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jep
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The camping item
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May 22 00:10 UTC 2002 |
This item is to discuss camping.
Where do you camp? How often? Are you going camping soon?
What kind of camper are you -- big fancy camper-bus, trailer camper,
tent camper, sheet of plastic and build your own?
Do you have any camping stories? Either good ones or bad ones.
What gear do you consider essential for the ultimate camping experience?
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| 58 responses total. |
jep
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response 1 of 58:
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May 22 00:19 UTC 2002 |
My son and I are going camping next month. We're going to the UP of
Michigan, staying for a couple of nights near Mackinaw City so we can
go see Mackinac Island, then we're going up to Hancock and visiting the
waterfalls in the Copper Country and west of the Porcupine Mountains.
We're going to camp in a tent. We'll have a propane Coleman stove and
lantern, and other stuff like that, but nothing really fancy. It'll be
our first time on vacation in a tent, but I grew up vacationing that
way. John's mother grew up camping in a pop-up camper, and so has John
so far.
In addition to the waterfalls, we'll do some fishing, and maybe even
try a little swimming in Lake Superior. (I will; I'll bet John won't,
he being sensible. Lake Superior is *cold* in early June.) Also, I'll
show John around Michigan Tech and some of the places I remember from
when I lived up there.
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jep
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response 2 of 58:
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May 22 00:24 UTC 2002 |
This is item #200 in the Spring 2002 Agora and #117 in sports.
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michaela
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response 3 of 58:
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May 22 00:58 UTC 2002 |
I've camped on the Pictured Rocks lakeshore a couple times. I used a standard
tent and backpack (and froze at night until I discovered down).
I do medieval camping (pavilion instead of tent) several times per year at
SCA events. It's lots of fun. Pennsic is coming up. That event gets around
13,000 people, and it's all medieval period camping. No electricity,
plumbing, etc. We're insane, but it's fun.
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scott
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response 4 of 58:
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May 22 02:12 UTC 2002 |
UP? Take a couple extra blankets!
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jep
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response 5 of 58:
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May 22 03:33 UTC 2002 |
Yes, we'll be taking some blankets. I'm pretty familiar with the UP,
though. I lived there for 8 years.
I'm also taking a lot of warm clothing. If we don't need it, fine. If
we do, we'll have it.
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tpryan
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response 6 of 58:
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May 22 04:27 UTC 2002 |
I got the old Ryan family tent. Actually the family size tent
was the overflow tent for the kids that did not make it into the
pop-up, pull-apart trailer tent camper. Anybody interested in a
real canvas tent? It's still perfectly practical and does not
need to be replaced by some petrolium depleting plastic one.
I used the two man (or daddy and two boys) tent when I was
in the UP last. That was a mix of car/state park & motel camping.
The small rustic state park site near Hell seems to have
disappeared.
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jaklumen
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response 7 of 58:
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May 22 09:45 UTC 2002 |
resp:3 insane? not really.. it's been ages since I've camped, but I
did snow houses and backcountry camping when I was in Scouts. You
just have to get used to holding off bathing and some things like
that. Definitely not for the vain.
resp:6 Real canvas tents are nice-- I think my family still has
theirs. Quite heavy, but tough as hell and fits about 4 people.
However, if you are doing backcountry camping where weight is
everything and have to hike into the campground, well, then petroleum
depleting plastic ones are preferrable. Canvas ones necessitate a car-
- which is petroleum depleting, too.
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jep
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response 8 of 58:
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May 22 13:10 UTC 2002 |
Canvas tents are heavy and difficult to set up compared to newer nylon
tents. In my case, especially, where I'll have to set it up by myself,
a canvas tent that isn't a pup tent would be out of the question.
When I was in Boy Scouts, we had a winter campout for which we took
sheets of plastic and bales of straw, and built our own tents. It was
about 10 degrees out that night. That's when I learned not to wear my
pants to bed in a sleeping bag. I woke up sweaty-wet, and had damp
pants for the first couple of hours.
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gull
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response 9 of 58:
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May 22 13:42 UTC 2002 |
I used to have a VW camper van, the kind with the pop-up roof with the bunk
underneath. I don't miss having to fix it all the time, and I don't miss
the lousy gas milage, but I do miss the camper part.
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keesan
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response 10 of 58:
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May 22 14:11 UTC 2002 |
Plastic makes a terrible tenting material unless you have some way to screen
out the insects and also ventilate. You want something with a separate
waterproof fly, and then another layer that breathes. Otherwise it gets very
damp and therefore cold inside. Down is not a good idea in damp climates like
Michigan, try Hollofil or other synthetics that stay warm when wet.
For camping you need some sort of shelter (to keep out rain and insects) and
bedding, and something to cook on (it can be wood and rocks, or a tiny stove
that runs on a small can of fuel) and something to cook in. A wok with a
cover can be used for both boiling and frying - we also took a small pressure
cooker which cooks grains much faster. A metal bowl and spoon to eat with.
A change of clothing and a small towel. Lots of food. Transportation (in
this country you need your own but in others you can take a bus to the park).
Raingear. First-aid equipment. Summer camping does not require lanterns or
flashlights.
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edina
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response 11 of 58:
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May 22 14:50 UTC 2002 |
I camped last summer with my mom and brother in a State campground in St.
Ignace. We spent a day going up to Whitefish Point (?) to see the Shipwreck
Museum and I got to see Lake Superior (damn, it was so pretty!), we went to
Tahquamenon Falls - very very cool, and then the next day we went over to the
Island, which was cool.
The campground was very nice - we were maybe 75 yards from a bathroom - the
campsites weren't that close together (in my opinion), but it was nice to get
to know everyone around us, too.
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slynne
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response 12 of 58:
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May 22 16:51 UTC 2002 |
I have something to say about gear advertised as "warm when wet" I have
done quite a lot of wilderness camping including several winter trips.
It has been my experience that "warm when wet" does not
mean 'comfortable when wet' but instead means 'warm enough to survive
but wish you had hypothermia to end the misery'
The moral of the story is: Stay dry :)
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michaela
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response 13 of 58:
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May 22 18:29 UTC 2002 |
Re #7: Well, bathing can't be held off. Most people go to Pennsic for a week
or two. We use shower bags or the really cool shower tower a friend invented.
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jep
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response 14 of 58:
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May 22 20:07 UTC 2002 |
Andrea and I got engaged at Tahquamenon Falls, and went there on our
honeymoon. I plan on skipping that this time.
I love the Shipwreck Museum. I've seen other such museums, but none I
thought were as good as that one.
I might take John on a Pictured Rocks tour. He likes boats all right,
but I don't know how impressed he'd be by the actual tour.
I'm looking forward to showing him the Houghton Lift Bridge. I'm sure
he's never seen a lift bridge before.
Some things I've never seen/done, that we might go and take a look at
are Drummond Island, Lake of the Clouds, and a trip into a copper mine.
Some things I've seen many times and refuse to miss: Brockway Mountain,
Lac La Belle, Estavant Pines, McLain State Park, the many waterfalls of
the Keeweenaw Peninsula, the wonderful waterfalls of the Black River.
I, at least, will get a decent pasty somewhere.
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albaugh
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response 15 of 58:
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May 22 21:23 UTC 2002 |
Coachmen pop up trailer, sleeps ~6.
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michaela
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response 16 of 58:
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May 22 22:10 UTC 2002 |
Jep - can I be your honorary kid for a week? I miss the U.P. ;-)
I thought the Pictured Rocks tour was cool, even as a student up there. He'll
love it.
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keesan
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response 17 of 58:
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May 22 23:07 UTC 2002 |
I have not seen any of those things on the UP. Lucky little John! When we
went camping for two weeks with my parents we used to get clean in the lake.
Through most of history people have not bathed every week. You can use a wet
cloth to wash the smellier parts of you if swimming is not enough.
I hope it does not snow on your trip.
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other
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response 18 of 58:
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May 22 23:54 UTC 2002 |
I do most of my camping while traveling by motorcycle. Small 2 person
sized tent, plus a vinyl poncho as a ground cloth. I need to replace my
sleeping bag with one better suited to cooler temperatures, but it is a
standard rectangular sort than rols up nicely, and which I then cover
with a piece of material which seems to be two layers of spandex with a
layer of rubber bonded between them. It's waterproof, durable, and has a
slight thermal quality to it. Usually I use my rolled up coat as a
pillow. As for cooking gear, I am not usually out of civilization for
days at a time, so all I really need is a bunch of strike-anywhere
matches in a pharmacy pill bottle (waterproof seal), a pair of
chopsticks, a flagon, and a jug of water, which I usually strap to the
gas tank of the bike.
I prefer to camp in as rustic an environment as possible, which is not
often what I get. National Forests are far better than Parks. I have
managed on occasion to forego showering and bathing for extended periods
while on the road, but that only makes it feel better to peel off the
black leather when the opportunity comes to do so. ;)
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michaela
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response 19 of 58:
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May 23 01:17 UTC 2002 |
I can't stand camping in parks. It's too "easy". :)
Sindi - baby powder, deodorant, and a damp cloth or Baby Wipes do the trick,
but it's nice to wash my hair every few days if it's really hot outside.
Plus, Pennsic involves dancing for hours and fighting in armor. I'm glad most
of our guys take showers. ;-)
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jep
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response 20 of 58:
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May 23 02:11 UTC 2002 |
re #16: Heh. Ask me again next year and I'll probably consider it.
re #17: Sindi, I had a friend in college, with cerebral palsy, who used
to ride from south of Lansing to Houghton. If you and Jim are into
long-distance bike riding, you could make it to the UP and see quite a
lot of it in a week or two.
As for me, I like to take a shower every day, even when I'm camping.
Or at least go for a swim. If that makes me a wimp, so be it, but this
is the 21st century and there's no such thing as really enduring
hardship in America. State park campground have modern bathroom
facilities. I don't object to that at all.
It probably won't snow in the UP in early June, but Lake Superior will
definitely not be fit for swimming, not even in the bays. John and I
will give it a try, of course, being men, but I don't anticipate
staying in for long. Maybe some of the smaller lakes will be
tolerable. Maybe we'll stay a night or two in a hotel, since he loves
to swim and we could go to a place with a swimming pool.
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michaela
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response 21 of 58:
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May 23 03:50 UTC 2002 |
I highly recommend a swimming pool. I used to swim in Lake Superior in late
August, and it was *never* warm enough to stay in for longer than fifteen
minutes, despite the hot weather.
I also recommend Da Yooper Tourist Trap on your way through Ishpeming. I make
it a point to stop there every time I go up.
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janc
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response 22 of 58:
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May 23 04:31 UTC 2002 |
I used to do a lot of camping. There was a year when I slept one night
in 8 in my tent. We have a family sized tent now that we are a family
sized family, but haven't done much with it.
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mary
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response 23 of 58:
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May 23 10:28 UTC 2002 |
Isle Royale has some spectacular camping but it's pretty
much only open to the public during summer.
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jep
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response 24 of 58:
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May 23 12:49 UTC 2002 |
It is a lifelong dream of mine to get to Isle Royale some day. I fell
in love with it when I first heard of it as a kid, but I've never been
there. I'll have to wait until John is a few years older, I think, but
we'll go someday.
The Yooper Tourist Trap was not there the last time I was in the
Western UP. I have no doubt we'll be stopping by. And probably buying
some tapes or CDs.
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