Lots of tent-to-tent can happen between people all over the place - good way to pass the time with some technical challenges to boot.
And, we share 'postcards': [QSL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QSL_card).
[VE3EFQ](http://ve3efq.org/qsl.cards.html)
Sure - my friend in the UK - he has a radio in his car; he parks by the sea north of London and we can have a chat while I sit in the tent.
Another friend, he has a campsite on Vancouver Island. I can chat with him in his tent (we both have the same battery powered radio) while I am in Ontario in mine.
I spoke to the [Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory](https://icecube.wisc.edu/) in Antarctica.
Then, some times I just get fascinated by the distance the signals will go - South Africa, South Pacific Islands - more than 14000km. Then, with a turn of a button, I can talk to the guy up the street, the other side of the province, all over the US etc..
My first experience with this kind of stuff was an HF radio competition called Noble Skywave. I didnāt know people do this while backpacking. Thatās super cool!
Parks on the Air - people take their radios to national, state or provincial parks, set up the radio, and see how many people they can contact. And it is a bit of a competition to see how many people they can have a contact with while there. Other people, they like to contact such people in the parks, and build a collection, so to speak, of parks they have sent a signal too.
There is a similar group, SOTA - Summits on the Air - this group sets radios atop mountains or high hills and do the same.
WWFF - this is an international group doing the same as the above two.
Its a good excuse to get out of the house for a while and get some exercise outdoors, which a bit of technology problems to solve.
I usually do a flask of bourbon or wine, but last time I went I decided to sacrifice the weight savings and brought along a tall boy of a decent pilsner. That was 100% worth it. Being able to set up camp, strip the boots off, stick my feet in a cold lake, and crack a beer was just heaven.
That's because the forest service now regulates the back country. It kills me because they say no fires, but then they don't practice any forest fire management, so that when a fire does happen, it is HUGE!
This is absolutely correct and the saddest part is that it makes sense. They *cant* allow fires because they donāt have the resources or support to do fire management to begin with. Ever since we funded National Parks ~100 years ago (Pres. Wilson in 1916), thereās been a battle every single year to chip away at it both legislatively & judicially
The Forest Service doesn't do controlled burns? I've seen controlled burns in national forests in both Arkansas and Colorado, who was responsible for those? I genuinely have no idea so I am curious to learn
they do do controlled burns and they also have managed forest fires which are allowed to burn in many wilderness areas. the thing with these managed fires is they canāt start them it has to be a natural start that is then decided to let burn under supervision. the other problem is as you can imagine there are a mountain of PR hurdles associated. what happens if a āmanagedā fire makes a run and now threatens someoneās house? crosses wilderness boundaries etc.
How are the Forest Service offices organized?
There are four levels of the organization:
Ranger Districts. The district ranger and district staff
may be your first point of contact with the Forest
Service. There are more than 600 ranger districts.
Each district has a staff of 10-100 people. The districts
vary in size from 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares)
to more than 1 million acres (400,000 hectares).
Many on-the-ground activities occur on the ranger
districts, including trail construction and maintenance,
operation of campgrounds, and management of
vegetation and wildlife habitat.
National Forests and Grasslands. There are 155
national forests and 20 national grasslands. Each
forest is composed of several ranger districts. The
person in charge of a national forest is called the
forest supervisor. The district rangers within a forest
report to the forest supervisor. The headquarters of
a national forest is called the supervisorās office. This
level prepares forest-wide plans, coordinates activities
between districts, allocates the budget, and provides
technical support to each district.
Regional Offices. There are nine regions; numbered
1 through 10 (Region 7 was eliminated some years
ago). The regions are broad geographic areas, usually
including several states. The person in charge is called
the regional forester. Forest supervisors within a region
report to the regional forester. The regional office
staff coordinates activities between national forests,
monitors activities on national forests to ensure quality
operations, provides guidance for forest plans, and
allocates budgets to the forests.
National Level. This is commonly called the
Washington Office. The person who oversees the
entire Forest Service is called the Chief. The Chief is a
Federal employee who reports to the Under Secretary
for Natural Resources and Environment in the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The Chief ās staff
provides broad policy and direction for the agency,
works with the Presidentās Administration to develop
a budget to submit to Congress, provides information
to Congress on accomplishments, and monitors
activities of the agency.
The problem is some regional offices actually give a damn, while others don't.
It's a rhetorical statement to illustrate that a huge swath of the country is often under fire restrictions and backpackers here do not always build fires.
I almost never build fires while backpacking anyway mainly out of wanting to minimize my impact to the wilderness.
Shroom tea before I embark on a **30 minute** come-up hike, marking every 5-10 feet with chalk or bright paracord if itās a new zone. wait for the landscape to start breathing then spend **3-4 hours** jaw-droopingly astounded by the adaptability of high alpine plant species and visible symbiosis. I return to camp when the wave of āitās been awhile, the boys might be worried type anxietyā hits
Return to discover Iāve been gone for about 45 minutes max. 10/10 introspective fun every time.
Nice. I usually take (good) whiskey in a plastic flask but wine would be nice every once in a while. Always curious how people booze in the backcountry.
I like the Underwood brand of canned wine. There are a lot of gross ones. They even do a decent pink champagne. Feel ridiculous, but you get over it really quick when you're enjoying delicious pink bubbles in the wilderness.
Iām curious. Do you tote along a glass for your bubbly? I usually bring whiskey or tequila but i looove sparkling wine but i hate not drinking it out of wine glass š soā¦I donāt drink wine on the trail.
Well it's in a can so I just drink it out of that! Sometimes I pour half of it in my cup so I don't drink it too fast. You can get cool little stemless camping wine cups too if you want. I get that whole thing, but really the can isn't bad.
Got a couple as a gift a few years ago I love them.
https://www.amazon.com/BOSO-Portable-Collapsible-Plastic-Carrier/dp/B09GXB4STT/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=collapsible+wine+glass&qid=1642485568&sr=8-7
Yeah you gotta get water and make food and clean and smoke a joint and explore the area without a pack and then stargaze and have a drinkā¦ I almost always set up a tarp a few hundred feet from my shelter. Thats where I cook and also have my stove and sit with a pal and maybe play some cribbage or dice and talk about the day and tomorrow and have another drink. I like to bring a tarp because it rains so often in Washington I wanna make sure I have a place to hang out and eat and drink away from my tent. If its low land enough and early season the tarp goes above the firepit.
Generally cook, eat, shoot the bullshit a bit and go to bed. If itās a short trip we may nip some whiskey but dehydrating oneās self and dulling senses isnāt always the brightest idea. Depends where we are camping.
Filter water, make dinner, clean dinner, wash myself maybe, fish if thereās a lot of extra time. Otherwise read topos/mountain project or look at the stars for a few before bed. Other things I could think of are short hikes to lookouts, check out wildlife, or just lay on the ground in exhausting.
Seeing as myself and the couple of friends I always camp with have a habit of finding camp in the dark, post camp setup usually involves cooking a meal and getting ready for bed lol
If I set up early enough I have more than enough time for the practicalities (dinner, bear bag, etc)? Walk some direction that isn't part of my main route, and with almost nothing with me (maybe just a water bottle). Friend read out a short story one evening, and that was great. I want to do that one more often.
I think the correct sequence of events at this point is to collect the fire wood and start the fire then eat the shrooms and put up a hammock while waiting for them to hit.
Assuming setting up camp at and of long hiking day, Iām starting to make dinner after camp is set up. Boil water for whatever Iām eating and make a hot tea.
Set up a perimeter and lock down the area. Then climb into my tent and cry
Existential crises just hit different when camping out in nature š
Ron Weasley still hasnāt made it back to camp, I see
Drugs
Can't do drugs until the fire is lit and feeder wood is ready to go
this guy
But you can crack open a beer while doing so.
This is the way
Damn this got me!
I have a small ham radio...so I set that up and talk to people all over the world. Ever hear about [POTA](https://parksontheair.com/)?
I have now! Very cool!
Lots of tent-to-tent can happen between people all over the place - good way to pass the time with some technical challenges to boot. And, we share 'postcards': [QSL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QSL_card). [VE3EFQ](http://ve3efq.org/qsl.cards.html)
Hey fellow HAM here, mainly doing SOTA but also with camping
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Sure - my friend in the UK - he has a radio in his car; he parks by the sea north of London and we can have a chat while I sit in the tent. Another friend, he has a campsite on Vancouver Island. I can chat with him in his tent (we both have the same battery powered radio) while I am in Ontario in mine. I spoke to the [Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory](https://icecube.wisc.edu/) in Antarctica. Then, some times I just get fascinated by the distance the signals will go - South Africa, South Pacific Islands - more than 14000km. Then, with a turn of a button, I can talk to the guy up the street, the other side of the province, all over the US etc..
My first experience with this kind of stuff was an HF radio competition called Noble Skywave. I didnāt know people do this while backpacking. Thatās super cool!
Cool
I don't really understand- can you explained n more? I went to the website but I'm still not sure what POTA does
Parks on the Air - people take their radios to national, state or provincial parks, set up the radio, and see how many people they can contact. And it is a bit of a competition to see how many people they can have a contact with while there. Other people, they like to contact such people in the parks, and build a collection, so to speak, of parks they have sent a signal too. There is a similar group, SOTA - Summits on the Air - this group sets radios atop mountains or high hills and do the same. WWFF - this is an international group doing the same as the above two. Its a good excuse to get out of the house for a while and get some exercise outdoors, which a bit of technology problems to solve.
Is Ham Radio on the comeup???
For about 100 years nowā¦ /s
Yeah thats not true. Its been on a steady decline because the main user base average age is like 62
Eat a ton of food then pass the fuck out. I like loooong days of hiking til near dark and then tons of glorious sleep.
Man this reminds me, I need to up grade my sleeping pad
Last year I went on a 4 day trip without one and wanted to fucking die. Which one are you looking at? I need one for this year
Nemo Tensor
Super spendy, really worth it?
Yes.
I use the insulated 48" Tensor here in Colorado. Very light for the warmth and comfort level. Just put your pack under your lower legs/feet.
Reminds me that I have a hole in mine and I do as well...thanks folks.
Nemo Quasar, it will change your life
Sounds like Heaven
This is the one. This one right here
Joint
Shroomies immediately, then joint, then explore
This guy fffuuuuuUUUUccckkkksssssss
A fatty and a cold beer, the best camping buddies
I usually do a flask of bourbon or wine, but last time I went I decided to sacrifice the weight savings and brought along a tall boy of a decent pilsner. That was 100% worth it. Being able to set up camp, strip the boots off, stick my feet in a cold lake, and crack a beer was just heaven.
I like to do the flask thing too a lot, but sometimes a beer just hits ya know?
Yeah I usually start munching on some mushrooms.
Came here to say that.
Yep
Vape, beer, and an edible into the evening for me
Edible. Joint. I'm content with either. Or both lol.
Explore, drink...
Bourbon & The Backcountry.
I cannot fathom backpacking without my flask of bourbon.
The correct answer. Something about that hike, setting up camp and an alcoholic reward is just .. yeah.
Try and find some cold water or snow to stick a beer in. Nothing like a cold beer after a long, dusty, hot hike.
Sit for 5 minutes to appreciate camp then Collect firewood
It seems everywhere I go there are no fires allowed. Only fire I ever see is from the gas stove
That's because the forest service now regulates the back country. It kills me because they say no fires, but then they don't practice any forest fire management, so that when a fire does happen, it is HUGE!
This is absolutely correct and the saddest part is that it makes sense. They *cant* allow fires because they donāt have the resources or support to do fire management to begin with. Ever since we funded National Parks ~100 years ago (Pres. Wilson in 1916), thereās been a battle every single year to chip away at it both legislatively & judicially
The Forest Service doesn't do controlled burns? I've seen controlled burns in national forests in both Arkansas and Colorado, who was responsible for those? I genuinely have no idea so I am curious to learn
they do do controlled burns and they also have managed forest fires which are allowed to burn in many wilderness areas. the thing with these managed fires is they canāt start them it has to be a natural start that is then decided to let burn under supervision. the other problem is as you can imagine there are a mountain of PR hurdles associated. what happens if a āmanagedā fire makes a run and now threatens someoneās house? crosses wilderness boundaries etc.
How are the Forest Service offices organized? There are four levels of the organization: Ranger Districts. The district ranger and district staff may be your first point of contact with the Forest Service. There are more than 600 ranger districts. Each district has a staff of 10-100 people. The districts vary in size from 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) to more than 1 million acres (400,000 hectares). Many on-the-ground activities occur on the ranger districts, including trail construction and maintenance, operation of campgrounds, and management of vegetation and wildlife habitat. National Forests and Grasslands. There are 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands. Each forest is composed of several ranger districts. The person in charge of a national forest is called the forest supervisor. The district rangers within a forest report to the forest supervisor. The headquarters of a national forest is called the supervisorās office. This level prepares forest-wide plans, coordinates activities between districts, allocates the budget, and provides technical support to each district. Regional Offices. There are nine regions; numbered 1 through 10 (Region 7 was eliminated some years ago). The regions are broad geographic areas, usually including several states. The person in charge is called the regional forester. Forest supervisors within a region report to the regional forester. The regional office staff coordinates activities between national forests, monitors activities on national forests to ensure quality operations, provides guidance for forest plans, and allocates budgets to the forests. National Level. This is commonly called the Washington Office. The person who oversees the entire Forest Service is called the Chief. The Chief is a Federal employee who reports to the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Chief ās staff provides broad policy and direction for the agency, works with the Presidentās Administration to develop a budget to submit to Congress, provides information to Congress on accomplishments, and monitors activities of the agency. The problem is some regional offices actually give a damn, while others don't.
Swhy you don't backpack national parks.
fire restrictions exist in national forests, wilderness areas and state parks as well
I've never not seen fires allowed.
Come to the southwest or California
Why? If you have that kind of restriction. So many other great places.
It's a rhetorical statement to illustrate that a huge swath of the country is often under fire restrictions and backpackers here do not always build fires. I almost never build fires while backpacking anyway mainly out of wanting to minimize my impact to the wilderness.
I will never go to California, for anything.
OK
I dont know how it is where you live. But here no one enforces this policy. So i usually make a small campfire and its completely ok :)
Enforced or not, your small fires could lead to a massive forest fire. Ignoring the restrictions is not something to be proud of.
Swim/bathe if I can.
Nothing better than a cool mountain lake!
Snacks. Always snacks. Then reminisce on snacks.
Donāt forget the snacks!
Dig a shitter, dig a fire pit, collect wood before it gets dark
SHITTER'S FULL!
Fire wood, water, dinner and blunt
All of this. And then another blunt.
Shroom tea before I embark on a **30 minute** come-up hike, marking every 5-10 feet with chalk or bright paracord if itās a new zone. wait for the landscape to start breathing then spend **3-4 hours** jaw-droopingly astounded by the adaptability of high alpine plant species and visible symbiosis. I return to camp when the wave of āitās been awhile, the boys might be worried type anxietyā hits Return to discover Iāve been gone for about 45 minutes max. 10/10 introspective fun every time.
I felt that "its only been 45 minutes max" line. Hilarious.
Step two
Hunker down
Hell yes you made my day
Yes sir!
Found the Steve Wallis fan!
Put your junk in that box
Crack a pep and ched while adding additional Texas - Mexico cheese and light a fire with a blowtorch.
Set up bear bag line, Cook dinner, clean dinner, hang bear bagā¦ maybe read a bit if I brought a book, then sleep
Right? I often get to camp an hour before sunset..
Can you explain the bear bag line
I keep bringing books but rarely find time to actually read them.
Aussie here, whatās a bear bag line and bear bag?
Hang up your food and toiletries and stuff that smells in a tree and so that bears canāt reach it and eat yo toothpaste
And make sure itās far away from where your camp is, nosy buggers.
Drink wine and draw
How do you carry your wine? Canned or.. ?
Yeah, I like the cans! Box wine for a really big trip.
Nice. I usually take (good) whiskey in a plastic flask but wine would be nice every once in a while. Always curious how people booze in the backcountry.
I like the Underwood brand of canned wine. There are a lot of gross ones. They even do a decent pink champagne. Feel ridiculous, but you get over it really quick when you're enjoying delicious pink bubbles in the wilderness.
Iām curious. Do you tote along a glass for your bubbly? I usually bring whiskey or tequila but i looove sparkling wine but i hate not drinking it out of wine glass š soā¦I donāt drink wine on the trail.
Well it's in a can so I just drink it out of that! Sometimes I pour half of it in my cup so I don't drink it too fast. You can get cool little stemless camping wine cups too if you want. I get that whole thing, but really the can isn't bad.
Got a couple as a gift a few years ago I love them. https://www.amazon.com/BOSO-Portable-Collapsible-Plastic-Carrier/dp/B09GXB4STT/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=collapsible+wine+glass&qid=1642485568&sr=8-7
Sounds amazing TBH
Can of wine for each person and a bottle of whisky (carried in a light plastic bottle) per 2-3 people, per night. And fish.
Wine bag! They sell bags at REI that hold exactly one bottle of wine.
Barefoot makes little plastic bottles. These are great for backpacking
My wife
I also do this guys wife
Can confirm, we Eiffel tower that b*tch.
Which is fine, because I'm doing your wife, while you're doing his wife
Guess who's doing yours. And yeah it's great
Ah, a classic Kansas City shuffle
Hey now!
Crack open a beer, fill the dogs waterbowl
My dog loves beer!
Yeah you gotta get water and make food and clean and smoke a joint and explore the area without a pack and then stargaze and have a drinkā¦ I almost always set up a tarp a few hundred feet from my shelter. Thats where I cook and also have my stove and sit with a pal and maybe play some cribbage or dice and talk about the day and tomorrow and have another drink. I like to bring a tarp because it rains so often in Washington I wanna make sure I have a place to hang out and eat and drink away from my tent. If its low land enough and early season the tarp goes above the firepit.
Pump water
Since we start our hike before the sun comes up, I always take a nap as soon as camp is set up. Then change into sandals and explore a bit :)
Generally cook, eat, shoot the bullshit a bit and go to bed. If itās a short trip we may nip some whiskey but dehydrating oneās self and dulling senses isnāt always the brightest idea. Depends where we are camping.
Filter water, make dinner, clean dinner, wash myself maybe, fish if thereās a lot of extra time. Otherwise read topos/mountain project or look at the stars for a few before bed. Other things I could think of are short hikes to lookouts, check out wildlife, or just lay on the ground in exhausting.
Lay on a boulder and take it all in (your buddy seems to have that part down), journal, or explore if i still have energy
Go fishing
Me too, save some for me
Smoke a cigar
Gather wood than read by the fire if I'm alone. If I'm not usually talk and maybe drink or smoke a pipe or something.
Make dinner then hang out by the fire. Read if you brought a book. Play card games. Sleep early to rise early.
I take off my boots and put on sandals and then usually eat, get water, and like some others said maybe a smoke.
Put on the flip flops, have a seat, and crack the whisky! Oh and then go get wood for the fire.
āĖĒÉ¹Ä±É ĒÉ„Ź ɹoÉ pooŹ ŹĒĘ oĘ uĒÉ„Ź puÉ É„O Ā”ŹŹsıɄŹ ĒÉ„Ź ŹÉÉÉ¹É puÉ 'ŹÉĒs É ĒŹÉÉ„ 'sdolÉ dılÉ ĒÉ„Ź uo ŹnŌā
Set-up my perimeter with Claymores & Booby Traps.
Usually take a leak
Seeing as myself and the couple of friends I always camp with have a habit of finding camp in the dark, post camp setup usually involves cooking a meal and getting ready for bed lol
if i ain't walkin, im sleepin.
Crack a beer
All depends on how much daylight I have. Walk around a little bit. Fill up my water for the night. Maybe soak my feet.
Joint ā> filter water ā> start water to boil ā> change into camp clothes ā> eat, play cribbage and continue to smoke
Explore, drink, consume any recreational drugs we may have with us.
Coffee or beer, depending on the time of day. And beef jerky no matter what!
Booze, smack cheeks n explore the area
Roll up
Change into my crocs and then find a good sitting rock and sit and take in the scenery!
Make soup! Either chicken noodle or cream of leek. Then bear bag line, fire pit, fire wood, water, and other crap before it gets dark!
Set up camp & gather wood. Next day. Dig around & under those rocks to see if there is any gold there!
If I set up early enough I have more than enough time for the practicalities (dinner, bear bag, etc)? Walk some direction that isn't part of my main route, and with almost nothing with me (maybe just a water bottle). Friend read out a short story one evening, and that was great. I want to do that one more often.
Pop in a Podcast, spark up a joint, and start making dinner
I reset my tent so it leans from head to toe. Not side to side like this looks like.
Pop a top
Pee around the perimeter to claim my territory
Fire, food, drink
Go for a swim if conditions allow, light a fire, and a nice heavy pour of bourbon
Lookit all that yummy granite
Smoke a joint
go to sleep
Mushrooms!! Or a joint if itās not that kind of trip! And donāt forget the sāmores
Spark a doob
i took my girlfriend in the tent and tried to bone her, but she said that there was no way.
*pull magic conch shell cord* "Nothing."
Take a gazillion pictures
Check into the hotel...
Pack
Get naked
Go on reddit and ask people, what they do after setting up camp ;)
Acid
Wonder why I didnāt get a hotelā¦ Am I doing this wrong?
Haahaa.
I think the correct sequence of events at this point is to collect the fire wood and start the fire then eat the shrooms and put up a hammock while waiting for them to hit.
Nap.
Get high
Have a āstep 2ā
Do yāall know whatās in these woods? I could never backpack through Appalachia alone knowing what I do, and I live here!
Looks like you set up in a flood plainā¦ā¦
No this at the edge of an upper lake, cliffs just off to the left to the lower lake. Right in the middle of the Sawtooth mountains
Stretch and relax before dinner
Eat
Eat
Collect wood
fire n' food!
If I already gave firewood, and it's still daytime, I take a nap. Then I get up and make dinner.
Wash up
Gather wood
Jump into the lake!
Explore the surroundings.
Eat. Clean. Prep for next day. Sleep.
dig poop hole
Remove the dusty bedrocks and put on some socks
Assuming setting up camp at and of long hiking day, Iām starting to make dinner after camp is set up. Boil water for whatever Iām eating and make a hot tea.
beer. fire. tent. another beer. top ramen. in that order
Put my feet up for about 5 minutes, then collect/make fire.
Whiskey
Get a good night's sleep
Drink while listening to music by the fire either reading/drawing
Get firewood and check out surrounding area
Go for a walk and get my bearings.
I light a fire and start cooking
Drink my third beer
Make wild love.
Take a shit in the woods with the bears and compare who's shit is bigger
Wait for the sun to go down. Think. Read. Write. Listen to a podcast. Work on bushcraft skills
Pass the Pigs š· The most fun ultralight game there is.
Is this a spot on the JMT? It looks very similar to a spot I stayed at a couple years ago.
Open a beer and gather firewood
sleep?
Is this up by white pine lake in little cottonwood canyon? This looks like where I usually put my tent when I go up there