Questions about Camping Gear

Are you hiking or car camping? -- I think we will want to do both. We will start out car camping but take hiking trips during the day. We likely won't be packing all our camping gear during the hikes though, at least not at first.

Where and when are you most likely to camp? -- I really have no idea on this. I hope to research nearby camping possibilities. We live in North Georgia.

Improved or primitive sites? -- Again I'm not sure. I'm unclear on what the laws are and what's allowed. I don't own any land myself so am limited to state parks and public camping grounds. I figure some of these will have prepared camp sites with a fire pit, etc. Are there places where you can just travel freely through the woods, living off the land or is camping generally more regulated? (Please forgive my ignorance!)

How much precipitation and wind might you expect if the forecaster is wrong? -- We don't want to get soaked! I had a horrible camping experience in scouts where it rained for a week straight and everything I owned was wet for an entire week. It was miserable.

Do you like decent meals or just adequate ones? -- I think my tolerances here are a bit lower than my wife, but I want her to be comfortable and have a good time. Something out of a can warmed up over the fire would likely be enough to make her happy but I'd like to be a bit more creative. One thing we often talk about is how we used to make scrabbled eggs over the camp fire in scouts.

How cozy do you have to be to get a good night's sleep? -- I'm sure a comfy sleep setup will greatly increase my wife's experience. A nice sleeping bag with a good pad is a must.
 
It does sound that you should start off car camping during the summer at a campground that has at least toilet facilities.

The reason I say this is that by car camping, if it is going disasterously, you just pack up and drive off. It's not so easy to beat a retreat after even a four hour hike.

Car camping also allows you to buy cheaper gear as you won't have to haul it far or in the case of sleeping bags, are easy to augment with blankets.

Were I starting today, and thought I might eventually backpack during the usual three season camping year, as a couple, there is only one tent I would consider.

Big Agnes Seedhouse 3: ~$200-220

http://www.bigagnes.com/str_tents.php?id=sh3

The tent is totally mesh, so it is breathable in balmy weather and cools off rapidly. It sets up easy and strong. It is light. The fly is bombproof. In a crowded campsite when it is hot at night, just rig a tarp towards your nosiest neighbors and keep under your covers when frisky.

For a perfomance tent it is reasonably priced. I like BA's Hinman self-inflating pads better than more expensive Thermarest ones too. Never forget at least a small hand broom and a dustpan too.

As for sleeping bags, I view those to be items for on the move. Car campers don't need sleeping bags provided they already own or can acquire expendable bedding. I use a few stadium fleece blankets, my pillow from home, and a mil-spec wool great blanket when car camping. That, some synthetic long johns, and polartec socks and a knit cap when it is chilly, have served for years. I have a Sierra Designs Paul Bunyan (I'm 6'8") for backpacking where a really good mummy bag is an essential.

I have found the good old Coleman two burner gas bottle stove to be a pretty good rig. I also have standard propane tank adaptors to not have to keep myself in bottles.

A lantern is a must. I used to use a Coleman gas but they are noisy. Battery powered lanterns have proven effective for me and are silent and tent safe.

I have found I like having stackable storage bins. Not only are they great for organizing stuff, they provide decent small animal raid protection with some rocks on the lids.

Ask me about anything, I am sure to have some prejudices handy.:D
 
Boats said:
It does sound that you should start off car camping during the summer at a campground that has at least toilet facilities.
Click to expand...

But all this talk about car camping has me wondering what to do about the most annoying aspect of car camping: noisy neighbors. Over the years I've been treated to drunken bozos partying until 3 am, family fights, loud music, and other less amusing intrusions. It got so that I wouldn't camp anywhere unless it was at least a three hours hike to the campsite (that at least kept the kegs, beer bottles, and boom boxes at bay). Now that I'm looking at car camping with my daughters, I'm trying to figure out where I can get to with my 4x4 F150 that's far enough out to keep the idiots away. Something tells me that a stock F150 isn't going to do the job....
 
Where? Oregon of course. Just stay off Bear Camp Road when the snow flies.

http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/camping.shtml

All Oregon Parks with campgrounds, and I have been to about fifteen or sixteen, are all fully staffed when they are open. A strict quiet period is enforced between 10PM and 6AM and it is backed by the nearest Oregon State Police Trooper on duty, who will come when summoned or dispatch the Sheriff if the Staters are tied up at something else.

Never have had a problem, not with noise, not with theft, not with partying. We have a very sophisticated parks system here and we run it like the crown jewel of tourism that it is.

Oswald West is the best. Other greats include Beverly Beach, Wallowa Lake, Cape Lookout, Tumalo, and Farewell Bend, (this last one during season one can rent a covered wagon or a historically accurate tipi in which to camp).

For non-state parks the best are Cape Perpetua, Elk Lake, and of course Crater Lake NP.
 
I don't sleep in park campgrounds any more, the backcounty is just quieter and safer. If you enjoy the woods for the peace and quiet you'll probably want to segway into short backpacking trips pretty fast. Here's some gear that can make the transition:

Tent: REI Half-Dome = 2-person, 2 doors, freestanding, about 5lbs., ~$160
Bags: The North Face Blaze = 20 deg., synthetic, can zip together, 1.5 lbs., ~$85
Pads: Thermarest Ridgerest = Closed Cell Foam, ~1 lb., ~$20
Stove: For real cooking MSR Whisperlite, for rehydrating or making tea a Pepsi-can stove (see other threads).

Remember that on National Forest lands you can camp just about anywhere as long as you're about 1/4 mile from the road and 200 ft. from a water source. It's free and it's usually pretty easy to find a National Forest adjacent to any of our National Parks. Rarely a need to stay in pay campgrounds.
 
I agree that if you are up to it, camping on NF or BLM land, where permitted, is quieter and cheaper in exchange for more effort to get to it and really having to rough it.

But you have to be up to it. I still think figuring out what works for you and what doesn't, out of a car, provided you have a civilized parks system, is a good set of "training wheels." In the case of Oregon, $17 per day during the summer is a steal compared to any hotel, and offers a safe and positive camping experience. I have also camped in campgrounds in Washington State, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota without incident. However, some of those campgrounds were actually just flat spots that were state designated for overnight camping. I always manage to have fun or I'd report being a miserable car camper.

So while it is not my preference, it is not the horror show it apparently is in California. I did have a really great time at Lake Perris SRA outside of Riverside CA back when I was a lad in the '70s, but that was before California totally went to hell in a general sense.
 
North Georgia is a pleasant day's drive from some great places in the Smoky Mountains. The wife will appreciate a stopover to do some shopping, there are historic sites, a million trails, and views that are hard to beat. Camping is available all over the place, as are cabins, chalets, motels, and entertainment. Roughing it is easier on the fairer sex when it is broken up with a bit of pampering.
 
Boats said:
So while it is not my preference, it is not the horror show it apparently is in California.
Click to expand...

To be clear, not all of my bad experiences were in CA. In fact, most of them stem from my days hanging around the state parks in northern Minnesota back in the 80's. Since coming to CA, I've only car camped a handful of times. Two of those 4 or 5 times were ruined by twenty-somethings out having a good drunk, which did little to relieve my attitudes regarding car camping.

By far the worst night I ever spent car camping was in Yellowstone. I was relocating to California and was driving cross country just to see the sights. I ended up in Yellowstone overnight. Didn't have reservations and I didn't have the gear with me to hike into the back country. Upshot was that I got stuck between two motorhomes. To the left of me it sounded like the old man was drunk and working up to beat on his old lady. To the right of me it sounded like the parents were about to commit great acts of mayhem upon their children -- or maybe it was the other way around. In any case, I resolved to never again car camp in a national park.

One of these days I'd like to make my way up to Oregon to see some of the sights. But if I do it, I'm coming with a good pair of boots and a pack. Then I can get lost and Boats can have even more of a chance to talk about idiot Californians coming up there to get in trouble in Oregon's woods. ;)
 
Wow what a great help! Thanks so much everyone. We talked more about it today and my wife expressed a bit of worry about a backpacking situation. She said she wasn't sure about being able to lug a pack up a hill. She was in an auto accident 2 years ago and still has occasional residual pain in her hips and knees if she carries much extra weight. Also in girl scouts, camping for her pretty much meant cabins with indoor plumbing and a mess hall nearby. I'm sure tent camping with sleeping bags out of the car will be a noble first step towards a greater outdoor experience. Perhaps extreme backpacking gear should be left for another year.

Personally I would still enjoy packing all my gear into a pack or neat duffel for use on the trip. I still want to maintain some level of minimalism while making sure the wife has a blast... even if the car is parked nearby. It seams that location might pose a much bigger challenge than finding the proper gear. Hopefully I can find a good source on that too.

Thanks again everyone and I will check out all the suggestions.
 
If you get more adventurous down the road you may look into lightweight backpacking. Ray Jardine has a book on it that will help (probably already mentioned somewhere on this thread).

For food, check out this site:

www.freezerbagcooking.com/

+1 on the Pepsi can stove. For backpacking you can't beat it in most conditions. It's all I ever use.
 
subaru said:
If you get more adventurous down the road you may look into lightweight backpacking. Ray Jardine has a book on it that will help (probably already mentioned somewhere on this thread).
Click to expand...

lol. I've been trying to get my hands on the Jardine book (Beyond Backpacking, right?) since last October from Amazon. The shipment date has been delayed so many times that I've lost count. In fact, it just got delayed again until an end of March estimated delivery date.

So I'm guessing that the book is out of print, but Amazon doesn't want to admit it to me.

Anyone know where I can get a copy of this book? I'm truly curious about what he says about lightweight backpacking.
 
A great way to start out hiking is to car camp where you can day hike-- makes a great combination and gets everyone familiar with gettin' out.

If you want to help your wife with reducing pack loads, you can't do any better than the forums at Backpackinglight.com. There are folk there (admittedly on the fanatic fringe) who have gotten their gear down to 5 pounds base weight (no water/fuel/food). I have gotten my own base weight down to 12 pounds and an all-up weight for a three day with 2 liters of water on board at 21 pounds for a solo trip.

I'll never forget when we took our teenaged daughter hiking to Cape Alava on the Olympic National Park beaches. On the way she asked, "what kind of showers do they have?" My reply was, "intermittent." She took it all in stride as she had been car camping and day hiking since she was tiny. She did get peeved when the raccoons tried to eat her makeup :)
 
bulgron said:
lol. I've been trying to get my hands on the Jardine book (Beyond Backpacking, right?) since last October from Amazon. The shipment date has been delayed so many times that I've lost count. In fact, it just got delayed again until an end of March estimated delivery date.

So I'm guessing that the book is out of print, but Amazon doesn't want to admit it to me.

Anyone know where I can get a copy of this book? I'm truly curious about what he says about lightweight backpacking.
Click to expand...

Yes, it has been out of print. Try your library-- that's what I did.

Jardine is kind of an odd duck, but his concepts are good. Most of ultralight backpacking involves taking only what you will actually use and going over each and every peice of gear to find the lightest alternative. As your load shrinks it starts to snowball as you have a lighter pack, lighter shoes, smaller volume of gear, etc, etc.

I think clothing is the hardest part. Once you learn how to get it all together as a system, it works great.

There's a market out there for ultralight knives. It is a crowd that will drop $50 on a titanium pot! Something like a Busse Warden with a titanium blade and carbon fiber scales...... yummmy :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top