What to do while camping

S

Spyderman99

Joined
Jul 11, 2012
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Im going camping over the weekend and just relized, i always get bored after the first day. What do you guys do when you go camping? Sorta outdoorsie not like play board games. Stuff to help with me bond with my dad.
 
If your bored then your doing it wrong. Try closing your eyes and touching 5 random items you were going to pack. Now add a knife, good luck.
 
Get in touch with the world around you. Examine rocks, plants, leaves, bugs. Make something. Fish. learn about the history of the area you are going to camp and look for evidence of past land use. Pick up other people's litter. It is good for the environment and good for you. Take or rent a boat, canoe or kayak. Get to know your Dad. You may be surprised to find that he is an interesting person with an interesting past. Discuss common interests and future goals. Learn firebuilding if there isn't a burn ban. Try some creative campfire cooking. Learn how to pitch a tarp for a day shelter even if you are using a tent at night. This is an excellent opportunity to learn (or teach) different knots.
 
-Take along field guides for trees and other plants in your area and survey the area you are camping in. Find one useful fact for everything you ID.
-Try doing some projects using saws, knives or other edged tools.
-Search the area for signs of old homesteads, cabins or native life and take photos of anything interesting.
-Photograph insects, waterfalls, streams, critters anything that is memorable.
-Chop stuff...machete or camp axe if you are allowed to where you camp.
-Build a brush shelter of some sort...lots of styles to do.
-Burn stuff.
-Cook stuff....eat stuff...repeat...
-Do some shooting-bow and arrow, .22, bb gun, blow darts whatever you can safely do together....study firearm safety.
-Work on hunting skills by sitting quiet enough to see deer and squirrels then get some photos.
-Sit up late drinking cowboy coffee and watching the stars....first satellite or meteor spotted gets out of washing breakfast dishes.
-SLOW DOWN and enjoy time together away from electronics and your normal routine.
-Fart without hesitation or apology......eat beans for breakfast the day you leave.....everyday while you camp.
 
Codger_64 said:
Get in touch with the world around you. Examine rocks, plants, leaves, bugs. Make something. Fish. learn about the history of the area you are going to camp and look for evidence of past land use. Pick up other people's litter. It is good for the environment and good for you. Take or rent a boat, canoe or kayak. Get to know your Dad. You may be surprised to find that he is an interesting person with an interesting past. Discuss common interests and future goals. Learn firebuilding if there isn't a burn ban. Try some creative campfire cooking. Learn how to pitch a tarp for a day shelter even if you are using a tent at night. This is an excellent opportunity to learn (or teach) different knots.
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Trent concurs:thumbup:
I would add guns and tomahawks!!!!
Have a tomahawk and /or knife throwin' contest:D
Or plink some cans
Plinking rules:cool:

And take some pics if you have a camera.... :)
 
Spyderman99 said:
Im going camping over the weekend and just relized, i always get bored after the first day. What do you guys do when you go camping? Sorta outdoorsie not like play board games. Stuff to help with me bond with my dad.
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I don't know your dad, so I can't say what would help you bond with him. Personally, I can amuse myself for weeks with a pocket knife and a stick.

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I take the family camping several times a year..Heres what we do
1-Take short and sometimes long day hikes
2-Go fishing
3-Go swimming
4-My 12 yr old daughter and I have slingshots..We go plinking
5-She also has a Red Rider BB gun and depending on where we go..She practices marksmenship
6-We play cards
7-Build fires which leads to #8
8-We usually cook over a fire..Everyone helps out and has fun
9-Catch frisbee,nerf football,and I usually take our gloves and a baseball
10-I can't ever remember us getting bored,just tired and needing a break...
CD
 
Spyderman99 said:
Im going camping over the weekend and just relized, i always get bored after the first day. What do you guys do when you go camping? Sorta outdoorsie not like play board games. Stuff to help with me bond with my dad.
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If you are headed for the back woods away from people and traffic then the best part usually comes after a day or two, when you finally start to relax and your body begins to aclimate. It is then that you will begin to notice things. Your hearing will seem to improve to the point where you can hear a bird moving on a branch hundreds of feet away, or even a leaf falling to the ground. On a clear night you will see more stars then you would ever imagine. The fresh air and the quiet becomes very refreshing to where you nap for a few hours and it feels like you have slept for days. You begin to pay attention to the sounds of the nearby brook and slowly learn to enjoy yourself while doing nothing at all. Small animals begin to approach within sight since you are no longer scaring them off by constantly figiting and shuffling around.

We are trained to constantly go places and do things; we are hyper by indoctrination and the constant sensory overload seems normal. It is only when that begins to melt away, after a a few days in camp, that you will begin to experience something that few of us get to experience anymore and that is what vacations should be all about.

n2s
 
The few times we went camping at a regular camp grounds I also got bored. Too many people, the animals are scared away, etc.

What I find more fun is hiking. Me and my dad spent a lot of time hiking trails, then when we get tired set up camp. That way you get to see different views throughout the day and it gives you something to talk about at the campsite. If you haven't already, ask your dad what he was like at your age. I learned a lot about mine during hiking trips....and I was pretty surprised at some of the things he and my uncle had gotten up to.

I would also take a slingshot to plink with, knives to practice throwing, practice my sneaking by seeing how quietly I could walk down the path and through the woods, identifying animals/plants, of course discussing things like the meaning of life, if there are alien life forms, are ghosts real, etc.

Me and my dad were lucky that we both share a liking for the same types of books....so we spent a fair amount of time discussing various books.

Some of the best conversations I've ever had were around a campfire.
 
When I go camping we spend most of our time chopping/collecting wood. By the time we're done we're dead tired so we just cook, eat, and relax. On my last camping trip we sat there and just carved spoons.

As somebody said earlier, if you get bored while camping, you're doing it wrong. My buddies and I could sit there for hours at night just staring at the camp fire and shoot the shit.
 
Hello,

Bush craft is a good way to bond with him. Build some stuff! Maybe some tools, traps (just for fun), build a primitive fire using a hand bow, any fire making skill like wood processing, carve some animals, or anything else that involves survivals is fun. If bush craft isn't your thing and water is available go fishing. If you don't like fishing sit around the fire and pass around some whiskey and tell stories. For me camping and backpacking isn't about camping and backpacking. Its about the people your with and the experience you share. If this dose not work find a new hobby to share. R/C cars, fishing, shooting, hunting, working on cars or bikes, knife making, cooking/bbq, beer, cigars, pool, surfing, kayaking, ANYTHING that you can both enjoy together. Don't let the years go by, one day he may not be around and you'll wish you did something together when you had the chance.

Hope you have fun,

Chris
 
Do you guys think my manix 2 lightweight will stand up to cutting small branches and carving stuff? Will it lose its edge?
 
I would be shocked at any spyderco that could not do those things.
If you are worried then pick up a cheap mora or opinel and have at it.
Enjoy your time with your dad
 
Spyderman99 said:
Do you guys think my manix 2 lightweight will stand up to cutting small branches and carving stuff? Will it lose its edge?
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It'll hold up fine.
If you use it enough, you'll have to sharpen it, but the edge won't go away that quickly.:)
 
Spyderman99 said:
Ok. Im not the best at sharpening. I usualy just strop my knives back to razor edges
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If you can strop, just do the same thing with some silicon carbide paper.
400 grit through 800 grit works nice, 1000 to finish up if you like.
Same motion, just removes a bit more metal.:)

Make sure the sandpaper is on a nice flat surface.
 
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