roughing it

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

When I was in my twenties, I took several Bike trips with friends: to the U.P. and to the Big Horns, and to the Pacific Ocean once...Many trips in Northern MN. Always slept in a tent, Always a campfire, and usually as far off the pavement as possible (meaning several miles of gravel to a Army Corp of Eng. campground).

Two of favorite campgrounds:
Cottonwood Campground just outside of Afton, WY.
and a Army Corp of Eng. campground in U.P. of MI on the shores of Lake MI across the peninsula from Fayette Historic State Park, Garden, MI. (I couldn't find the name or anything online about it...But it existed a decade ago, in the little Bay, just south of Portage Bay).


PS: The last time I spent the night in a tent ?
about 8 years ago, in the middle of a veggie field at a friends farm...waiting to see what critter was doing nocturnal damage to the plants. My snoring must have kept the critters away

[waksupi]

try this.

[quilbilly]

One of the reasons I so enjoy NCBS is that it allows us to camp in the mountains north of Winnemucca at one of the most beautiful spring campsite I have ever been to. Digging yourself out of snow after a surprise May storm is a little tiresome. Having a tent and being next to running water is not roughing it, however

[dtknowles]

I could probably only stand a night or two of backpack camping. I like being out of doors with a camp fire and food cooked over the fire but sleeping on too hard of ground is quite painful for me. I can sleep comfortably on the beach or in a hammock. I have slept barely tolerable on a thin foam pad with towel under my hip and a pack for a pillow.

Right after I started my first retirement I took a tour of the south west, New Orleans, St. Louis, Denver, Reno, Sacramento, Half Moon Bay, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Carlsbad Caverns, San Antonio, Houston and back to New Orleans. I put my bike, and canoe on the Subaru Forester and my gear in the back. I did not do any back woods camping but stay in a tent at camp grounds some of the nights, some quite primitive. I had a blast. With a little better planning I could have done some overnight hiking and spent a night or two in the backwoods but I planned the trip on short notice and had to be in Houston for Thanksgiving so I did what I could.

Tim

[Love Life]

Rough camping is my favorite. Building my windbreaks, making fire with a ferro rod or bow and drill (so hard), eating what's in my pack unless I can supplement with a rabbit or some fish. There is just something special about being you against the world. Over the years I have to been able to whittle down my pack contents to things I USE.

There is always a green gold pan, garden trowel, and rock hammer in/on my pack.

[fatnhappy]

all the time courtesy of being a scout leader.

[jaystuw]

Wilco, great idea and perfect timing. My son and his friends just rebuilt a campfire pit under a railroad bridge about a mile from our house. The area is very lush with a running stream. They say, come on and join us dad, for a campfire! Well, I need no more prompting. I am going to do it. I'm excited!


Bzcraig, About 1993 is when I was exploring the red lake / coyote lake area. I was hiking it. I Seem to remember getting to red lake first and then pushing on to coyote. Anyway, Being in clovis, you have only a short haul up the mountain to shaver lake. Do you still get up there much? I understand they have no snow!


Daniel lawecki. I Use a coleman lantern and stove, Have a northface sleeping bag, And just turned 58! Almost the same as you!

Jay

[Love Life]

If you all ever get the chance, Turn off the 395 onto the 108. Go to the Leavitt camp grounds. From there you can hike to Secret and Roosevelt lakes. These are pristine lakes. Also in the area are Kirmen lake, Poor lake, and Leavitt Lake (eat your Wheaties before hiking Leavitt). Truly majestic scenery in this area. Great trout in Kirmen and Roosevelt. Great Crayfish in Secret lake.

[montana_charlie]

Since I have taken up babysitting cows and their offspring, I haven't gone on an actual hunting trip. Those used to be five to seven day excursions in the Beartooth Game Range and I lived in my little 4-man tent ... which was/is the perfect size when 'that much gear' is required.

Now, 'camping out' is a night when I have a cow who is expected to calve and the temperature is in the 'fatal' range.

She is in the barn and I am just outside in my pickup.
I run the heater until the cab is warm, than shut it off and go to sleep.
When the cold wakes me up, I start the engine and go inside to check on the cow.
By the time I get back the cab is warm again, so I kill the motor and get some more sleep.

CM

[6.5 swede]

during our deer season in northern minnesota we, my 2 sons and my dad which is 75 stay in a army tent and use wood stove for heat and cooking, water bottle gets stiff by morning, dont see many people hunt this away any more.

[William Yanda]

My Dad claimed that only hoboes ate outdoors. I scoffed until I answered too many questions on the Army tests the wrong way and got shuttled off to infantry training. Although I never worked in the MOS-there's a story or two there-I experienced enough bivouac in training to lose my enchantment with the great outdoors. Now if there is a purpose for being uncomfortable......

[olereb]

I have slept on the ground under a self built shelter that I made out of what I found in the forest and I have slept in a tent,both have been done in the summer and in the winter when it was snowing. The most luxury I want is a tent,i do tents these days for the wife and small kids and that the only reason.

[gandydancer]

My idea of roughing it is black & white TV.

[starmac]

Different strokes for different folks. I owned rv's for a lot of my adult life. I moved a lot for work and lived in them, it has been rare that I camped in them. I rarely hunted where you could even attempt to get an rv, but even if you could, a large wall tent and a well set up camp is more comfortable than an rv. We elk hunted in the gila forest once with temps getting as 10 below and close to a foot of snow the first night and day we were there. My hunting partner had had a heart attack a year or two before this trip, and his sister had made him bring the 5th wheel and promise to stay in it. Him and his grandson stayed in it (to sleep only), all other activities were done much more comfortably in the military tent, that myself and another slept in much more comfortably. lol Limiting yourself to where you can get an rv greatly reduces the amount of gods beautiful nature that you will ever see. Here in Alaska, if you limit yourself to an rv, you will be camping, hunting and fishing with crowds.

[bear67]

We own the 34' RV and camped 100 + nights in it last year--some of it just Mama Bear and I and some camping, cooking and visitin' with good friends.
But I also did 45 + nights in tents or under the stars if conditions were right. I am seventy and carry a few more comforts now, but still enjoy tent camping with the wife, or Boy Scouts, or even hunting buddies. The boss lady and I are planning a 10 day river run this spring without taking off the water and no resupply. Been planning it for years. We love to see what is over the next mountain, river or ocean and camping/rv'ing/canoe trippin' is way we can do this and not spend all our retirement savings and investments.
Another case of different strokes for different strokes.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

during our deer season in northern minnesota we, my 2 sons and my dad which is 75 stay in a army tent and use wood stove for heat and cooking, water bottle gets stiff by morning, dont see many people hunt this away any more.

Welcome to the best casting website !
Great first post.
Good to see another Minnesotan on the forum.

[starmac]

A funny tent hunting camp story for you. My wifes grandad, uncles, all of their offspring and a few family friends. I ran around with the grandad and uncles several years before I met her, but they have camped for a week every year since sometime in the fiftys during deer season down in member Bill Weddles country. The only thing that has changed about the camp, is it has grown to two 16X32 army tents instead of one. If a guy even managed to get an rv into this camp area, it would be pure scrap. at least on other member here knows a lot of the players that were there, I wasn't but will never forget the story. Uncle Joe had been on the only salvage ever of white sands missle range in the early 70's and had kept a pretty good stash of unburned solid missle fuel. A quarter size piece of this in the tin sheep herders stove, eliminated the need for cutting any kindling.
Anyone that had to get up during the night would restoke the stove, which pretty much kept it warm all night. Uncle Elmer (the closest thing to a city type guy) happened to get up, and there were only a few coals left, so he stoked her up, and knowing about the missile fuel threw a hand size chunk in to get the fire going. lol The stove started huffing and puffing, then jumping around tearing lose from the stove pipe. Everybody woke up to a red hot stove running around the tent full of smoke. The missile fuel finally melted a hole in the stove and got out, but it burned the tent and many of the bedrolls. Elmer is gone now, but he really never lived that one down, and was ribbed about it some the rest of his life. lol I wasn't there, but have heard this story many times over the years. Most of the uncles that I ran around do not even hunt anymore, or even take a rifle, they leave the hunting to the younger generation, but still go to the hunting camp for a week without fail, plenty of good times, stories and eating for a week away, from life.

[Wolfer]

Now that's a classic!!

[Blacksmith]

For the past 6 or 8 years I have gone with my son and grandsons camping in late March early April in western Maryland to help with the Christian Scouts shooting weekend. Sleep in a tent, campfire every night, cooking on Coleman stoves, firearms training for the kids with lots of shooting. Always cold some years snow but good fun and comradeship. I did get an inflatable bed and the last couple of years brought a resin chair because of my bad back and last year it was so cold I finally took refuge in the truck cab Saturday night. I was sixty nine then and have decided that at 70 I will no longer sleep in a tent unless there is a TEOTWAWKI event. I might try it spring or fall when it isn't to hot or cold but I am turning into a wuzz in my senior years.

[starmac]

Blacksmith, sounds like time to try a wall tent and good stove, life just doesn't get any better. lol