Camping stories!

[MooseIBe]

I really, really want to go camping this summer. I say this every summer, of course, and it very rarely happens (and then only for a night or so). This is because everyone of my acquaintance seems to HATE camping. I suggest it to friends and my boyfriend and they get this worried, harrassed look and then they say 'sure, that sounds like a good idea so are you doing anything interesting this weekened did you watch the football last night good heavens would you believe it a space ship just touched down over there and took those two little kids away!'. From which I deduce, sigh, that they are less than enthusiastic.

I have actually contemplated going on my own but I am hesitant. This is partly because I have all the sense of direction of half a daschund and would doubtless lose myself within ten minutes on the fells, but also because I am not entirely sure if it's safe for a lone female to camp (and even if there wasn't an axe murderer within 100 mile radius, I'd prolly worry that there was which would spoil the experience). What do people think? Do any of you go camping alone? Anyone got any good camping stories to share without or without other people involved? :museum: *

*this smiley has nothing at all to do with camping, but I couldn't find a camping one so there :D

[The Lone Ranger]

I go camping alone pretty often, but that may not help you much, I suppose.

If you're not too experienced in the woods and lack a good sense of direction (and/or knowledge of orienteering), camping alone in some sort of wilderness area probably isn't the best idea anyway, regardless of sex. I would hazard a guess that you're far safer from axe murderers, rapists, and pickpockets in the wilderness than in any city. But you're rather less safe from the dangers of getting lost, twisting your ankle, getting sunburned, etc.

So, how do you feel about the prospect of going to a campground in a state or national park? There should be plenty of other people within a fairly close distance, so you should be plenty safe, but you'll still have plenty of hiking trails and scenery and whatnot. (Don't overlook the convenience of having fire rings and clean water available as well!)

Cheers,

Michael

[MooseIBe]

Heh we don't really HAVE wilderness in the UK here in the same sense that you do there, ie wherever I went there'd be bound to be other people within hailing distance. I have thought about going to a campsite and I suppose it might be a good thing to start with, just to get me used to the idea of being out hiking on my own.

[LadyShea]

We bought a kick ass GPS for like 300.00, you can download maps of the general area you are visiting, and have it track your course so you can follow it right back. Ours was a package for boaters, with maps of US waterways, but I think you can get any area and probably for cheaper (ours came with mounting hardware and stuff). It is made by Magellan.

I haven't camped alone, but would have no problem doing so. Just make sure someone knows how long you will be gone, the general area you will be visiting, etc.

[latinijral]

I go camping alone pretty often, but that may not help you much, I suppose.


Cheers,

Michael

Liar!!!!! I always saw you camping with Tonto !

Try some chicks now! :wave:
http://www.space-debris.com/west_cmoore_tonto.jpg

[Ronin]

I just realized The Lone Ranger was left-handed.

Jay Silverheels was the coolest Canadian Mohawk around.

He married an Italian chick and pitched a tent.

They called their kids Indalians.

:wave:

[latinijral]

I just realized The Lone Ranger was left-handed.



:wave:

You mean "using" or "playing" with his "gun" ?

:wave:

[viscousmemories]

I've been camping a few times in Michigan, and of course I "camped" a fair amount during training exercises in the Army. I've never really liked it much, truth be told. I like being outdoors and the survivalist training part of it, but I could do without the constant mosquito bites and other insects swarming around and on me, and the cold weather (and water... ever wash your hair under an outdoor pump? Fuck that ice cold water hurts.)

Probably my favorite place to go was Tahquamenon Falls (http://www.exploringthenorth.com/tahqua/tahqua.html). There was one spot there where you could walk under one of the smaller falls and sit on a rock ledge behind it, facing the wall of water crashing down. That was cool. :yup:

[Ronin]

I just realized The Lone Ranger was left-handed.



:wave:

You mean "using" or "playing" with his "gun" ?

:wave:

Yes...yes I do.

:wave:

[Weaselboots]

I love camping, and jump at every chance. Though i have not gone on my own for a long time it can be fun. I'm lucky to have someone who loves its aswell.
I have hiked,camped and drove across the USA, Australia and east Africa.

My first ever overnight, take it all with you trip was to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back. One day, down two days up, and after the pain went away i was keen for more.

The closest time i get to a spiritual moment is sitting by the tent in the cool of the morning, drinking a cup of tea. Its quiet and peaceful, the birds are just starting up and i feel at one with the world.

I hope you get to go camping and find people who are keen aswell.

[livius drusus]

Is that your tent, Weaselboots? It's really cool looking. Very space age and cozy. :thumbup:

[latinijral]

I just realized The Lone Ranger was left-handed.



:wave:

You mean "using" or "playing" with his "gun" ?

:wave:

Yes...yes I do.

:wave:

I knew it. :wave:

[JoeP]

As a family we used to go camping almost every year to a village in Wales, Druidstone ... hmm ... wait ... map (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=186000&y=216360&z=3&sv=186000,216360&st=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&dn=764&ax=186000&ay=216360).

It was great fun, but we spent most of the time on the beach.

Do not consider dragging people along who aren't keen. One of them may find it's wonderful but most will hate it. Don't go on your own, not much fun plus all the other reasons. Don't go with people you don't know well enough ... gut feel, but a strong one. So you need to find close friends or family other than those you've asked already that would love camping but hadn't previously told you. As long as you avoid the peaks and take sensible precautions (don't eat the mad cows ... don't cross the mad farmer's land), I don't think you need much experience in Britain - first-timers would be fine.

What was the question again?

[Ronin]

I just realized The Lone Ranger was left-handed.



:wave:

You mean "using" or "playing" with his "gun" ?

:wave:

Yes...yes I do.

:wave:

I knew it. :wave:

I know.

:wave:

[latinijral]

I just realized The Lone Ranger was left-handed.



:wave:

You mean "using" or "playing" with his "gun" ?

:wave:

Yes...yes I do.

:wave:

I knew it. :wave:

I know.

:wave:

That's good. :wave:

[Weaselboots]

Is that your tent, Weaselboots? It's really cool looking. Very space age and cozy. :thumbup:

Yeah its a great tent, been everywhere with us. Packs down small, 5 minute set up, enough room for 2.
Its REI brand we picked up in CA in '99.

[RevDahlia]

Aw man, this thread is singing my song. I love camping. I haven't camped much in the last few years, except for That Thing In The Desert. I like sleeping in tents. I like negotiating large angry animals and inclement weather and, in the case of TTITD, tripping hippies who bellow "Dude, is this our camp? I don't think this is our camp. Shit, where are we?" fourteen inches away from my tent at 4 AM when I'm trying to sleep it off myself.

My best camping stories are from elementary school. My school used to send all the kids on intensive two-week camping trips twice a year. These were not rinky-dink, cabins-and-counselors, lanyard-making camping trips. They all happened in very remote, primitive locations, and we had to hump our own gear (sometimes for many miles,) cook our own food, and sleep in the open air on tarps, all lined up like little sardines. During the day there were burly activities like rock climbing and whitewater rafting. At night the grownups drank beer and sang endless reprises of "Feelin' Groovy" around the campfire. It was great fun.

When I was in sixth grade, my class went to Catalina Island. Catalina is off the coast of Ventura County in southern California, and although a fair bit of it is developed most of it is not. Of course we camped in the "not" part. Our campsite consisted of a picnic table and one porta-potty a quarter-mile away. The first night we made a discovery: the area was infested with feral pigs. They swept through our campground as soon as the fire was extinguished for the night, nosing around, digging in the garbage, and generally being terrifying. They were huge and hairy and had big, drooly tusks and no fear whatsoever. It took a concerted effort by several kids wielding pots and pans to drive them off. By the second night we were used to them, and by the third we all slept soundly, even despite the rooting and snorting.

The second-to-last night was wet -- not rainy, but humid. My friend Nathan, who was not and is not a small guy, decided to pull a black plastic garbage bag over his sleeping bag to stay dry. (This doesn't work, by the way.) Nathan was sleeping at the very edge of the tarp; this will become relevant shortly. Anyway, the following morning we woke up and Nathan was gone. Just plain gone. Our teachers mustered up a search party in a hurry, but it wasn't necessary; presently we heard poor Nate shrieking at the top of his lungs from some distance away. "WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYBODY?!" he said, and shortly thereafter we found him -- at the bottom of a small gully about two hundred yards off. The garbage bag, and some of his sleeping bag, were ripped to shreds.

What had happened was apparent. The pigs, who are quite clever, had long ago concluded that anything in a black plastic bag was likely to be edible, and their strategy for removing the edible stuff was to grab the bag and drag it until it broke. They had grabbed Nate and dragged him until they got bored and gave up. The miraculous thing was that given Nate's girth and the unevenness of the terrain it must have taken several large pigs working in concert to move him so far. The really miraculous thing was that he slept through the whole business.

If anyone is interested, I could also tell the story of the time that Charlie O. almost got eaten by a bear, but I've gone on long enough already for now.

[MooseIBe]

Oh my!!! Yes please tell the story of Charlie O nearly getting eaten by a bear :). I wouldn't say that if there was any chance at all that *I* might get eaten by a bear, but as we don't have bears here, I can safely listen to Bad Stories about them and not put myself off.

Your camping stories sound like loads of fun but much more adventurous than anything I've ever dreamed of!

[MooseIBe]

Weaselboots that's a really cool piccie .. is that you in it btw? I agree that your tent is very hi tech looking, heh. Looks like a gorgeous location for camping, as long as you don't, you know, get up for a pee in the middle of the night and fall in ;).

[latinijral]

If anyone is interested, I could also tell the story of the time that Charlie O. almost got eaten by a bear, but I've gone on long enough already for now.

Errrrrrrrrr...welll...yes....tell the storyabout the bear . but also tell that one about .....you know :blush: ......yes.....that one :yup: !

:wave:

[Beth]

I would love to go camping, but not alone, perhaps I would if I went to the national forest, but I would probably still feel apprehensive, waiting for some sort of Deliverence-style fiasco to befall upon me. But I think I have enough wilderness and survival traing to at least make it if the bob cats or bears or cougars or snakes don't get me first. I think you guys have less wild animals to worry about over in the UK.

I really cannot match any of these stories. My trips were not very fun, sleeping on the hard floor, hating my brother who was breathing into my face next to me, wild boars just outside destroying my stuff. No-see-ums biting with no relief. What we took to doing was renting cabins and hiking during the day to return to the cabin to safely sleep at night.

That said, I really, really want to try it again with my family but hubby is not having it because he camped out in a tent for a while when he helped to rebuild South Florida after Andrew caused so much damage.

As far as fun goes, it was fun roasting marshmallows and throwing the melted goo into my brother and his friend's hair and dodging their onslaughts. It was fun pretending we were lost and having to forage the woods to hunt for food, and hiding from the lurking beast that was stalking us. It was thrilling fun when we came upon a black bear. I nearly rolled down a mountain to escape, then realized I left my brother hanging from the ledge terrified and had to go back for him. (the bear encounter and mountain climbing was in the Blue Ridge Mountains)

[Dingfod]

I've grown so accustomed to sleeping indoors in a climate controlled environment and eating meals that don't contain sand or ashes and spending evenings watching TV instead of slapping mosquitos I no longer desire to camp out, period.

[Weaselboots]

Weaselboots that's a really cool piccie .. is that you in it btw? I agree that your tent is very hi tech looking, heh. Looks like a gorgeous location for camping, as long as you don't, you know, get up for a pee in the middle of the night and fall in ;).


Thanks, no thats my spunky husband. This was up in the Northern Territory in Australia. Five day hike, every night a new and more georgous waterhole/ waterfall to swim and relax in.
Perfect.

[RevDahlia]

The Tale of Charlie And The Bear.

When I was in fifth grade, my class took a trip to Sequoia National Park in California. That was the one time the grownups didn't do enough research beforehand, because when we arrived we found that we'd reserved a spot in an extremely developed campground. There were showers and laundry facilities and RV hookups and a gift shop within walking distance and everything. The adults were dismayed, but after five years of camping on lumpy ground in the middle of BFE us kids were elated.

The first day, a friendly park ranger came around. "Watch out for the bears!" he said in an ominous tone. We all scoffed -- we were camped next to an RV with a satellite dish, for heaven's sake. Bears? Please. And sure enough we saw neither hide nor hair of a bear for the whole two weeks. We all enjoyed ourselves, even the kid who fell in the river and had to be fished out almost a mile downstream, and even though there was a freak snowstorm in the middle of it all.

The last night we were all lined up on our tarp, ignoring the adults' repeated admonitions to quit giggling and go to sleep. The only person who was asleep was Charlie O., and he had the spot at the very edge of the tarp. (Sense a theme?) I was gossiping with my friend Katie and having a grand old time, and we barely noticed when a stony, horrified silence descended upon the campground. Presently we stopped tittering and looked where everyone else was looking, to see a bear -- a HUGE bear, though I guess there is no such thing as a small bear -- looming over Charlie. In fact, the bear was trying to roll him over. It had hooked its huge claws under him and was gently levering away and snuffling to itself. This went on for what seemed like hours, though it was probably only about 5 minutes; then, inexplicably, the bear gave up and waddled off. Of course Charlie was still sound asleep.

In the morning, we discovered that Charlie the genius had bought a few contraband Snickers bars at the gift shop, and stashed them in his backpack (which he had been using as a pillow.) Man, did he ever get in deep shit for that.

[viscousmemories]

Great bear story! :yup:

[Dingfod]

Neighbor girl down the street from us in Utah was camping with her grandparents in the mountains. They were sleeping in a pickup truck camper. A black bear tore through the screen and dragged this girl out in her sleeping bag, biting into her right leg. Her screams awoke everyone else. As the bear dragged her across the campground her grandfather got out of the camper armed only with a three D-cell flashlight.

He caught up with the bear with grandaughter in tow as the bear was trying to drag her through a barbed wire fence. Her grandfather commenced to beat the bear about the head as hard as he could. After what seemed like several minutes of beating the bear let go and ran off into the woods to nurse it's headache.

National Forest Service policy was, at the time, to kill bears that attacked humans because relocation programs had not proven successful, the bears often returned to their home territory sometimes years later, but sometimes within the same year. Hunters with hounds went after this particular bear but never found it.

The girl recovered from the bite, which left considerable scarring. My girls knew and played with her for years after the incident, we knew her fairly well. As far as I know she showed no ill effect except a deep fear of camping in the woods.

[viscousmemories]

Damn, horrible bear story! :shudder:

[The Lone Ranger]

About 2 years ago, I was camping in the Bitterroot Mountains, not too far from Missoula, Montana. I pitched my tent on the sandy shore of a river -- there's just nothing better than the sound of rushing water to lull me to sleep.

When I awoke in the morning and stepped outside, I noticed cougar tracks around the tent. Apparently, a cougar had wandered up during the night, circled my tent once, presumably out of curiosity, then wandered away. Had it come in for a visit, it wouldn't have been the first time a cat had climbed into bed with me, but it certainly would have been the most exciting!



One of my favorite camping experiences was up in the Clearwater Mountains of Idaho. I pitched my tent near a summit. Though this was late July, there was still a bit of snow left in a shady hollow a few feet away, so I was able to keep my juice and food nice and cold. At night, there were absolutely no artificial lights visible (unless you count my campfire), and the stars seemed so close it was almost as if you could reach up and touch them. Gorgeous!

In the morning, I awoke to some annoyed marmots whistling at me. Apparently, I had pitched my tent in their feeding grounds, and they weren't happy with me.

Cheers,

Michael

[MooseIBe]

Eek! You see it's so much different in the UK.. the only thing I'd be likely to encounter in the middle of the night would be a sheep :).

Has anyone read Bill Bryson's 'A Walk in the Woods'?

[Dingfod]

Our first baby's first campout:

It was an unusually warm and dry spring that first year in Wyoming. By mid-April there was no snow in the mountains except in the deep shade of the darkest Blue Spruce groves. I decided it would be fun to spend the weekend camping in the Ashley National Forest, near Flaming Gorge. The intent was to explore Sheep Creek Canyon during the day, searching for hidden gold treasure buried by bank robbers I'd read about in a Utah ghost town's book. Our oldest daughter was 12 months old that month.

We packed the backpacker tent and supplies into the Toyota Corolla, drove up into the National Forest, drove up to Spirit Lake and around the Sheep Creek Canyon loop, until it was getting late. We found a nice level campsite in one of the developed campgrounds on the other side of the Flaming Gorge turnoff. I set up the tent on the nice sandy pad provided, placing the mattress from our hide-a-bed sofa inside. Then I scavenged for firewood while my wife fixed chili on the Coleman camp stove. I built a nice campfire over which we cooked hotdogs and later marshmallows for S'mores. We ate our dinner and dessert, then sat playing with our daughter by the fire. She fell asleep in my arms, so I put her into bed in the tent. She was to sleep between us.

Then I returned to the fire, where my wife and I sat and talked until it burned down to embers. Then I doused the remaining coals with water. Just as we were crawling into bed, our baby daughter commenced to scream. She wouldn't stop even with us on both sides of her. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, we got up and got in the car, where she seemed to settle down. Sitting there with the engine running for warmth, she fell asleep again. We decided to try again. Again, no sooner than we got into bed, she started screaming again. These were not screams of a tantrum, but of abject terror.

So, my wife got into the car with her. I packed everything up in the car and got in before deciding what to do. We didn't have enough gas left to make it home. It was nearly 11:00 PM, the store over by Flaming Gorge and everything in Manila, Utah would be closed. Vernal was closer by a considerable margin, so that's where we went for gas and maybe a motel. It was midnight when I gassed up at 7-Eleven. I decided it was better if we just went home. We did. Back over the pass we went, slowing only for a herd of elk standing in the road as we rounded a curve. We didn't go camping as a family for another four years and that was an adventure in itself.

[MooseIBe]

Weird! What was she upset about?

[Dingfod]

I don't know what she was upset about, maybe it was the dark, the night sounds, the cold mountain air, strange bed. Who knows? She was only 12 months old.

[Weaselboots]

We went to Tasmania (little island state off south coast of Australia) for a month over Christmas, middle of summer remember. We did the Overland/Cradle Mtn hike, 96 km over 8 days. Some people do it in 4, but never get to sit and enjoy the place.
It was raining hard the day we left, the next few were hot and sunny. There are huts to sleep in but we love our little tent and is more private, so we camped most nights. The landscape goes from moss covered gnarly bush to open high plains, think Lord of the Rings, very rugged and easy to get lost in. We drank straight from the streams and kept a look out for Tasmanian Tigers (extinct since 1936, but you never know). Christmas eve we camped at Frog Flats, it was getting rainy so we set up on a slightly higher spot for the night, i brought tinsel to decorate tent with.

Next morning we woke up to a river surrounding us and still raining. I couldn't find the utensils, blamed the Potaroo's (small kangeroo type critters) for stealing them. My Christmas breakfast consisted of standing in the rain eating 2 minutes noodles with my fingers out of the pot, laughing all the way. Packed up, found the utensils.
Hiked to next hut, fell up on my left thigh in mud, Rob was laughing so hard that he couldn't pull me out for a while. Dragged our wet, muddy butts to the hut, decided not to camp. Hut had no heating, drunk emergency xmas red wine and played cards. Next morning woke up to 6 inches of snow, in the middle of summer...crazy. :snow:
Hiked through snow storm, saw fuzzy wombat and lots of roo's. The last hut it was sunny again. Next day left the trail, straight for beer and steak. It was a great trip and the weather added to the fun.

[MooseIBe]

Sounds lovely. I fell in love with NZ when I saw LOTR (yes I know that Tassie belongs to Oz, but you mentioned the landscape was similar) and have wanted to visit ever since. Gorgeous landscape.

[MooseIBe]

Hmmmph. I texted a friend I hadn't asked before and who I know likes the countryside and asked if she fancied a weekend camping i've just learned that she left the country. Must be a coincidence...

(well only kidding but she very politely said that she'd rather be skinned alive than spent a night under canvas, with or without me).

[Julian]

Hmmm, we go camping twice a year in August as part of some medieval re-enactment. It's not too bad really...

Our pavilion is 18' by 24' and contains a four poster bed, handcrafted (by me) medieval wooden furniture, like a dining table, a kitchen table, several chairs, end tables, bedside tables, chandeliers, wall hangings, fully carpeted, wardrobes, and outside, displays of banners, shields and weapons as well as lanterns to light the way home after a night out of drinking mead. Yeah, it's rough, that camping... ;)

Julian

[Shake]

Sorry you have no one to camp with Moose.

My wife's friends get together every year for "camping". The quotes are because it hasn't been actual camping in a number of years. Now, we just go rent a big place somewhere, which has become more challenging with all of the kiddies now. But the first year I went with them was in Alleghany State Park in NW PA. We'd driven up from hot, sticky Charleston, SC and were greeted by cooler, dryer weather. What a relief. Back then, we went through copious amounts of alcohol ... now, we bring some back home. One year was in Williamsburg, VA, and it was freakin' HOT! Also, what we didn't realize until we were all settled in and had eaten dinner the first night, was that there were train tracks maybe 50 yards from our sites!

As a boy, my family went annually to a state park on the far side of the county, right up on Lake Ontario. Also, being a Boy Scout, I got to go camp all over the area. Summer camp was at Massawepie (http://www.otetiana.org/massawepie/) in the Adirondacks. We'd sometimes get jets from nearby (but now closed) Plattsburgh AFB flying overhead, but it was rare to see them through the thick trees. One year, I remember being at the lakefront and looking out over the placid waters and happening to notice something hop up over the ridge directly across from me. It came down low over the water and then zipped by straight overhead. Being an aviation (specifically military) buff, I recognized it as an ALCM (http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/missiles/calcm/alcm.htm)!

Another time, dad and I were on the lake in a very small sailboat, and saw a pair of A-10s fly on over at roughly 100' or so!

I've been camping in the cold -- upstate NY in March! -- and in the heat (see the above about Williamsburg). I love a good campfire!

[Weaselboots]

Hmmm, we go camping twice a year in August as part of some medieval re-enactment. It's not too bad really...

Our pavilion is 18' by 24' and contains a four poster bed, handcrafted (by me) medieval wooden furniture, like a dining table, a kitchen table, several chairs, end tables, bedside tables, chandeliers, wall hangings, fully carpeted, wardrobes, and outside, displays of banners, shields and weapons as well as lanterns to light the way home after a night out of drinking mead. Yeah, it's rough, that camping... ;)

Julian

We do that over Easter here ....you with the SCA or another group?
It sure is a different style of camping but great fun. My setup isn't as flash as yours, but of some our friends is full on.
We have a clockwork spitjack and a pizza oven all over the open fire (when there isn't a total fire ban). I'm usually found behind the bar, trying for responsible service of alcolhol..one for the customers, one for me....

The Lemmings in all our fighting glory....

[MooseIBe]

Actually medieval reenactment sounds like a lot of fun!!! I could get into something like that I think, especially if my campsite had a four poster bed ;).

[Julian]

Hmmm, we go camping twice a year in August as part of some medieval re-enactment. It's not too bad really...

Our pavilion is 18' by 24' and contains a four poster bed, handcrafted (by me) medieval wooden furniture, like a dining table, a kitchen table, several chairs, end tables, bedside tables, chandeliers, wall hangings, fully carpeted, wardrobes, and outside, displays of banners, shields and weapons as well as lanterns to light the way home after a night out of drinking mead. Yeah, it's rough, that camping... ;)

Julian

We do that over Easter here ....you with the SCA or another group?
It sure is a different style of camping but great fun. My setup isn't as flash as yours, but of some our friends is full on.
We have a clockwork spitjack and a pizza oven all over the open fire (when there isn't a total fire ban). I'm usually found behind the bar, trying for responsible service of alcolhol..one for the customers, one for me....

The Lemmings in all our fighting glory....
Yeah, I am with the SCA ( www.sca.org ). The event I was referring to is Pennsic. This site has lots of pics: www.pennsic.net

Good looking crew you got there, by the way. Do you ever get to Pennsic? I would love to meet up with some infidels. I do realize it is a long way for you but we do get quite a contingent from Lochac (Australia) usually.

Pennsic is a wall to wall party. It's pretty insane. I will describe more in my response to Moose below. :)

Julian

[Julian]

Actually medieval reenactment sounds like a lot of fun!!! I could get into something like that I think, especially if my campsite had a four poster bed ;).
Please see my reply above for some links. It last for two weeks although lots of people do not stay the full time. Everything is medieval and everybody tries to recreate the feel as best possible. It is a war between the East Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom. Each kingdom allies with either one of them and a one week battle is fought out with many engagements. We get several thousand guys in armor clashing in full contact. Of course, we (Atlantia allied with the East) win decisively every year, it is hardly a contest. :)

The main attraction is the parties, with such classics as: Naked Spaghetti (It is naked but the spaghetti refers to the participants), Men Without Pants (kilts are favored, the men will be checked by a line of women at the door to ensure absence of underwear), Rogues vs. Beer (your basic drunken feast), Hell (another drunken party featuring light spanking), Vlad's Pleasure Palace (actually a place featuring the Slave Auction, where you can sell yourself off as a slave (for 4 hours, I think) to raise money for the beer which is free, Miss Wet Chemise which is self-explanatory, End of the World (The party on the last night) and so on for countless more parties... Actually, all alcohol is free everywhere. Mead is very popular. So is bellydancing.

The shopping is fantastic, if you care for such goods. Nothing modern is sold, other than books and such stuff, most of it handcrafted by the seller.

All in all, the best time that can be had. There are also family areas, quiet walks around a beautiful lake, naked and family swimming, many classes in every conceivable medieval skill as well as dancing and live performances. Many traveling players will wander from camp to camp, and for a drink, perform some play, story or piece of music.

There is no electricity anywhere so everything is by lantern or bonfire. Always you can hear the sound of drums, 24 hours a day. 15,000 people attend every year.

One person I know described it as, "a vacation from yourself." Not a bad way to put it. If you like a combination of quiet lounging, pageantry and crazy parties, all within walking distance, it is the best way to spend a vacation. :)

We have urchins delivering ice daily that goes inside concealed coolers to keep the beer, mead and food cold. We also have a propane shower.

The shopping area is thick with noble ladies, armored knights, tunic-clad tradesmen, steppe people, celts, everyone of them friendly and cheerful. There is hardly ever any trouble there.

Julian

[MooseIBe]

That sounds way cooL! Except for all the naked thing. Mooses look better fully covered with a tartan throw *looks prim*. Otherwise, I'm there!!! :venus:

[Julian]

That sounds way cooL! Except for all the naked thing. Mooses look better fully covered with a tartan throw *looks prim*. Otherwise, I'm there!!! :venus:
The naked thing is entirely optional and easy to avoid. :) There are many families there, but the attitude is generally quite liberal.

Julian

[RevDahlia]

Hmmm, we go camping twice a year in August as part of some medieval re-enactment. It's not too bad really...

Our pavilion is 18' by 24' and contains a four poster bed, handcrafted (by me) medieval wooden furniture, like a dining table, a kitchen table, several chairs, end tables, bedside tables, chandeliers, wall hangings, fully carpeted, wardrobes, and outside, displays of banners, shields and weapons as well as lanterns to light the way home after a night out of drinking mead. Yeah, it's rough, that camping... ;)

Julian
Wow, sounds a lot like our camp at That Thing In The Desert. We have a 20' diameter geodesic dome instead of a pavilion, and it has a custom carpet with our camp logo in the middle of it, couches, Mission-style end tables, a chandelier, and the best part, a misting system for when it's too hot to think. We also have a fully-functional kitchen with toaster and microwave, and my husband and I turn the back of our truck into an extremely luxe bedroom, with a platform bed, bureau, piles of pillows, swamp cooler, etc. The whole thing is powered by a couple of uber-beefy Whisperwatt gennies. Next year we're thinking about renting a refrigerated trailer.

TTITD (okay, it's Burning Man, but it seems I bang on about it too much -- see my user status) takes place in about the harshest environment in North America, and the organizers don't supply anything except porta-potties and emergency medical services, so it's nice to have all the amenities.

From Julian's description it seems like BMan and the SCA gatherings are borrowing quite a lot from each other these days, which I think is just great. BMan does not allow vending in any form, and the theme is a lot looser, but there are drums, naked people, parties with goofy names, fire and pageantry, and all in all it's about as much fun as anyone can handle.

[Weaselboots]

Yeah, I am with the SCA ( www.sca.org ). The event I was referring to is Pennsic. This site has lots of pics: www.pennsic.net

Good looking crew you got there, by the way. Do you ever get to Pennsic? I would love to meet up with some infidels. I do realize it is a long way for you but we do get quite a contingent from Lochac (Australia) usually.

Pennsic is a wall to wall party. It's pretty insane. I will describe more in my response to Moose below. :)

Julian

Yeah i've heard alot about Pennsic, and its sounds like fun. We thought about going when i was in the states but wrong part of the country at the time.

Our Easter event is called Rowany Festival and we get a few Americans who make it whenever they can. Its way smaller than Pennsic, we get about 1000 people. Maybe because we are smaller but there is no naked, fanasty based types around, they are not encouraged or quietly spoken to and given a t- tunic. Its cold durning the night so can rug up in big cloaks and hang around the fire telling "No shit, there we were..." stories. My household the "Lemmings" are a crack sucide squad on the field and a crack drinking squad off it. I shoot arrows at the bad guys and (wo)man the cannon and ballista. Its a total hoot.

[Julian]

Wow, sounds a lot like our camp at That Thing In The Desert. We have a 20' diameter geodesic dome instead of a pavilion, and it has a custom carpet with our camp logo in the middle of it, couches, Mission-style end tables, a chandelier, and the best part, a misting system for when it's too hot to think. We also have a fully-functional kitchen with toaster and microwave, and my husband and I turn the back of our truck into an extremely luxe bedroom, with a platform bed, bureau, piles of pillows, swamp cooler, etc. The whole thing is powered by a couple of uber-beefy Whisperwatt gennies. Next year we're thinking about renting a refrigerated trailer.

TTITD (okay, it's Burning Man, but it seems I bang on about it too much -- see my user status) takes place in about the harshest environment in North America, and the organizers don't supply anything except porta-potties and emergency medical services, so it's nice to have all the amenities.

From Julian's description it seems like BMan and the SCA gatherings are borrowing quite a lot from each other these days, which I think is just great. BMan does not allow vending in any form, and the theme is a lot looser, but there are drums, naked people, parties with goofy names, fire and pageantry, and all in all it's about as much fun as anyone can handle.
I knew you were talking about Burning Man. SCA has lots of pagans and agnostic types. There is a good amount of cross over between Pennsic and Burning Man. The main difference is that all modern gear is highly discouraged at Pennsic, so nothing electric or refrigerated. Everything gets cooked on an open fire. Also, most things have to be home built since there is not too much medieval furniture for sale at IKEA. :)

It does gets rough on those really hot days. Especially for this Viking.

Julian

[Julian]

Yeah i've heard alot about Pennsic, and its sounds like fun. We thought about going when i was in the states but wrong part of the country at the time.

Our Easter event is called Rowany Festival and we get a few Americans who make it whenever they can. Its way smaller than Pennsic, we get about 1000 people. Maybe because we are smaller but there is no naked, fanasty based types around, they are not encouraged or quietly spoken to and given a t- tunic. Its cold durning the night so can rug up in big cloaks and hang around the fire telling "No shit, there we were..." stories. My household the "Lemmings" are a crack sucide squad on the field and a crack drinking squad off it. I shoot arrows at the bad guys and (wo)man the cannon and ballista. Its a total hoot.
I have been talking to the SO about getting her started in combat archery since there is no contact allowed there. She is a tiny thing. I am not sure if she would like siege machines but you never know...

If you ever get a chance to go to Pennsic it is well worth it. It is impossible to have a bad time.

It looks nice: http://www.sca.org.au/rowany/festival/photos.html

Here are some pics from Pennsic:
http://www.flame.org/~explorer/album/pennsic-27/arial/pennsic-27-116.jpg
http://www.flame.org/~explorer/album/pennsic-27/arial/pennsic-27-207.jpg
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=pennsic+photos

Julian

[RevDahlia]

Wow, sounds a lot like our camp at That Thing In The Desert. We have a 20' diameter geodesic dome instead of a pavilion, and it has a custom carpet with our camp logo in the middle of it, couches, Mission-style end tables, a chandelier, and the best part, a misting system for when it's too hot to think. We also have a fully-functional kitchen with toaster and microwave, and my husband and I turn the back of our truck into an extremely luxe bedroom, with a platform bed, bureau, piles of pillows, swamp cooler, etc. The whole thing is powered by a couple of uber-beefy Whisperwatt gennies. Next year we're thinking about renting a refrigerated trailer.

TTITD (okay, it's Burning Man, but it seems I bang on about it too much -- see my user status) takes place in about the harshest environment in North America, and the organizers don't supply anything except porta-potties and emergency medical services, so it's nice to have all the amenities.

From Julian's description it seems like BMan and the SCA gatherings are borrowing quite a lot from each other these days, which I think is just great. BMan does not allow vending in any form, and the theme is a lot looser, but there are drums, naked people, parties with goofy names, fire and pageantry, and all in all it's about as much fun as anyone can handle.
I knew you were talking about Burning Man. SCA has lots of pagans and agnostic types. There is a good amount of cross over between Pennsic and Burning Man. The main difference is that all modern gear is highly discouraged at Pennsic, so nothing electric or refrigerated. Everything gets cooked on an open fire. Also, most things have to be home built since there is not too much medieval furniture for sale at IKEA. :)

It does gets rough on those really hot days. Especially for this Viking.

Julian
Pennsic sounds like a blast and a half. I'd love to go sometime.

Last year we had an SCA veteran in our camp, and she said that although Burning Man and the SCA events are very different in terms of the cosmetic trappings, they feel similar because people attend them for the same reasons. I'm not surprised that there's so much crossover -- it seems there's a pretty huge group of folks out there who enjoy getting off the grid for a little while, hanging out with a community of people who have a comparable idea about what constitutes a good time, and creating a tailor-made event instead of consuming somebody else's.

I might have to tell the story of the time my dad sat on a porcupine in northern Alberta, just to avoid further derailing this thread with my Band Camp Girlness.

[Weaselboots]

I have been talking to the SO about getting her started in combat archery since there is no contact allowed there. She is a tiny thing. I am not sure if she would like siege machines but you never know...

Combat archery is great fun. I know in the West no one does it or they have to use golf tube arrows. Here at least we have a workable model.
To totally take this off topic, here is a page a friend did to prove that the cannons they made were totally safe. It what happens when engineers have to much time on there hands. They are fun to shoot and great at intimidation.
:cannon:
http://www.geocities.com/earlygunnery/lemmingcannon.htm

[MooseIBe]

Did someone mention a story about sitting on porcupines? Let's have it! :D

[wildernesse]

None of my friends/family like camping or hiking much. Or, they do, but it's not high on their priority list. Which is hard for me, since I am almost always ready to go outside and do something. Sorry, I don't have any stories--I've been camping TWICE.

My friend and I did see bears while we were hiking last summer in South Carolina. Well, she saw bears, I saw a bear and then hid behind a tree and wouldn't come out to see the other one. Heehee. They were so not interested in us, and not all that big.

[MooseIBe]

LOL! If I had ever seen a bear i think i would still be running :). What kind of bears were they? We don't have any interesting wildlife here, a fact that I sometimes rue and sometimes praise God-or-other for..

[wildernesse]

LOL! If I had ever seen a bear i think i would still be running :). What kind of bears were they? We don't have any interesting wildlife here, a fact that I sometimes rue and sometimes praise God-or-other for..

Black bears. That's the only kind in this part (Southeastern) of the US.

[Dingfod]

Speaking of attacks of wild critters, I have a few more camping stories:

Shortly after we moved to Southwest Colorado, we decided to go on a campout in the National Forest the other side of the Dolores River. We drove over and found a campsite that was normally used by hunters in the autumn hunting season. I set up the tent and got a campfire going while my wife started heating up the chili on the campstove and kept an eye on our oldest daughter, who was four years old at the time.

We roasted hot dogs on the campfire, ate them with chili, cheese and condiments. We were just starting to make some s'mores when we heard what sounded like coyotes howling not too awfully far away. Each time we heard the howls they were closer. It started getting really scarey so my wife got my daughter into our little Toyota truck while I loaded everything up in the truck and put out the campfire. The howling got closer and closer, almost as if they were running right toward us. I pulled up stakes and picked up our backpacker tent intact with mattress and sleeping bags inside and put it on the top of everything else.

We sat there for a little bit, scared to death. The howling and yipping was right around us by this time. We could hear rustling in the brush. So, I took off. I drove a little ways down the road before getting out to rope down everything. Then we drove back to town, but still desiring to camp out decided to try an actual campground instead of out in the wilderness. We drove over to just south of Monticello, Utah, setting up camp right about dark.

Early the next morning, I got up and made Spam and eggs, my old camping favorite breakfast. Nobody would eat them but me. Oh, well, I like them, a lot. I like Spam a lot. Hmmm, Spam-a-lot, ... hmmm, maybe someone should use that line.

I found out some time later that one of my coworkers that hunts mountain lions and bears was running his dogs after a bear in the area that we were camped in. The "coyotes" were probably his dogs. It was probably best we hauled our butts out of there because somewhere out on front of the dogs was a desperate bear. Gads, it was scarey enough when we thought it was coyotes.

--------

We had some friends, Mike and Vicky, who used to camp out a lot. They and another couple went camping in the Wichita Mountains in Southwest Oklahoma. They were awakened in the middle of the night by a loud snort. Mike said he opened the tent flap to see a full grown American Bison walk right between the tents. Another one was eating a black plastic garbage bag. In fact, once his eyes adjusted, he realized he was in the middle of a herd of them. They crawled back into their sleeping bags and quivered with fear until they finally wandered off.

--------

I once read a story of a black powder Bison hunt in the Henry Mountains of Utah. The writer and a friend always wanted to hunt Bison the old fashioned way, the way the pioneers did, with black powder rifles. They drove down after work on a Friday, set up their primitive mountain man camp in the dark. They rose early the next morning and began to track the lone herd of bison in the area. The tracked them all day long but didn't see them at all. Tired from walking for hours, they made their way back to camp only to find that the herd had been in their camp and had trampled everything into complete uselessness. Needless to say, their once-in-a-lifetime bison permits did not get filled.

--------------

Not a camping story exactly:

My brother was visiting me in Wyoming. I took him up into the foothills of the Uintah Mountains showing him the lie of the land up around the Henry's Fork. He brought his camera along to take pictures of the spectacular scenery and any wildlife we might encounter. We were driving back crossing a sagebrush flat when a badger crossed the road in front of us. "Stop. Stop. I want to take a picture." I stopped. He jumped out of the truck and chased after the badger with his camera up to his face. He followed it for about a hundred yards when the badger decided he'd had enough, turned and chased him all the way back to the truck. He didn't take the time to run around the other side and jump in the door, he jumped into the bed and commenced to slapping the roof, saying "Go! Go! Go!" I sat there. The badger was snarling and biting at my tires for a bit before sauntering off into the sagebrush. "You son of a bitch." my brother said to me when he climbed back into the cab.

[Weaselboots]

I did a 5 week camping safari in east Africa- Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. It was awesome to say the least. Camping in the Serengeti and Masai Mara, listening to the lions and hyenas roar and laugh around us. We were not in a fenced off area, just in a rough campground the bush. Getting up for a 3am toilet break was not encouraged so didn't drink very much in the evenings.
A few places we camped were near water so we had hippos at night roaming by the tents grazing. Those guys are big when seen out of the water, and easily pissed off.
It was the last week and we were back in Kenya, is was damn hot and i think i was having a slight reaction to the Malaria drugs (one of the side effects is Malaria like symtoms, so how do you know?...) I got up to go the bathroom when a hippo stepped out in front of me in the light. We both stopped, stared and backed off very quietly. I went back to the tent and had what i can only decribe as a mild panic attack. (i never had one before so i don't really know) I couldn't sleep, could see the shadows of the hippos on the tent wall as they passed by,slighty freaking out and had three hippo nightmares. The next day i was a bit feverish and felt odd. I blame the drugs and evil hippos.
If you can ever get to Africa, do so, its amazing but watch for menacing hippos.

I think i have posted this photo before....Me and friend in Rwanda.

[JoeP]

Hippos cause more deaths than any other wild animal in Africa. (Not including microbes of course.) Ref: my memory.

[PinkRose]

I go camping alone pretty often, but that may not help you much, I suppose.


Cheers,

Michael

Liar!!!!! I always saw you camping with Tonto !

Try some chicks now! :wave:
http://www.space-debris.com/west_cmoore_tonto.jpg

no they are looking at pochahontis washing in the stream.