Am I the only one that camps to relax?

"Dont you hate it when youre out at a creek campin or somewhere, and those kind of degenerates show up. At least our parties were on private property, they come out loud drunk disrespectfull, and choke you with atv fumes all day. Makes me wanna strip nude and run around with my tomahawk, and my sons floaties and chase them off."

J, very funny picture, you should certainly do it as soon as you get the chance :thumbup::thumbup:

if i ever arrive at the river to lounge around and relax, and there are people there, i usually just take a quick dip to cool off and then head home. no point in being there if i'm not going to enjoy it.

i don't really like running into people in the woods, especially loud/destructive youngsters (;)) that are going to make my experience miserable...
 
ah nothing beats a hot mug of camp coffee topped off with a slug of whiskey, sitting back and looking at the stars!

my friend (female) wants me to go camping this weekend. But i know that she will bring the tv, the boombox, and god knows what else. I aint going.
 
myright said:
I haven't been camping with this guy in about 10 years and now I'm beginning to remember why. He's an alcoholic in strong denial and it can get pretty annoying. I feel like an a$$hole saying it, but I think I would be better off without the friendship.
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If you don't say it (and acknowledge it) then he's not the only one in denial !

This situation will self resolve shortly following this camp out "experience."

.
 
I can't really drink or get stoned and hike well.

A little alcohol or weed can relax you and put you out in the evening after a long days hike but why go camping just to get f*cked up? You can do that at home.

A few years ago we went with a pal who kept getting us stoned all along the trail. It screwed up my sense of direction big time, also I think the carbon monoxide plays a part in slowing you down.

Recent hike 2 friends went. Both are way skinnier than I am and both have non sedentary jobs. In the AM they would be 100 yards up the trail from us, moving on. By evening we'd be 200 yards ahead of them and they would be stopping every mile or so to rest.

I was puzzling how a fatty like me was ahead of them and then I was talking about it to another friend and he said "do they smoke cigarettes"? and of course they do, so I guess the carbon monoxide plays a part there too.

My wife and I are perfect hiking partners also cause we enjoy it the same way.
 
I have got to get out soon. This is making me jones somethin fierce...........

Next available time will probably be the midwest gathering, unless I can sneak off during the week sometime.....

Man those cast iron hibachis are sweet. I would love to get one. I have a cast iron grate I use on top of an old truck rim. It works awesome, but those are definatly sweet....
 
benchmadebob said:
LMAO That made my day i fell off my chair and chuckled for a couple minutes
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My wife said not to agg me on.....I am on the phone with her as I got called into the bambulance for more overtime:rolleyes: Shes worried cause she knows I have no shame anymore.....:o
 
Most if not all of my friends feel the need to bring the following with them when camping:

- boombox and every kind of music
- powerboats, atvs, motorcycles etc
- their rowdy friends
- 40 - 50 flats of beer
- genset and DVD players, TV's

etc etc etc etc


then during the day while camping, they ABSOLUTELY NEED TO go back into town to get booze, slurpees, Macdonalds food, junk food. sometime several times a day

all weekend they will blast music, rip up the landscape, drink and puke, and text message all day on their cell phones.
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Most of that can be avoided by hiking far away from vehicle accessible areas.

For my own privacy and security, as well as basic outdoor etiquette, I never make camp where it can be seen from a road or trail. I also only hike and camp solo. Peace and quiet is critical.
 
When I used to drink, I drank at home or at the bar. At no time did one drop of booze of any kind ever go along on a hunting, fishing or camping trip. To me, Guns , Knives and boats don't mix worth a darn. I go camping to relax too and the outdoors is all the high I need or want. To each his own but those rules served me well.
 
One reason i go mostly alone and camp where there are no other people... At night time i would rather sit by the fire and listen to it or put the fire out lay back and watch the sky....

Sasha
 
My rowdy days have been over for a long time. Sometimes I can barely remember them at all. Hell, even my sons aren't rowdy anymore. (They're 36 & 39 now. :D) Actually, I can remember getting in a fight at a dance at a roller rink in Norman, OK when I was a week short of 21. This dude picked a fight with me for no reason at all as far as I could tell. I kicked his ass, but, while I was washing up in the men's room, six of his buddies accosted me and returned the favor. Turns out the first guy was the local gang leader. :p

I'm all settled down now, of course, and in my second marriage, which is a happy one, as opposed to the first, which was not. I go fishing to fish, hunting to hunt, and hiking/camping to relax and enjoy the outdoors and the outdoor arts. Karen is my favorite companion when she's able to join me. Back in the mid nineties we took a backpacking vacation all across northern Arizona and southern Utah. No plans, no itinerary, just spontaneous treks whenever the spirit called. Base camp was an old Vanagon and from there it was a primitive camp somewhere in the back country. I was an avid fan of Edward Abbey (Desert Solitaire and Confessions of a Barbarian), and Collin Fletcher (The Man who Walked Through Time and The Thousand Mile Summer).

Though I enjoy taking along a little whiskey on outdoor excursions, I abhor situations where those accompanying me just want to get loaded. Took a friend beach fishing and camping back when I was a student. Turns out he just wanted to get away from his wife awhile and get drunk. We didn't part friends. He was a belligerent drunk.

I enjoy finishing a day in the outdoors by reading a good book with a headlamp while sipping an Irish Whiskey. Seems I'm always the last one to turn in. Relaxation? You bet. I go camping to get away from the ordinary and, well, to relax. You're not the only one myright. ;)
 
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j williams said:
Oh man, I hear that. Bonfire surfing, keg beer, music, frisbee, women swimmin topless, bong hits.... Oh to be young and dumb...
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I am 25 and I enjoy outdoors as much as anyone (you have seen quite a few pictures ice climbing and stuff in the Outdoors picture thread), I don't drink at all when outdoors, I don't like making huge fires (waste of everything and can't cook anything), I don't smoke, I am not to fond on playing with a frisbee but.... what is wrong with women swimming topless?:D:D Well, there is two things absolutly wrong with that... First, they should be fully naked. Second, I should be there with them all making sure she are ok.

Mikel
 
This is a nice thread. This is the first year in very many that my closest camping buddy (my son) and I are not going for a two week backpacking/canoeing/camping trip somewhere. He's off to college. Although my knees and back are not what they used to be, I'd still like to hike five to ten miles into the woods and then hang out there for a long weekend - or more. I miss the campfire, the stars, and the peace that's out there.
 
David E said:
If you don't say it (and acknowledge it) then he's not the only one in denial !

This situation will self resolve shortly following this camp out "experience."

.
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Well said. Thank you. That is a tough subject to approach. Without a full on intervention I don't believe me "nagging" him would be appropriate. I say nagging, because that his how he feels his wife is with him. She is not a drinker.

It's like someone HighDesertWalker says about one of his friends, he uses this as an opportunity to get away from his wife and act like an idiot. I've got two friends that all they say is "Don't tell my wife" I'm very lucky to have a wife that understands me and is a true friend to me, I couldn't imagine having it any other way.

Anyhow, back to camping. UDTJIM - I like your rule about not mixing alcohol with guns or knives, but a sip of some whiskey is enough for me. It's funny how we all have very similar intersts here, I guess that's why we are all here.

I don't plan on bringing a lot with me so I don't have to worry about setting up a ton of crap, plus I've got to be ready to roll at any point if my wife goes into labor. With any luck I'll have some pics of a few big ole large mouth to post here on Sunday!
 
I like both. My all time favorite is to find a cliff side that has a vast overlook, and sit there with my native american flute and play music into the air all day long. That's meditative.

But.

The most fun I've ever had camping was a car camping trip with my wife, cousin, sister, bro-in-law, and their 9-month old daughter. We camped right by a river and fished during the day. We made some good food on the grill and camp fire. Then when the 9-month old went to bed, we broke out the beers and sat around the camp fire. That is one of my fondest memories.
 
Sounds nice nosh, Ill bet it was a good time. I wish my family lived closer so I could do stuff like that with em.
 
My first time drunk was on whiskey, I never touched a drop again. And I mean NEVER.:barf:

I guess to me there is a time and place for things and outdoor activity to me is not the time for drinking. However as long as it does not cause danger to my family or me, I don't object to someone else doing there thing.
 
I dont think your the only one, because camping/hiking is my time to get away and just chill out. Or at least it was before I had kids. Camping as a family isnt relaxing for me the way being alone, or with just my older boy is.

But for me, I hate "campgrounds" 99% of the time, too busy to really be relaxing. When I get to go, I tend to get as far away from people as possible. Long ago, I use to go once in a while with friends like the one you mentioned, and that grew old quickly for me.

So no, you arent the only one at all... :)
 
For me, the instant the canoe is pushed away from shore at the start of a camping trip, or my heel lands on the trail in the first step of a hike, there is a physical sensation of stepping out of the faux "realities" of so called civilization and into the REAL realities that truly affect the quality of life. Am I hungry? Am I too hot or cold? Am I thirsty? Am I tired? Is my position as safe and secure as I can make it? There's a thrill in being able to deal with these issues calmly, without fanfare and loads of gadgetry, with just some basic essential skills and the minimum amount of timeless tools necessary. Three or four days of that and everything I return to in the so called "world" is back in persepective.
 
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