped under the stars or in the restrooms.

 

[Monty]

I had a 4 wheeler type cycle that would go nearly anywhere, but sold it not long ago. I always tried to find an area to camp with my trailer where there was a off road trail. I couls ride to where I wanted to hike and return the same day and ride back to my comfy trailer. I'm just too stove up to camp out like I used to. I have a good bag rated to -10 but hardly ever use it. I guess I've done about every kind of camping you can think of including hiking in to an area and setting up a pup tent and hunting for a few days. I have hiked into areas I would swear had never been seen by the human eye and then find a beer can. I still can't figure who would hike 15 miles back into the wilderness to drink beer! I even found an old model T, or the remains of one in an area with no roads and the terrain was nearly straight up and down. How it got there is a mystery to me. Oh well, it's all fun and I've done my share of roughing it. Monty

 

[Frank1960]

Last time I went camping it was back in 1986 in Alaska I was in the Infantry and we used to sleep out under the stars once a year and they temp had to be 10 degree's or colder ALL night or we would have to redo it the next night. But did do some camping with some buddies up there also and we just slept out under the stars also but it was in the 80's then. I have been thinking of getting a cheap camper and maybe staying overnight at some ghost towns to detect but haven't decided yet. I would be going alone and I am a sound sleeper so don't want to sleep in a tent besides not sure my back would take it anymore. But I sure miss the smell of a camp fire and the peace and quiet of the wilderness

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

geeze guys" Tents, sleeping bags, trailers, etc. city guys. In much of my explorations in the Barranca country of northern Mexico, my backrest and pillow was my mule's saddle while the saddle blanket was for my sleeping, admittedly a bit rank, but then so was I..

I used three small fires to keep warm, one at my feet, and one at each shoulder. This only required a small armful of branches & twigs a night.

As for the bed, no matter how often, or how carefully you checked the ground, there is always a large stone or root under your kidneys, which is discovered about 03:00 am.

Food? A few toasted tortillas and two cups of coffee. Burp.

Don Jose de La Mancha (lolling in a hamock, smelling the orange blossoms)

 

[maui]

well my frien don jose, sounds like you have got it down pretty good. as a side note, how are you doing? hope that all is well. take care my friend and stay safe. ron

 

[quiksilver]

I only use a tent when it is raining or snowing [no summer camping] , otherwise i open air it.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Ladies & Gentlemen & Maui: Gracias Maui, am just fine. I must admit that once I would have loved a tent. It was Feb, and the cold winter rains had commenced. The rivers had risen and I couldn't cross with the mule, so was trapped in a deep valley, about 6000 ft. alt.

They has just recently opened a lumber truck road (?) in the area. Since I had to go back to Alamos, a 3 day mule trip in good weather, one day by truck, for my wife's birthday, I decided to leave my mule at an Indians house and catch a ride on one of the big trucks, they could ford the river with no problems. So I decided to camp out along side of the road and wait for one to come by.

I only had a piece of plastic some 4 x 6 ft, and the mule's saddle blanket. So I burrowed into a thick clump of manzanita, cleared out a spot just big enough to lie down, spread the piece of plastic to cover as well as it could, and set up house keeping.

The clump of Manzanita gave me shelter from all but the stronger gusts of wind, and had plenty of small dry branches for fire. So there I was, wet, but warm from the small fire, actually more comfortable than I had been in other occasions. Once a day I would walk the 3 miles to the Indian's home for Hot Tortillas and coffee. Most of the time I was holed up in my clump of Manzanita hopefully waiting for a truck to come by.

Finally I gave up and started walking to CeraCahui, some 15 miles away. I was carrying my saddle bags and it rained constantly. by the time that I finally reached CeraCahui, the soles of my shoes had started to separate, and despite walking, I was trembling from the cold.

I finally reached the home of my friend, and was sitting by the fire drying out, when a lumber truck arrived. To this day my friend doesn't understand why I suddenly broke out laughing. The driver let me ride on top of fresh cut, soaking lumber for several hours where I caught another that passed through Alamos.

About 1/2 of the way home the truck developed problems, so they stopped along side of the road and built a huge fire. One of the men then sat underneath the bed of the truck, drained the oil from the differential, then opened up the case. He then filtered out the pieces of broken gear teeth, they heated up the oil, then put it back into the differential and away we went minus a gear ratio or two.

Soo, I finally arrived the morning 'after' her birthday, and she still hasn't forgiven me. Sheehs females.

I would have loved a nice comfortable Teepee.

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI room: make no mistake I love comfort, especially at the end of a hard day. The reason that I post on some of my trips is to show the basic simplicity of sleeping on the trail, not the most enjoyable, nor definitely the most restful. That is reserved for a nice bed in a spacious tent, hot meal, and a warm sleeping bag.

I have spent some of the most miserable nights of my life, wet, cold, and being constantly bitten by assorted insects.

You can imagine just how efficient I was after a week or so of this.

As for cooking over the open flames of a fire, that is never done, one must wait for the coals. sigh hungry, cold, tired mentally and physically, then to find that half of your protein is boiled / broiled assorted insects. sigh


No, I can find many things very appealing to tent or trailer living, not the least is a happy co camper, if she isn't happy, no back scratching. hehheh.

The 'only' problem that I have is that I cannot take them with me on my mule.

Don Jose de la Mancha

 

[RGINN]

You are very right, real de tayopa. That rock never popped up until about 0330. Sometimes it was a root. But it never made it's presence known when you first laid down.

 

[sandtrout]

after the military i still use a checklist. ground cover, tent, rei self inflating mattress, sleeping bag (-30), pillow, flashlight by the door. zip it shut .....17 minutes. if it's cold then it's my ford van with a mr. heater that works great and you can use it inside a vehicle as long as a window is cracked open 1/2 inch. 18 degrees outside and i'm inside and toasty.

 

[old_goldchaser]

I have discovered that as I have aged, so has my taste in camping. In my 20's and 30's I thought nothing of just sleeping by the fire or if the weather necessitated it, building a leanto out of whatever was handy. When I got into my 40's I began using a tent..espescially as my sons started going with me and I found I liked the comfort of the tent with insect free nights and a warm sleeping bag. I was in my early 50's when I found that cold nights up in the mountains were REALLY COLD and my joints and old muscles didnt take to the cold like they used to...and my wife suggested very streanuously that I get a camper. Which I did... and discovered that I once again enjoyed the outdoors without pain..and also without the constant itch of insect bites.

So now we camp...in our latest camper...and in a few months that camper will be our only home as we are retiring and going on the road. Traveling, looking for treasure, prospecting, and detecting while we are still able and still ahve a few years yet of decent health. Not exactly snowbirds, but similar I guess. Dont know how long we will do that but at least a year. And after that....well, we will see. I guess it depends on if our country is still here.

But we will still have a tent with us...just in case. And of course....the ability to build a fire.

 

[Frank1960]

right now I got a tent but am planning on saving up and getting a pop-up camper and hopefully have it by next summer.

 

[old_goldchaser]

right now I got a tent but am planning on saving up and getting a pop-up camper and hopefully have it by next summer.

You got a pickup?

 

[Frank1960]

right now I got a tent but am planning on saving up and getting a pop-up camper and hopefully have it by next summer.

You got a pickup?

yep but have a tonneau cover on it and full of stuff or I would get a truck tent for it. The popup would work great for me so i could park it and then take the truck to a fishing spot and such

 

[bigscoop]

When I was traveling a lot I had a converted 4x4 cargo van with a boxed in raised sleeping bed in the back, common supplies went under this bed and were kept there 24/7. I'd sleep in the van when I could but also had a small tent and an equiped backpack for one or two night stays in the bush when needed. This was a great setup and I really miss those days and all the adventures I had during that 6 year period in my life. With this setup I could hit the road at the drop of a hat and I could stay pretty comfortable most of the time, often weeks at a time. I could even slide my small kayak in when I was heading to areas where I needed water access, which was a great deal of the time. Metal detecting and fly fishing are a great combination!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I tent camp but it gets kinda hot here in the Everglades lol.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

LOL cool pic Goody. I blow my AC through the screen.

I work in the Big Cypress National Preserve from Sept to Jan and my tent is where I stay. My water comes from this old artesian well that runs 24 hours a day. I placed the rocks around it and added some mosquitofish in the little pond. I usually bath in the swamp but when the water gets low I pump the atresian well water to my tent shower from Walmart. Ill be moving to a more remote location next month. I love my job. Next year hopefully Ill be working in the swamp 8 months straight.

 

[Goodyguy]

Wow Big CY that's really COOL in more ways than one.