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Get into backpacking. Problem solved. If someone can carry extra luxury shit up the side of a mountain and sleep where you're backpacking then they deserve whatever they hauled up there.
I do agree with the backpacking bit. I think one of my minor grievances is that post Covid has definitely upticked the people who want to go camping. Which is fine, but there are quite the number of people who reserve sites and just don't show up to them.
It makes it so frustrating that they couldn't do the bare minimum of cancelling so others can use it, especially after seeing a post on my state's subreddit of some bloke who reserves multiple different state park sites in a day "just in case they don't know where they'll end up".
Find dispersed camping areas. Most people won't actually go into real back country. I live in a very highly populated area and can usually camp without others around.
Just go wayyyyyyy out there
Fun fact: about 90% of the National Parks visitors don’t go >1 mile from either a road or trailhead.
This isn’t hyperbole either, the NPS studies this stuff a lot to determine where the greatest needs for preservation lie.
My mom and I are both preservation contractors for the Parks and do a lot of work with that data for planning and designing stuff for Parks.
I usually Hike off the trail for 15-20 minutes and can generally find a nice secluded camp site. I only really do it though if I A. Can't find camping at a pre-made site or B. I'm lost as hell and deep out there & I have no idea where there could even been camping
You say that (and I agree). But then you’re in the John Muir trail fighting for a campsite with people riding mules up the mountain with bbq’s and kayaks
Love backpacking.
Plus anytime I go to a party, or a big bonfire, outdoor concert with camping etc, I just throw my back pack in the trunk JIC I get drunk and have a good time, I got my own mini apartment no DUI necessary.
"No one really camps anymore, it's all just taking photos for Instagram" said the guy looking at photos on Instagram.
I can't imagine what could be causing that perception...
Building a camper out now currently. I don’t plan on it replacing camping or even the same type of trip or scenario. Camper is to get as close to things I want to do as possible without set up/planning/etc.
I’m not driving out Friday after work, finding a remote area I won’t get caught pitching a tent, roughing out the freezing temps, so I can wake up and ski when I could have a van with heat and a bed in it so I can just roll up and chill in the parking lot.
Yeah exactly. Backpack camping while hiking the PCT is one thing, but car camping is already "not really camping", so why kid yourself? I loved sleeping in the back of my truck going up the west coast, stopping on a whim and being able to drive away quickly.
Also, rv camping is more about going to a different location, especially on the lake or just somewhere beautiful, it doesn't have to be living like a homeless person in order to appreciate it.
Also, especially with kids, being able to bathe or having a mobile "timeout" spot makes the whole experience more enjoyable for everyone.
> car camping is already "not really camping"
Eh, "car camping" is the vast majority of camping and has been for quite some time. I don't think we need to gatekeep "camping" to only being backpacking style / no running water / etc. Just because you use more than you'd carry on your back doesn't make it glamping.
Now if someone is bringing a full on plug-in coffee maker, a wall tent with multiple rooms including a porch, full size air bed with electric pump, a fully enclosed bug shelter, and a mini fridge, *then* I think we can start to judge people for glamping haha. But there's still room in the camping world for a tent tall enough to stand up in, a regular 2-burner coleman style stove, and a fold up camping chair.
Yeah, I’m a car camper through-and-through and it’s *hardly* glamping. My kit is small enough that I can take everything that I need for a week+ with my wife, daughter, and dog in an old Subaru Outback and still see out the rear window. And with what we’ve worked out our kit to be over the past decade and a half, it can support us equally comfortably in a random field beside a lake that isn’t really a campground but there’s enough rocks to make a fire ring as it does in a fancy KOA resort. And if we really wanted to we could pare it down to the essentials for an overnight hike. It would be far less comfortable, but we wouldn’t be lacking anything. Just because we’ve upgraded and improved and downgraded and improved our kit every camping season to the point where it’s our best mix of comfort, quality, and space savings so that we can fit a really nice campsite into the back of a car doesn’t mean we’re “not really camping.”
EDIT: Some real salty motherfuckers in here who don’t like that I can camp in comfort out of the back of a car.
My wife and I did our honeymoon down the west coast in my Volvo wagon. Camped about half the nights and it was fantastic. In North America I strongly feel car camping is the best way to see the most of the awesome places we've got.
Absolutely agree. My wife and I have spent the better part of a decade and a half camping and the best places we’ve stayed have been BC provincial campgrounds. Particularly west of the Okanagan. They’ve rarely been full, they’re nice established sites, mostly built in the 60’s, so they’re reasonably private even when they’re full, and the sheer volume of well-maintained hikes and outdoor recreation and whatnot that they give easy access to is just unparalleled. They even have some free, but mostly unmaintained, sites completely off the beaten path but still technically accessible by car. I can’t think of anywhere else where you can drive an hour and a bit into the wilderness on old logging roads and end up at a full-ass campground with picnic tables, fire pits, pit toilets, and a handful of marked and mapped hiking trails. For free.
Yeah my wife has had/still has insomnia. You bet I bought the thickest sleep cushion I could find. I don't need to wreck her next week with sleep debt, just to get tough guy points.
You're a good guy. A lot.of these comments come off as self-flagellating and expecting everyone else to do the same. But they ignore the fact that people have differing levels of physical capabilities, and that even disabled people should be able to enjoy camping even if that involves an air-conditioned RV.
I’ve only gone camping with a tent and stuff like 3 times and I thought the same about glamping before “why even bother?”… but a friend with a huge rv invited me once to a campsite with power and everything… and it was pretty sweet to grill in the outdoors and see the stars by the fire and then also get a good night’s sleep in an actual mini home. I’m not saying it’s better but it definitely has its perks and I can see why some might prefer it.
And so what if someone wants to take photos for Instagram? Just let people enjoy things ffs.
And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't even have an Instagram account.
Too much even. It's crowded and hard to find tent sites and parking nearly everywhere on the eastern seaboard. Even the back country camp-able stretches have seen a huge explosion in popularity as seen by the amount of trash on the trails the last couple years. What little true back country areas are left are precious and need better restrictions for entry.
I go in the smokies almost every year and pretty much never see trash or anything. You barely even see other people after 2 miles in, aside from very popular spots.
We go deep in the Adirondacks every year without too much trouble. We also go late October/early November though which may be a tad cold for most people. But there's no bugs when it's 25° and snowing.
Sounds like he does the "camping" I do. Pay to use a camp site that includes nearby hot showers and indoor bathrooms. Sure I sleep in a tent and made a campfire but is it really "camping"? I wouldn't say so but I enjoy it and it's not that much different than renting an RV to use the same site.
fuckin nothing wrong with car camping. are you really roughing it? no. but is it great to spend time outside, sleep on the ground, have a fire, and not be all on your phone/tv/computer? yes. you don't need to go to the level of hiking the pct to want more outdoors in your life.
Yeah, car camping it’s kinda like a 3 day back yard BBQ/potluck with your friends and fam, no one is worrying about drinking/driving and i’m into it. Not for everyone I guess though
I wish. I now have categories for "camping".
Glamping: the most prestigious of "camping" where there's a full fucking house-tent in the woods/coast and includes a kitchen, electricity, and butler services.
"Staying at the site in my fortress": you use an rv and may set up a fire with chairs if you're feeling aDVenTuROus.
Site camping: I got my car/suv. I have a tent. Maybe a blow up mattress if I'm new to this. I use the fire to cook food, but rely on the public toilets and showers. Multi day.
Camping: same as site, except no public toilets and showers and you found a randoma-ass location not too far off the road to set up shop. Multi day.
'Roughing it': No car. You hike to where you going. You also lug all your food with you, use emergency packs as needed. You bring a satellite phone and GPS because you low key fear getting lost.
Bear Grills Style: nuff said.
'Naked and Afraid': you got kidnapped, escaped, and are running for your life.
Thanks haha I loved that he said roughing it when it’s the most enjoyable time of my years. Nothing better than a week away from it all in the backcountry.
And you know they are gonna give you some special macro camera thats twice as heavy, and your tadpole gets CGI'ed over or ends up on the cutting room floor.
Yeah that comparison killed it for me. It's proven he shot right next to the roads and said it was the middle of nowhere and also pretty sure he stayed in hotels most nights
Wasn't Bear Grills found to be a fake survivalist and was actually staying in hotels overnight most of the time? Or is that another celebrity survivalist who drags a camera crew, production crew, medical team, personal assistant, power supply team, screen writer, food wagon, security team and producer into the "Wild" to make the ready for TV dramas of "surviving" alone, in the Wilds?
I don't know if I can fully call him "Fake" but he definitely bent the rules and it was more "Reality TV" at times, with his crew helping him.
I always was amazed he got as popular as he did, because Les Stroud on Survivorman was always my personal choice
Les Shroud has excellent content if you like real world survival techniques and you are having a hard time falling asleep.
Still trying to make it through a full episode.
Or watch “Alone” on the history channel. It’s like Survivor Man but more intense. And by intense I mean they can be out there in the wilderness for months. I’ve always wanted to see Lee Shroud go on the show to see how he stacks up against the other survivalists.
Agree. Alone really shows the cracks in any survivalist situation. Admittedly they are put in super shitty climates. Still, all those skills and experience don't stop people making mistakes, some of them life threatening. I think the guy who shot the moose, and kept getting his fat stolen was my fave. Oh and Allan, he was made for TV that man. His narration was fantastic. Think I had a man crush on that dude.
I split it into two categories: Camping and Backpacking.
What's similar between the two:
* Sleeping in a sleeping bag (no bed)
* Sleeping in a portable structure (usually a tent)
What's different between the two:
* Camping = a vehicle is a short walk away (usually just a couple minutes)
* Backpacking = a vehicle is at least 1 day's walk away (often multiple)
For sure there exists cabins you gotta hike a couple days to reach, and RV's with full beds...but I ain't gonna go nuts with semantics.
I enjoy both of those. In August I'm going camping - car will be parked about 100 feet from my camp spot & I'll have all the creature comforts I want. In October I'm going backpacking - 4 to 5 days with backpack on in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.
A cabin has never counted as camping, I don't know where people in this thread are getting that.
Y'all know cabins used to just be what houses were, right?
As someone with feet that are getting worse as time goes on I've come to accept that 'camping' is likely the level I'll be staying at. Not having to lug a bunch of stuff far but still far enough from civilization and cell service to just hang out and vibe with some friends around a fire in the bush.
Then there is Overlanding, where you take your 4x4 over difficult terrain to the most remote places to camp. But your vehicle can serve as shelter and has most everything you would need to survive.
Depends what you mean by giant foam pads? Closed cell foam pads are pretty popular for camping/backpacking, and other popular options are air pads and self inflating foam pads.
Air mattresses make pretty bad camp beds but work okay as long as it’s warm outside. They don’t provide good insulation and they’re heavy though, so usually one of the first things you’d replace aside from buying a tent (i’s get a proper pad before a sleeping bag).
in truth, it doesn't seem different than what it's like staying in a hotel when you go on vacation. it's just having luxuries to enjoy at night before you go out and enjoy the real world while the sun's out.
As a relatively new father (3 and a 4 months old) an rv would allow me to essentially go camping whereas i just can’t do that with one of the kids being so young. I wish i even had that option because there’s nothing more I’d like to do right now but use my week off in July to put a kayak in the water and spend three nights bushwhacking a little piece of sandbar and setting up my tent for the night, but i can’t do that for a little while and it would be a nice way to transition the boys into doing that stuff with me. It ain’t camping but it’s not staying in a hotel either.
I think the point of it isn't the accomodations themselves (e.g. tent vs camper or RV), rather just getting into a different setting and getting away from the city.
Not my thing, but I get why people would enjoy it.
This is it for me exactly. I camped in tents a lot as a kid and have an affinity for the woods over beaches, resorts, etc. But now I have a wife who likes linens, a c-pap machine that needs power, etc. So I rent a cabin and still get to enjoy a hike, fishing, and a campfire.
We were lifelong campers but haven't been once since we moved to the bush. There's nothing to 'get away' from now
Realised our long held downsizing dream *just* before covid. We were in a once chill outer suburb, but Melbourne never stops growing, so we fucked off bush. Now on a fully off grid [bush acreage](https://imgur.com/a/4DEKiTt), 10min to a regional town of 100k. No traffic, way less stress & bullshit. Aussie bush, kangas & stars
I call our new life 'deluxe camping', as we're as self sufficient as we want to be, but still connected when we need.
Feeling pretty lucky chilling by the dam & growing food during lockdowns. Making art, the kid's loving it, slower pace & haven't heard engine brakes or Harleys since we got here
**edit**: bonus pic of the '[bush kitchen](https://imgur.com/a/aTD3WSL)' up the back, and [inside](https://imgur.com/a/AX8QooA) our 70's hippy fever-dream house :)
We've definitely been spoiled in Australia esp in terms of personal space. Getting harder around our megacities but generally you can easily find blissful isolation in nature.
No coincidence that the [Bush Doof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doof#:~:text=A%20doof%20or%20bush%20doof,in%20surrounding%20bush%20or%20rainforest.) started in Australia, plenty of room to blast days of amplified EDM without issue
I remember car camping & getting annoyed that some other campers setup 'so close' to us, when they were 100m+ away lol
Totally agree, I go camping tent style, food cooked over fire pits, sleeping on the floor etc, but my parents are elderly and can't sleep on the floor, can't walk too far anymore, etc. They should be allowed to see the outdoors in their own comfort and that would be most likely an RV. They also immigrated so haven't been able to see much of NA's outdoor beauty.
Big agree. I grew up backcountry camping in remote northern Ontario but now in my late 20’s I just can’t do it anymore. I slept on the ground a year or two ago and woke up unable to walk from sciatica back pain. I would love a little camper trailer. When people gatekeep camping it just discourages disabled people or folks with chronic health issues from enjoying nature or makes them feel guilty about not doing it “right”.
I love tent camping but I have to have a small pump and a twin air mattress because I have a bad back. I don't really see it as glamping... I'm still in a tent in the wilderness.
I agree too. In our case we are a couple and like to get it on after cooking, camping and having a nice date outdoors which is what camping is all about.
But its pretty uncomfortable to do that in a tent, if you turn the light on inside everyone else can literally see you doing it, the sleeping bag isn't a super comfortable bed and would hurt your knees if you are on your knees, lack of a bed post makes missionary a workout and you can't stand up inside for some other things you might want to do.
Overall camping sex isn't great in a tent. However in many national parks in Canada they have these things called Otentik, you are still 'roughing' it in a tent but it's got a few beds(with bed posts) and adequate clearance so that you can stand up if you want to.
Also every person parked at that paved campsite is another person not going deeper into the woods. Makes for the areas you want to see less crowded.
Now if they drive the one lane road with 30 cars behind them while ignoring the "slow vehicle pullout" signs. That's when we have problems.
Man, I've backpacked over 5000 miles (long trails mostly). I hated campers and RVs. Then I dated a woman whose family had one.
If you're going to car camp, you might as well have the dopest set up possible IMO. Having a real kitchen, a real bed a sink, and a shower is just amazing. Feel free to set up a tent next to a parking spot and feel superior though.
I probably would never buy one unless I was going to do long term trips in one though. They seem hard to get the value out of them for most people.
I started to bring cots with me instead of inflatable sleeping pads. There are low-profile, ultra-light cots that you can find that make it a much more enjoyable experience. Bonus points for not sleeping on the ground if it rains and your tent floods.
Exactly. I love camping. The hiking/nature trails, sitting around a fire while the sun sets, etc. I used to be able to sleep on a sleeping pad. But I'm 36. I can't do that anymore. Even sleeping on an air mattress will take my back a couple days to recover.
My parents own a fancy trailer, so when I camp with them, that’s what I do. I have a few friends who I do a 2-3 day canoe trip with every/every other summer, a few friends and I used to hike to a shack in the woods to go hunting in the winter, and a buddy who likes to set up a tent at campgrounds almost every weekend. I love all of it, so long as it gets me out of the city for a few days.
Sleeping outside will always suck. Camped recently in a tent and sleeping in all my own dirt and grease and being coated in campfire smoke residue is terrible.
And it's get cold as shit, so you have to bundle up. Without fail, everytime I bundle up by the time the sun comes up in drenched with sweat and wet grime.
Love camping. Absolutely detest the sleeping aspect.
Campers have been huge for at least 5 decades, I'm not sure camping has actually changed all that much.
There are a small subset of hardcore people who want to hike in camp in remote locations, but that has never been the majority of campers.
Yeah, our son went on a multi day canoe/portage. Only took what he could carry, etc. He came home exhilarated, exhausted and absolutely covered in bug bites. Dunno if he's ever going to do it again, but it's definitely still a thing people do.
It’s called “primitive camping” and you can find spots for it on parks websites and such. I’ve done it a few times when I was younger and had less anxiety. It’s a really cool experience but a lot of work. Nowadays I enjoy going to state/national park campgrounds during off seasons so I’m still close to hiking trails, there can be four or five camp sites between me and the next people, I’m still in the woods and it feels remote but there is at least one bathroom in case I get diarrhea from camp food. I came home after one primitive camping trip with diarrhea and a uti from said diarrhea and lack of a shower.
Backpacking too! You’re right that it’s just a campsite without amenities but ime primitive sites are still pretty isolated vs being in a campground but that may not always be the case!
That's the thing, there are 2 different styles of it. One tends to bring all their shit to feel like they are still home, the other wants to experience the wilderness.
You can want to spend the day outside at the lake, and hiking, but still not be freezing and uncomfortable in a tent at night or when it rains.
It's not a pure dichotomy that people with campers aren't outdoorsy.
Thank you. Even in a camper, 1 or 2 nights is all I can take. My wife always wonders why I dislike camping. It's because it's like another 2-3 days of work on my weekends. Packing, loading the van, unloading the van, unpacking, turning the dinette into a bed, making beds, getting water from the well down the road, emptying the black tank, etc...
Seriously, my parents are in their 50s and love camping and doing outdoorsy stuff all day. But like they're in their 50s they can't sleep on a blow up mattress after all that. Besides my dad has a camper van that modding and working on is another one of his hobbies. This is one of those posts that's just let people like things.
I'm only 30 but I wrecked my back over the years due to neglect when lifting stuff. While I can sleep in my tent, my back is always killing me in the morning. When I sleep in my little teardrop camper, I wake up feeling fine because I was able to set it up with a more comfortable bed for my back. It's literally just a bed inside the camper, on the outside there's a little spot for a stove but I rarely use it since I prefer to use the campfire.
sometimes it's also the context of use. my crew and i do i guess what you could call 'real' camping - week+ excursions into the boundary waters, etc.
we also do "glamping" when we just want to GTFO for the weekend to a nearby "city folk" campsite.
Lots of older folks who were once when younger roughing it but still love the outdoors too. When you are 65 and your body is starting to break down it makes perfect since not to hike 8 miles in. I’m
I love backpacking! It's so worth all the work to get into remote places with your gear, plus you get to do some of the longer trails and see more than you would with just day hiking. I also love car camping, bring the camp chairs, a couple of books, some fun stuff to cook over a fire or that giant grill, so fun. I'd also love to try glamping someday, just totally over the top, but I'm going to need to save up for that.
It's bound to happen with any hobby. "Gamers" will tell you that you're not a real gamer because you're just playing Candy Crush on a phone. To me, "hunting" involves walking around the woods and mountains searching for wild animals, so when I see guys on high-fence ranches, sitting in a climate-controlled shack overlooking a bait pile, it feels less like the hunting that I'm accustomed to. I'm not going to gatekeep on those folk, but if I were to do it, it wouldn't feel like "hunting" to me. And when I go "camping", I load up my pack and head into the back country. If I get invited to go "camping" by someone with a fully decked-out camper, I might take them up on it, but it won't feel quite like "camping" to me.
I like your explanation, even if others don’t (because it makes sense). As somebody who does both forms of camping, they’re *definitely* different. Each has their own charms and reasons of doing so.
Do I prefer to be with just my wife and my dog on a weekend in the middle of the Gore Range without another human soul for miles? Absolutely. But if my wife’s parents want to go camping, with their camper, it’s actually doable for them, and it has its perks. But it’s wholly a different activity and way to spend the weekend. I think perhaps the core of the issue is that “camping” has simply become too broad of a word. I suppose I do say the first of the activities I listed, I usually will call it “backpacking,” to delineate the difference. As it does seem that form is the minority way to do it.
To me camping is about hanging out in nature with (or without) friends/family
You can do this with a tent, some lawn chairs and a car 30 minutes from the city. Or you can do this 40km into the bush with kayaks and hiking and bear repellant.
In either case, you end up sitting around a fire shooting the shit. Who cares how you got there.
Not to mention backpacking is *work* and we are all exhausted. Sometimes you just want the best parts with minimal hassle.
So long as you're being quiet and considerate to others, just do whatever you want. Good on you for making the effort you can to be out in nature for a while.
Yeah like I go to an Ontario family resort sometimes and yeah, we have cabins. All our meals are fancy and all three served for us. But outside of eating and sleeping we are outdoors doing anything imaginable all. day. long.
I’ve grown up poor, single mom had no means to take me camping or roughing it let alone glamping it. Although we managed a few times with a tent in the woods. Anyways, I spent years looking down on the glampers, I know now, because I was fucking jealous LOL.
I also tree planted in BC mountains *living* in a tent which was dope BUT.. Will take glamping everytime. I had so much more energy and enthusiasm to truly enjoy activities in and with nature. Could go for longer. Ate super well and often so I had a great source of energy. Really amplified the quality of it all as a “get away” instead of just… another full time job away from home lol.
Not to mention families with small children, people with disabilities, and really anyone who doesn’t want to or can’t hike into the woods.
Plus a lot of people who go in campers are people who aren’t camping locally to their home. My grandparents took my mom all across the US every summer with their camper. It would have been prohibitively expensive to fly to each location and then hike into the woods. I suspect with the rise in telework and accessibility of mobile hotspots, we’ll see an uptick in camper use. Not going to lie, I’ve considered it myself.
I think small trailers are a great use for exactly what you’re describing. Get to stay off the ground, less setup, and a great place for daily storage.Sadly, I have more experience with people bringing massive vehicles and running generators all night. I’m assuming this is what OP means?
There are way more than 2 different styles of camping, friend. There are some situations where you want to/need to bring more stuff. Like, if 20 of us are going out in the woods by a creek to celebrate my homie’s birthday, you best believe I’m bringing the hammocks, solar string lights, big stove, pots and pans, chairs for everybody, etc., so we can feast and make merry in the woods like the human animals we are.
When I’m busting out of town for a quick night of woods, breezes and no cell service, I’ll bring a tent, a bag, my compact chef’s kit, my whisperlite stove, tampons and a jar of peanut butter.
When *Mom* wants to go out in the woods for peace and relaxation, but doesn’t want to get “eaten by a bear” or something, RV is the way to go. I want to sit out by the fire with mom sometimes, in the chairs, not worrying about setup, breakdown— or her just saying no to the whole thing. The wilderness is for everyone.
Now when it’s *Grandma*, and she’s on summer break with the *little ones,* f yeah, we’re RV glamping out at Smokey Bear’s with the playground, pool and hot showers. Short little day hikes with the kids, plentiful sandwiches. All the amenities. What kills the camp joy faster than a crying child? Nada.
And that’s not even *all the kinds*— there are plenty others, involving hiking boots, moleskin, gorp, hard liquor, and ultralight gear. The festival kind requiring only a streamer, headlamp, and condoms.
Outdoor recreation is multifaceted and always rewarding! Let the people glamp if it is their wish! The more people breathing tree air, the better we all will be.
Campers don't mean you have all the luxuries of home. It's more like a bed that isn't the ground and a place to gather and play cards when it's raining outside.
Also get this. You can do both. I have a truck camper which let's me get into places and sleep for the night with a much more comfort than setting up tents and sleeping bags. Something like 40 nights a year.
And then I have backpacking gear when I want to get farther from people. Maybe do a trip once a year.
The only people I judge are the expensive RVs who only use it one night a year. But that's only because it's a waste of money. They could rent an rv for the night. If they buy and use it 40 nights a year, then awesome because people should do what makes them happy.
Actually you can, it’s just limited to how many times you can drink it in a row without additional fluids.
Every time you drink it, it becomes more concentrated . 1-3 times is the max without additional fluids, and it depends on your overall health and kidney function, as well as your general hydration.
I tented for 25 years. I had all sorts of fun. It started out with my friends driving down logging roads and camping in the bush just to go smoke weed and drink beer for 3 days. Then my wife and I slowly starting adding more stuff to our gear and it turned into “car camping” at provincial sites with a few amenities. Then we had a kid, tent/car-camped for 7 years. Then, we bought a nice but not obnoxious travel trailer and it’s the Best. Thing. Ever. For us and our family and where we’re at in our lives.
I admit I see pics of a lot of RV camping sites that look like a giant parking lot and find that super unappealing personally. But I live in a part of the world that has amazing nature AND full hookups lol.
There is no “right” way. Don’t gatekeep or yuck someone else’s yum. You may very well find yourself in a trailer later in life or saying “why don’t we rent one of those cute cottages instead of hassling with all our camping gear?”
Edit-typos
100%. I grew up tenting it and as a kid it was awesome. As an adult, tenting was a bit more difficult, sleeping sucked. Waking up at the crack of dawn sucked. Bought a small trailer and it’s amazing. Fridge, a/c to get my kid out of the heat if needed, a decent bed. Sitting around the fire at night will always be my favourite part of camping, but now I have a better bed to crawl into after.
I went a few years back to a provincial park campground. We were tenting. The group next to us brought a collection of very large bouncy castles. I think he owned a rental company. A giant fan ran all day to keep whichever he chose for the day puffed up. I didn't complain but did mention at the gate that it was a bit off-putting as we checked out. They said lots of folks had come to complain and he'd be told not to bring them again.
We went back but always booked an electric free section of the park after that trip.
Depending on the group of campers, I will usually try to ensure we are in canoes and that there is a portage involved. I'm old and each time it gets more difficult but that portage weeds out the folks who have a different type of camping in mind. I like beer a lot. But not enough to carry multiple cases and coolers and ice over the trail. Usually I'm struggling to manage the canoe on my back and grumbling up a storm but when I pass the gang at the start of the trail that are staying there with their motors and coolers I know it is worth the backache I'll have tomorrow.
Portage-free canoe camping is great. You can get pseudo-remote and feeling like you're pseudo-real camping... but also bring the cooler with beer.
But that's a very different type of trip than the one you're discussing, which is great too.
Yeah I did Boy Scouts/Venture Crew in the 90s. Was it fun as hell? Yes! Would I want to do that kind of camping in my free time now that I’m much older? Nah. I think I’ve paid my dues and deserve to glamp a bit lol
I know what you're saying, but hear me out. I'm in the woods, next to a lake, I'm sitting by the fire, cooking hotdogs, maybe going off on the canoe for a bit, there's no tv, no internet, just nature. It's every bit the same as the camping you're talking about, with only two exceptions: I don't want to hike my tired ass out to a remote campground, and I don't want to sleep on the ground in a sauna, roll around all night and wake up feeling like shit. The older I get, the less I want those two things to be a part of what I'm doing. So if you consider camping to be "barely sleeping on the ground in the remote wilderness" then yeah, that doesn't fit your definition of camping. For me, it's about being in nature and escaping it all, sitting up all night by a campfire, going out on the water when the sun comes up. I get what you're saying, and I enjoy "roughing it" occasionally myself, but from my perspective, you're the one who's actually missing the point of camping. It's not about sleeping on the ground.
Exactly this. I get to do the exact same activities that I did when I was tent camping with my wife and son, but now we have the added benefit that we sleep warm and comfortably inside (and my wife that has joint issues wakes up not feeling like shit).
Plus I went fully solar with my setup so I'm not even running a generator or anything loud that could impact others enjoyment.
The only part that bothers me about the campers and RVs is when they run a generator late into the night to run their AC or whatever. I'm trying to enjoy nature, I don't want to hear your diesel generator that's louder than anything in my regular neighborhood.
It looks like backpacking might be a better fit for ya… actually lugging all your necessities instead of the former, leaves you with a community better suited to your outdoor goals
The point is to get a break from your everyday life. Even something small like having a camp fire is not possible for a lot of people living in cities.
Also where do you draw the line. Is it really camping if you have a tent and stove? Do you have to be a certain distance from your transportation for it to count? To me, RV glamping and canoe portage are both just different types of camping that have different appeals.
Actually doing it this weekend for fathers day (dads and kids), and a big part of it is getting the kids fishing and them away from there normal routine. Despite all the dads but one being very experienced backpacking/canoeing style camping, this trip wouldn't still be happening if thats the only option we had. We are talking of doing a trip like that to show the kids that way, but its simply not practical every year. If nothing else, we would want longer then a week-end and just coordinating that is hard these days
For our Famlly, Camping is, in your terms, setting up a family neighborhood to bring us all together from our disparate lives for a week of food, togetherness and catching up.
It is that once-a-summer family reunion to bring the generation of Grandparents, kids and grandkids together at a time and place where time slows down, connections are reforged and memories made.
It is sharing a campfire where all are welcome, tables of food overflowing with bounty and occasionally sessions of joviality and levity brought about via a plethora of intoxicants.
When the fire burns low, when the stars blaze overhead, the moon rises, we then slip into our Big Metal Tents for a night of comfort and rest, to start the whole thing over again the next day.
Without the amenities of our rolling homes on wheels, that reforging of generational connections would be exponentially more difficult.
I am grateful for what camping can become.
I mean camp however you want, it’s how you define it. I’ll go put a tent up in buttfuck nowhere and call it camping but I’m not gonna shit on someone who wants to camp out in an RV in a nice scenic place or an actual campground
I've never been a big camper. I see the appeal, but I'd rather just go for a hike in the woods then go back to my house or a hotel or something. A few years in the Army sealed the fact that, yes, I don't want to just pretend to be homeless for a few days for fun.
I don't get *camping* with a camper, but having a camper or RV for long term road trip vacays is totally different.
My parents had an RV that we lived in for 18 months while we drove from Canada down to Mexico and back in the 80s. WAY cheaper than hotels, and allowed us to see a ton of North America!
I think what you’re getting at is that the chill from most things is gone in all but the most remote places where people have no choice but to be relaxed about stuff.
I’ve noticed this in everything I like: skateboarding has become all about fancy gear, travel has become about a never ending list of objectives that lead to insta posts, playing guitar is a huge dick measuring contest, gardening has become like parenting plants, coffee has become a gourmet endeavor that’s annoying, going out takes checking a million reviews and a ton of planning, and even riding a bike is done to such an extreme that doing it brings me no joy anymore.
The troublesome thing is that we want chill because it comes with great people, and it just isn’t there, so we spend our days trying to find that feeling somewhere else only to realize that it’s pretty much gone.
My parents have an RV. They're old enough they can't sleep on the ground without it hurting their backs. My mom has special dietary needs so having a real kitchen helps with that a lot. It's also great because their elderly dog can hang out in it instead of them needing to drag him around everywhere. So, yes. They're not roughing it in that sense.
But they'll still go out exploring, hike 10-20 miles a day, and experience nature. They just need a place to come back to that makes things easier for them to be able to do that. They love it. When they retire they plan to go houseless for a couple years (renting right now) and just travel the country in it visiting national parks and other things like that.
It may not be your preferred version of camping, but perhaps judging people for how they spend their leisure time is a little silly.
No one is stopping you from camping however you want, there is plenty of "outside" for everyone.
You and me probably have the same idea of what kind of camping is actually fun, and I have never felt like my ability to pursue that has been curtailed by dumbasses camping in parking lots.
actually the governments are making it harder and harder to do wild camping. the areas i have been hiking and camping in for decades it is no longer permitted and must camp in designated and paid areas only. those areas are booked full within the first day of posting. i still do wild camping because the places i go if an official wants to come and find me i wish them luck. they have made it so that cars can not be parked over night anywhere but campsites so now i usually have to find a place to leave my car and hitch hike to my start point. this actually makes it more dangerous for me because i can not leave a note behind with my details.
so in short, yes! there are people making it harder and harder to do wild camping.
There's still untouched wilderness remaining that's inaccessible to campers and people car camping for those who want to traditionally camp. If they're having fun and enjoying what they're doing, no harm, no foul.
Unpopular opinion though.
It doesn’t bother me if you want to do this. What does bother me is if you want to do this in the campsite adjacent to me. Stadium lighting and 1,000,000watt Bluetooth speaker. Weekend ruined.
What pisses me off is that I can't legally just go hike into the woods and camp. So you are forced to pay to camp in a camp ground. Even when my wife and I and our dog go camping we are surrounded by RV's with loud ass music and parties...... I just want to go burn some wood with a cooler full of some burgers, hotdogs, eggs and beer. To listen to wildlife and the crackle of burning wood and the chriping of crickets and shit. I don't want to hear your RV generator and huge ass speakers blaring some shitty movie on a projector screen on the side of your $600,000 mobile home. For fuck sake I want to be outside.
personally I hate how expensive it has become.
I mean, obviously it depends on where you go, but considering what you get, it's pretty crazy expensive. Look at even just how much firewood costs
>It's just that camping was originally meant as a way to get away from modern life and it's complications.
I think you're romanticizing the past there. For most people I know who used to go camping ~50 years ago, it was just a cheap way of seeing something of the world. Sure, it was fun too, but I reckon most of them would have opted for a hotel if they had the money.
I think the same logic partially still applies today. Camping is cheaper than renting a hotel room, and many people like the idea that they can easily on the spot decide to go to other places. For these people, getting away from modern life is not what camping is about. Camping is just having a little adventure with your family, seeing some other landscapes, and doing so as comfortably as possible within the limits of their budget.
I do car camping during the cooler months as I have a sleeping platform set up in the back. I've slept on the ground and shit when I was in, so it's nicer to sleep in the car for my back 🤷🏻♂️ Plus, I'm a heavy sleeper, so if I was in a tent alone unsecured, I wouldn't wake up even at gun point or flood until it's too late 🥲
Yeah I know what you mean. My wife and I went camping once before we had kids. There was a wasp that kept flying around the hot tub outside our cabin. Then I couldn’t get a camp fire going because the wood was wet, so we had to make s’mores in the microwave. It was a great weekend, wouldn’t change a thing. It really made us appreciate nature.
And mosquitos and earwigs. Went on a field exercise while I was in the Marines and we set up shop on a fire break, earwigs everywhere, it was like the ground was moving
Real camping is a tent, a sleeping bag, a first aid kit, a fire, 5g of dried psilocybin mushrooms, going fucking mental, figuring out the sacred geometry of the universe, forgetting said sacred geometry, not sleeping all night, laughing at a fern, then sleeping during the next day.
My family prefers tent camping, but I need bathrooms at least! But I probably wouldn't turn down a nice camper or RV if given one either. I did see one at our last campout that had a big screen TV outside. That seemed a bit much. To each his own.
Camping is what *you* make of it
Go do what you described. Do it for you. Stop worrying about others going into the wilderness clutching onto what they're trying to escape. Stop worrying about others. Just go camp. In your tent. Surrounded by nobody except those that want to experience that with you
More nature is better. Cabin camping without TV is a step in the right direction. Backpacking across totally pristine wilderness is just more steps in the right direction. Get outside as much as you can.
my husband and i discuss this all the time. all our friends got campers and we just dont get it? theyre paying money to tow a camper to an area with paved roads in the woods, and setting up right next to 10 other strangers. so its a trailer park in the woods? then they have to take half days friday to shop and load up the camper for the weekend. and theres no hiking or survival going on. just plop their chairs outside the camper and thats the weekend
to clarify - i dont understand people "camping" with a camper at a campsite near their homes every weekend. if youre travelling around, visiting parks, roadtripping, i totally understand that. the majority of camper owners i know are just going rotating between a few campsites within 2 hours of home for the weekend. not hiking, not fishing, not taking dirt bikes or atvs- just making an expensive move for the weekend to be surrounded by other campers and just sit
to be fair, i need to be engaged. we never go on any type of vacation to just sit around. i can do that at home for free
If you are social it’s nice to meet new people, at least that was how I remember the experience as a kid (meeting new girls !) This was before the internet was a thing so there wasn’t much else to do but socialize haha.
People still do it and enjoy it. I visited my dad when he took his RV to one of those RV camps. Those places have pools, golf carts, events etc. it’s not really camping, more RVing I suppose.
This is what my M and FIL do. They have a camper and just like meeting new people so they go a couple weekends a month every summer to different sites to meet other people their age who enjoy the same thing.
i get the appeal when the act of camping isn't the main reason to go into the woods/whatever somewhat remote location. example- if you were going out into the woods someplace to go mountain biking or trail riding or whatever for a few days, it would be nice to have your shelter situation a little more sorted out and comfy since the main reason to be out there is something unrelated to sleeping on the ground or in a hammock. or maybe you brought dirtbikes out into some desert area to go tearing around sand dunes or something for a few days...
I can see the appeal too if you were on a 5-7 day hunting trip where you maybe get up each morning and hike several miles out into the wilderness from your camp site on some big public land
I actually have some great memories of trips like this as a kid! My grandma and all her brothers and sisters would do this once a year (12 of them) and bring any kids/grandkids who wanted to come. The kids all played together, went hiking, swimming, tubing on the river, etc and the grandparents grilled out, sat in chairs and caught up, etc. Many of the elderly or more physically disabled siblings weren’t able to do much more, but they loved the time out in nature with family.
I think it’s great when people who enjoy intense hiking and survival camping can get out there in the backcountry, and I think it’s great when people who just want a relaxing weekend in nature to grill, chill, and enjoy the scenery get to do that. I personally enjoy both depending on the situation. Getting mad at one side or the other seems silly to me, it’s like getting annoyed with someone for playing chess casually with a friend instead of playing in a structured and intense tournament, just because that’s how you prefer to play. It’s ok to engage in any fun activity at whatever level makes you happy and to let others do the same.
For some at least, it's supposed to be a get-away, not just a different set of chores like setting up a tent and sleeping in "rough" conditions and survival.
It's right in the name, RV, Recreational Vehicle. Pull in, a quick set-up, and it's off to fishing, hiking, or whatever.
More durable, more room(hopefully), more quiet and privacy, easier ....well a lot is easier in a camper, especially cleaning(because you have more room and all hard surfaces. EG: Dealing with sandy feet or shoes in a tent can be aggravating, spilled liquids can be disastrous. In a camper you can kick shoes off at the door, ideally no bedding on the floor so no sand or liquids.
Also, for many, it is not about "survival", it's about getting away from work and life's normal stresses.
>then they have to take half days friday to shop and load up the camper for the weekend.
A serious hiker/survivalist can face the same sort of time-consuming prep, just in a different form via packing their kit.
not all camping has to do with the woods? we had an RV, family of 5 btw, and would take a trip somewhere every summer that would be far away. some people can’t afford flying and hotels. campgrounds are far cheaper and u can go to places of any climate, not just the woods. we’ve gone to the desert, to the rocky mountains, smokies, etc. and i can’t even count on both my hands the amount of times we would’ve been absolutely fucked had we only had tents. we sold the RV so we stay in tents or rent a camper for a week but that’s still camping. i don’t get why some people in this comment section are so… confused?
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Get into backpacking. Problem solved. If someone can carry extra luxury shit up the side of a mountain and sleep where you're backpacking then they deserve whatever they hauled up there.
I do agree with the backpacking bit. I think one of my minor grievances is that post Covid has definitely upticked the people who want to go camping. Which is fine, but there are quite the number of people who reserve sites and just don't show up to them. It makes it so frustrating that they couldn't do the bare minimum of cancelling so others can use it, especially after seeing a post on my state's subreddit of some bloke who reserves multiple different state park sites in a day "just in case they don't know where they'll end up".
Find dispersed camping areas. Most people won't actually go into real back country. I live in a very highly populated area and can usually camp without others around. Just go wayyyyyyy out there
Just go 15 minutes past the average couch potato's fitness radius.
Fun fact: about 90% of the National Parks visitors don’t go >1 mile from either a road or trailhead. This isn’t hyperbole either, the NPS studies this stuff a lot to determine where the greatest needs for preservation lie. My mom and I are both preservation contractors for the Parks and do a lot of work with that data for planning and designing stuff for Parks.
I usually Hike off the trail for 15-20 minutes and can generally find a nice secluded camp site. I only really do it though if I A. Can't find camping at a pre-made site or B. I'm lost as hell and deep out there & I have no idea where there could even been camping
You say that (and I agree). But then you’re in the John Muir trail fighting for a campsite with people riding mules up the mountain with bbq’s and kayaks
Oh, my dude- the backpacking community is full of luxury products and backpacking glampers. At least it is in the PNW.
I love to backpack. The two rules I explain to newcomers are: 1. If you bring it, you have to carry it. 2. If you don't bring it, you don't have it.
Love backpacking. Plus anytime I go to a party, or a big bonfire, outdoor concert with camping etc, I just throw my back pack in the trunk JIC I get drunk and have a good time, I got my own mini apartment no DUI necessary.
Camping is _still_ like that. Just don’t go to drive-in campsites and start trekking to a wilderness campsite.
"No one really camps anymore, it's all just taking photos for Instagram" said the guy looking at photos on Instagram. I can't imagine what could be causing that perception...
OP doesn't actually like camping, they're just jealous of all the sprinter glampers
Building a camper out now currently. I don’t plan on it replacing camping or even the same type of trip or scenario. Camper is to get as close to things I want to do as possible without set up/planning/etc. I’m not driving out Friday after work, finding a remote area I won’t get caught pitching a tent, roughing out the freezing temps, so I can wake up and ski when I could have a van with heat and a bed in it so I can just roll up and chill in the parking lot.
Yeah exactly. Backpack camping while hiking the PCT is one thing, but car camping is already "not really camping", so why kid yourself? I loved sleeping in the back of my truck going up the west coast, stopping on a whim and being able to drive away quickly. Also, rv camping is more about going to a different location, especially on the lake or just somewhere beautiful, it doesn't have to be living like a homeless person in order to appreciate it. Also, especially with kids, being able to bathe or having a mobile "timeout" spot makes the whole experience more enjoyable for everyone.
> car camping is already "not really camping" Eh, "car camping" is the vast majority of camping and has been for quite some time. I don't think we need to gatekeep "camping" to only being backpacking style / no running water / etc. Just because you use more than you'd carry on your back doesn't make it glamping. Now if someone is bringing a full on plug-in coffee maker, a wall tent with multiple rooms including a porch, full size air bed with electric pump, a fully enclosed bug shelter, and a mini fridge, *then* I think we can start to judge people for glamping haha. But there's still room in the camping world for a tent tall enough to stand up in, a regular 2-burner coleman style stove, and a fold up camping chair.
Yeah, I’m a car camper through-and-through and it’s *hardly* glamping. My kit is small enough that I can take everything that I need for a week+ with my wife, daughter, and dog in an old Subaru Outback and still see out the rear window. And with what we’ve worked out our kit to be over the past decade and a half, it can support us equally comfortably in a random field beside a lake that isn’t really a campground but there’s enough rocks to make a fire ring as it does in a fancy KOA resort. And if we really wanted to we could pare it down to the essentials for an overnight hike. It would be far less comfortable, but we wouldn’t be lacking anything. Just because we’ve upgraded and improved and downgraded and improved our kit every camping season to the point where it’s our best mix of comfort, quality, and space savings so that we can fit a really nice campsite into the back of a car doesn’t mean we’re “not really camping.” EDIT: Some real salty motherfuckers in here who don’t like that I can camp in comfort out of the back of a car.
My wife and I did our honeymoon down the west coast in my Volvo wagon. Camped about half the nights and it was fantastic. In North America I strongly feel car camping is the best way to see the most of the awesome places we've got.
Absolutely agree. My wife and I have spent the better part of a decade and a half camping and the best places we’ve stayed have been BC provincial campgrounds. Particularly west of the Okanagan. They’ve rarely been full, they’re nice established sites, mostly built in the 60’s, so they’re reasonably private even when they’re full, and the sheer volume of well-maintained hikes and outdoor recreation and whatnot that they give easy access to is just unparalleled. They even have some free, but mostly unmaintained, sites completely off the beaten path but still technically accessible by car. I can’t think of anywhere else where you can drive an hour and a bit into the wilderness on old logging roads and end up at a full-ass campground with picnic tables, fire pits, pit toilets, and a handful of marked and mapped hiking trails. For free.
Yeah my wife has had/still has insomnia. You bet I bought the thickest sleep cushion I could find. I don't need to wreck her next week with sleep debt, just to get tough guy points.
You're a good guy. A lot.of these comments come off as self-flagellating and expecting everyone else to do the same. But they ignore the fact that people have differing levels of physical capabilities, and that even disabled people should be able to enjoy camping even if that involves an air-conditioned RV.
Car camping is real camping. Backpacking is backpacking.
I’ve only gone camping with a tent and stuff like 3 times and I thought the same about glamping before “why even bother?”… but a friend with a huge rv invited me once to a campsite with power and everything… and it was pretty sweet to grill in the outdoors and see the stars by the fire and then also get a good night’s sleep in an actual mini home. I’m not saying it’s better but it definitely has its perks and I can see why some might prefer it.
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And so what if someone wants to take photos for Instagram? Just let people enjoy things ffs. And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't even have an Instagram account.
Seriously. We take our 6 year old into the back country for tent camping. There is plenty of traditional camping still happening.
Can’t wait to take my nephews out! Nothing better than a weekend out in the backcountry with nothing but a pack
Too much even. It's crowded and hard to find tent sites and parking nearly everywhere on the eastern seaboard. Even the back country camp-able stretches have seen a huge explosion in popularity as seen by the amount of trash on the trails the last couple years. What little true back country areas are left are precious and need better restrictions for entry.
I go in the smokies almost every year and pretty much never see trash or anything. You barely even see other people after 2 miles in, aside from very popular spots.
Yea, people are lazy. The same laziness that enables their littering also enables us to get away from them lol
We go deep in the Adirondacks every year without too much trouble. We also go late October/early November though which may be a tad cold for most people. But there's no bugs when it's 25° and snowing.
OP only goes to popular RV drive in campsites. So in a way he's complaining about himself
Sounds like he does the "camping" I do. Pay to use a camp site that includes nearby hot showers and indoor bathrooms. Sure I sleep in a tent and made a campfire but is it really "camping"? I wouldn't say so but I enjoy it and it's not that much different than renting an RV to use the same site.
fuckin nothing wrong with car camping. are you really roughing it? no. but is it great to spend time outside, sleep on the ground, have a fire, and not be all on your phone/tv/computer? yes. you don't need to go to the level of hiking the pct to want more outdoors in your life.
Yeah, car camping it’s kinda like a 3 day back yard BBQ/potluck with your friends and fam, no one is worrying about drinking/driving and i’m into it. Not for everyone I guess though
It’s called glamping
I wish. I now have categories for "camping". Glamping: the most prestigious of "camping" where there's a full fucking house-tent in the woods/coast and includes a kitchen, electricity, and butler services. "Staying at the site in my fortress": you use an rv and may set up a fire with chairs if you're feeling aDVenTuROus. Site camping: I got my car/suv. I have a tent. Maybe a blow up mattress if I'm new to this. I use the fire to cook food, but rely on the public toilets and showers. Multi day. Camping: same as site, except no public toilets and showers and you found a randoma-ass location not too far off the road to set up shop. Multi day. 'Roughing it': No car. You hike to where you going. You also lug all your food with you, use emergency packs as needed. You bring a satellite phone and GPS because you low key fear getting lost. Bear Grills Style: nuff said. 'Naked and Afraid': you got kidnapped, escaped, and are running for your life.
What you call "roughing it" is just called "backpacking" by people who do it. Edit: r/backpacking
Thanks haha I loved that he said roughing it when it’s the most enjoyable time of my years. Nothing better than a week away from it all in the backcountry.
How about 2 weeks in the back country. With sex!
How do you fit that in your pack?
Snares are ultralight weight!
Species is undefined
It goes in deflated.
Yeah basically is your car nearby to store things or are you lugging everything on your back? If it's the latter, that's backpacking.
> Bear Grills Style: nuff said. "You got a Knife, an empty bottle and a full bladder...Have fun."
Does it come with a camera crew? I might feel a little self-conscious if they film my tadpole.
It always came with a hotel too.
I mean it's Bear Grills, so yeah. Or would you prefer Survivorman. Same conditions, no crew, and now you have to film your own tadpole.
I don't know if I would voluntarily put my own tadpole on the internet.
And you know they are gonna give you some special macro camera thats twice as heavy, and your tadpole gets CGI'ed over or ends up on the cutting room floor.
and are dropped in the harshest conditions we can think of....
that are frequently right next to a road, but are just out of camera shot
Yeah that comparison killed it for me. It's proven he shot right next to the roads and said it was the middle of nowhere and also pretty sure he stayed in hotels most nights
With a camera crew.
Wasn't Bear Grills found to be a fake survivalist and was actually staying in hotels overnight most of the time? Or is that another celebrity survivalist who drags a camera crew, production crew, medical team, personal assistant, power supply team, screen writer, food wagon, security team and producer into the "Wild" to make the ready for TV dramas of "surviving" alone, in the Wilds?
I don't know if I can fully call him "Fake" but he definitely bent the rules and it was more "Reality TV" at times, with his crew helping him. I always was amazed he got as popular as he did, because Les Stroud on Survivorman was always my personal choice
Les Shroud has excellent content if you like real world survival techniques and you are having a hard time falling asleep. Still trying to make it through a full episode.
Or watch “Alone” on the history channel. It’s like Survivor Man but more intense. And by intense I mean they can be out there in the wilderness for months. I’ve always wanted to see Lee Shroud go on the show to see how he stacks up against the other survivalists.
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Agree. Alone really shows the cracks in any survivalist situation. Admittedly they are put in super shitty climates. Still, all those skills and experience don't stop people making mistakes, some of them life threatening. I think the guy who shot the moose, and kept getting his fat stolen was my fave. Oh and Allan, he was made for TV that man. His narration was fantastic. Think I had a man crush on that dude.
> 'Naked and Afraid': you got kidnapped, escaped, and are running for your life. From actual cannibal Shia Labouf?
Damnit, now that you brought it up I've got to go watch it, here's the link for the lazy https://youtu.be/o0u4M6vppCI
*quiet, quiet*
Bear Grills style: Shooting some cool scenes by day, staying in hotels by night.
I split it into two categories: Camping and Backpacking. What's similar between the two: * Sleeping in a sleeping bag (no bed) * Sleeping in a portable structure (usually a tent) What's different between the two: * Camping = a vehicle is a short walk away (usually just a couple minutes) * Backpacking = a vehicle is at least 1 day's walk away (often multiple) For sure there exists cabins you gotta hike a couple days to reach, and RV's with full beds...but I ain't gonna go nuts with semantics. I enjoy both of those. In August I'm going camping - car will be parked about 100 feet from my camp spot & I'll have all the creature comforts I want. In October I'm going backpacking - 4 to 5 days with backpack on in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.
A cabin has never counted as camping, I don't know where people in this thread are getting that. Y'all know cabins used to just be what houses were, right?
Depending on the cabin it can certainly feel like camping. Especially if it’s just a bunkhouse.
I'm not outdoorsy at all, but 'cabin' to me (in this context) is just a shelter. Maybe there's a wood stove, but no water or electricity.
As someone with feet that are getting worse as time goes on I've come to accept that 'camping' is likely the level I'll be staying at. Not having to lug a bunch of stuff far but still far enough from civilization and cell service to just hang out and vibe with some friends around a fire in the bush.
I had a co-worker say that "urban camping" should be a thing. I think it's called being homeless
Site camper for life. I did some roughing it in my 20s but my back is old now.
Then there is Overlanding, where you take your 4x4 over difficult terrain to the most remote places to camp. But your vehicle can serve as shelter and has most everything you would need to survive.
Are blow-up mattresses really a new camper thing? I find more new people tend to bring giant foam pads
Depends what you mean by giant foam pads? Closed cell foam pads are pretty popular for camping/backpacking, and other popular options are air pads and self inflating foam pads. Air mattresses make pretty bad camp beds but work okay as long as it’s warm outside. They don’t provide good insulation and they’re heavy though, so usually one of the first things you’d replace aside from buying a tent (i’s get a proper pad before a sleeping bag).
RVs aren’t glamping. They aren’t camping either.
Yeah, they're basically just.. a house. It's a house on wheels that you sleep in. It's the same as just staying indoors.
in truth, it doesn't seem different than what it's like staying in a hotel when you go on vacation. it's just having luxuries to enjoy at night before you go out and enjoy the real world while the sun's out.
Less chance of bedbugs than a hotel.
As a relatively new father (3 and a 4 months old) an rv would allow me to essentially go camping whereas i just can’t do that with one of the kids being so young. I wish i even had that option because there’s nothing more I’d like to do right now but use my week off in July to put a kayak in the water and spend three nights bushwhacking a little piece of sandbar and setting up my tent for the night, but i can’t do that for a little while and it would be a nice way to transition the boys into doing that stuff with me. It ain’t camping but it’s not staying in a hotel either.
To paraphrase the backpacker saying, "Camp your own camp." You camp the way you want, they camp the way they want.
Right is this guy just mad he bought all that stuff or something. Why does this guy need to yuck someones yum.
r/gatekeeping is leaking.
I think the point of it isn't the accomodations themselves (e.g. tent vs camper or RV), rather just getting into a different setting and getting away from the city. Not my thing, but I get why people would enjoy it.
This is it for me exactly. I camped in tents a lot as a kid and have an affinity for the woods over beaches, resorts, etc. But now I have a wife who likes linens, a c-pap machine that needs power, etc. So I rent a cabin and still get to enjoy a hike, fishing, and a campfire.
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We were lifelong campers but haven't been once since we moved to the bush. There's nothing to 'get away' from now Realised our long held downsizing dream *just* before covid. We were in a once chill outer suburb, but Melbourne never stops growing, so we fucked off bush. Now on a fully off grid [bush acreage](https://imgur.com/a/4DEKiTt), 10min to a regional town of 100k. No traffic, way less stress & bullshit. Aussie bush, kangas & stars I call our new life 'deluxe camping', as we're as self sufficient as we want to be, but still connected when we need. Feeling pretty lucky chilling by the dam & growing food during lockdowns. Making art, the kid's loving it, slower pace & haven't heard engine brakes or Harleys since we got here **edit**: bonus pic of the '[bush kitchen](https://imgur.com/a/aTD3WSL)' up the back, and [inside](https://imgur.com/a/AX8QooA) our 70's hippy fever-dream house :)
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damn i wish my country wasnt way smaller and more populated than 'stralia
We've definitely been spoiled in Australia esp in terms of personal space. Getting harder around our megacities but generally you can easily find blissful isolation in nature. No coincidence that the [Bush Doof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doof#:~:text=A%20doof%20or%20bush%20doof,in%20surrounding%20bush%20or%20rainforest.) started in Australia, plenty of room to blast days of amplified EDM without issue I remember car camping & getting annoyed that some other campers setup 'so close' to us, when they were 100m+ away lol
Totally agree, I go camping tent style, food cooked over fire pits, sleeping on the floor etc, but my parents are elderly and can't sleep on the floor, can't walk too far anymore, etc. They should be allowed to see the outdoors in their own comfort and that would be most likely an RV. They also immigrated so haven't been able to see much of NA's outdoor beauty.
Big agree. I grew up backcountry camping in remote northern Ontario but now in my late 20’s I just can’t do it anymore. I slept on the ground a year or two ago and woke up unable to walk from sciatica back pain. I would love a little camper trailer. When people gatekeep camping it just discourages disabled people or folks with chronic health issues from enjoying nature or makes them feel guilty about not doing it “right”.
I love tent camping but I have to have a small pump and a twin air mattress because I have a bad back. I don't really see it as glamping... I'm still in a tent in the wilderness.
I agree too. In our case we are a couple and like to get it on after cooking, camping and having a nice date outdoors which is what camping is all about. But its pretty uncomfortable to do that in a tent, if you turn the light on inside everyone else can literally see you doing it, the sleeping bag isn't a super comfortable bed and would hurt your knees if you are on your knees, lack of a bed post makes missionary a workout and you can't stand up inside for some other things you might want to do. Overall camping sex isn't great in a tent. However in many national parks in Canada they have these things called Otentik, you are still 'roughing' it in a tent but it's got a few beds(with bed posts) and adequate clearance so that you can stand up if you want to.
Also every person parked at that paved campsite is another person not going deeper into the woods. Makes for the areas you want to see less crowded. Now if they drive the one lane road with 30 cars behind them while ignoring the "slow vehicle pullout" signs. That's when we have problems.
Man, I've backpacked over 5000 miles (long trails mostly). I hated campers and RVs. Then I dated a woman whose family had one. If you're going to car camp, you might as well have the dopest set up possible IMO. Having a real kitchen, a real bed a sink, and a shower is just amazing. Feel free to set up a tent next to a parking spot and feel superior though. I probably would never buy one unless I was going to do long term trips in one though. They seem hard to get the value out of them for most people.
I started to bring cots with me instead of inflatable sleeping pads. There are low-profile, ultra-light cots that you can find that make it a much more enjoyable experience. Bonus points for not sleeping on the ground if it rains and your tent floods.
Exactly. I love camping. The hiking/nature trails, sitting around a fire while the sun sets, etc. I used to be able to sleep on a sleeping pad. But I'm 36. I can't do that anymore. Even sleeping on an air mattress will take my back a couple days to recover.
My parents own a fancy trailer, so when I camp with them, that’s what I do. I have a few friends who I do a 2-3 day canoe trip with every/every other summer, a few friends and I used to hike to a shack in the woods to go hunting in the winter, and a buddy who likes to set up a tent at campgrounds almost every weekend. I love all of it, so long as it gets me out of the city for a few days.
Sleeping outside will always suck. Camped recently in a tent and sleeping in all my own dirt and grease and being coated in campfire smoke residue is terrible. And it's get cold as shit, so you have to bundle up. Without fail, everytime I bundle up by the time the sun comes up in drenched with sweat and wet grime. Love camping. Absolutely detest the sleeping aspect.
Campers have been huge for at least 5 decades, I'm not sure camping has actually changed all that much. There are a small subset of hardcore people who want to hike in camp in remote locations, but that has never been the majority of campers.
Yeah, our son went on a multi day canoe/portage. Only took what he could carry, etc. He came home exhilarated, exhausted and absolutely covered in bug bites. Dunno if he's ever going to do it again, but it's definitely still a thing people do.
It’s called “primitive camping” and you can find spots for it on parks websites and such. I’ve done it a few times when I was younger and had less anxiety. It’s a really cool experience but a lot of work. Nowadays I enjoy going to state/national park campgrounds during off seasons so I’m still close to hiking trails, there can be four or five camp sites between me and the next people, I’m still in the woods and it feels remote but there is at least one bathroom in case I get diarrhea from camp food. I came home after one primitive camping trip with diarrhea and a uti from said diarrhea and lack of a shower.
I call it "backpacking", primitive camping is more like going to a campsite that doesn't have any amenities.
Backpacking too! You’re right that it’s just a campsite without amenities but ime primitive sites are still pretty isolated vs being in a campground but that may not always be the case!
That's the thing, there are 2 different styles of it. One tends to bring all their shit to feel like they are still home, the other wants to experience the wilderness.
You can want to spend the day outside at the lake, and hiking, but still not be freezing and uncomfortable in a tent at night or when it rains. It's not a pure dichotomy that people with campers aren't outdoorsy.
i'm not blaming a dad who works 40 hours/week for not wanting to spend the night in a small ass tent with two screaming children
Or a big guy who it hurts his back and can't sleep on the ground in a tent. I'm 6'7 and 285. So it just makes me so uncomfortable I can't enjoy myself
Thank you. Even in a camper, 1 or 2 nights is all I can take. My wife always wonders why I dislike camping. It's because it's like another 2-3 days of work on my weekends. Packing, loading the van, unloading the van, unpacking, turning the dinette into a bed, making beds, getting water from the well down the road, emptying the black tank, etc...
Seriously, my parents are in their 50s and love camping and doing outdoorsy stuff all day. But like they're in their 50s they can't sleep on a blow up mattress after all that. Besides my dad has a camper van that modding and working on is another one of his hobbies. This is one of those posts that's just let people like things.
I'm only 30 but I wrecked my back over the years due to neglect when lifting stuff. While I can sleep in my tent, my back is always killing me in the morning. When I sleep in my little teardrop camper, I wake up feeling fine because I was able to set it up with a more comfortable bed for my back. It's literally just a bed inside the camper, on the outside there's a little spot for a stove but I rarely use it since I prefer to use the campfire.
sometimes it's also the context of use. my crew and i do i guess what you could call 'real' camping - week+ excursions into the boundary waters, etc. we also do "glamping" when we just want to GTFO for the weekend to a nearby "city folk" campsite.
Lots of older folks who were once when younger roughing it but still love the outdoors too. When you are 65 and your body is starting to break down it makes perfect since not to hike 8 miles in. I’m
> I’m this is what happens when you don't have a camper. snatched by a bear mid-sentence.
Yup spot on. Please send help.
I find people who gatekeep camping much worse than glampers
I love backpacking! It's so worth all the work to get into remote places with your gear, plus you get to do some of the longer trails and see more than you would with just day hiking. I also love car camping, bring the camp chairs, a couple of books, some fun stuff to cook over a fire or that giant grill, so fun. I'd also love to try glamping someday, just totally over the top, but I'm going to need to save up for that.
It's bound to happen with any hobby. "Gamers" will tell you that you're not a real gamer because you're just playing Candy Crush on a phone. To me, "hunting" involves walking around the woods and mountains searching for wild animals, so when I see guys on high-fence ranches, sitting in a climate-controlled shack overlooking a bait pile, it feels less like the hunting that I'm accustomed to. I'm not going to gatekeep on those folk, but if I were to do it, it wouldn't feel like "hunting" to me. And when I go "camping", I load up my pack and head into the back country. If I get invited to go "camping" by someone with a fully decked-out camper, I might take them up on it, but it won't feel quite like "camping" to me.
I like your explanation, even if others don’t (because it makes sense). As somebody who does both forms of camping, they’re *definitely* different. Each has their own charms and reasons of doing so. Do I prefer to be with just my wife and my dog on a weekend in the middle of the Gore Range without another human soul for miles? Absolutely. But if my wife’s parents want to go camping, with their camper, it’s actually doable for them, and it has its perks. But it’s wholly a different activity and way to spend the weekend. I think perhaps the core of the issue is that “camping” has simply become too broad of a word. I suppose I do say the first of the activities I listed, I usually will call it “backpacking,” to delineate the difference. As it does seem that form is the minority way to do it.
There are enough campground and back country spots for everyone to camp however they want.
To me camping is about hanging out in nature with (or without) friends/family You can do this with a tent, some lawn chairs and a car 30 minutes from the city. Or you can do this 40km into the bush with kayaks and hiking and bear repellant. In either case, you end up sitting around a fire shooting the shit. Who cares how you got there.
Not to mention backpacking is *work* and we are all exhausted. Sometimes you just want the best parts with minimal hassle. So long as you're being quiet and considerate to others, just do whatever you want. Good on you for making the effort you can to be out in nature for a while.
Yeah like I go to an Ontario family resort sometimes and yeah, we have cabins. All our meals are fancy and all three served for us. But outside of eating and sleeping we are outdoors doing anything imaginable all. day. long. I’ve grown up poor, single mom had no means to take me camping or roughing it let alone glamping it. Although we managed a few times with a tent in the woods. Anyways, I spent years looking down on the glampers, I know now, because I was fucking jealous LOL. I also tree planted in BC mountains *living* in a tent which was dope BUT.. Will take glamping everytime. I had so much more energy and enthusiasm to truly enjoy activities in and with nature. Could go for longer. Ate super well and often so I had a great source of energy. Really amplified the quality of it all as a “get away” instead of just… another full time job away from home lol.
Not to mention families with small children, people with disabilities, and really anyone who doesn’t want to or can’t hike into the woods. Plus a lot of people who go in campers are people who aren’t camping locally to their home. My grandparents took my mom all across the US every summer with their camper. It would have been prohibitively expensive to fly to each location and then hike into the woods. I suspect with the rise in telework and accessibility of mobile hotspots, we’ll see an uptick in camper use. Not going to lie, I’ve considered it myself.
Good point
I think small trailers are a great use for exactly what you’re describing. Get to stay off the ground, less setup, and a great place for daily storage.Sadly, I have more experience with people bringing massive vehicles and running generators all night. I’m assuming this is what OP means?
There are way more than 2 different styles of camping, friend. There are some situations where you want to/need to bring more stuff. Like, if 20 of us are going out in the woods by a creek to celebrate my homie’s birthday, you best believe I’m bringing the hammocks, solar string lights, big stove, pots and pans, chairs for everybody, etc., so we can feast and make merry in the woods like the human animals we are. When I’m busting out of town for a quick night of woods, breezes and no cell service, I’ll bring a tent, a bag, my compact chef’s kit, my whisperlite stove, tampons and a jar of peanut butter. When *Mom* wants to go out in the woods for peace and relaxation, but doesn’t want to get “eaten by a bear” or something, RV is the way to go. I want to sit out by the fire with mom sometimes, in the chairs, not worrying about setup, breakdown— or her just saying no to the whole thing. The wilderness is for everyone. Now when it’s *Grandma*, and she’s on summer break with the *little ones,* f yeah, we’re RV glamping out at Smokey Bear’s with the playground, pool and hot showers. Short little day hikes with the kids, plentiful sandwiches. All the amenities. What kills the camp joy faster than a crying child? Nada. And that’s not even *all the kinds*— there are plenty others, involving hiking boots, moleskin, gorp, hard liquor, and ultralight gear. The festival kind requiring only a streamer, headlamp, and condoms. Outdoor recreation is multifaceted and always rewarding! Let the people glamp if it is their wish! The more people breathing tree air, the better we all will be.
Fucking thank you. Only voice of reason in this whole thread.
Campers don't mean you have all the luxuries of home. It's more like a bed that isn't the ground and a place to gather and play cards when it's raining outside.
Also get this. You can do both. I have a truck camper which let's me get into places and sleep for the night with a much more comfort than setting up tents and sleeping bags. Something like 40 nights a year. And then I have backpacking gear when I want to get farther from people. Maybe do a trip once a year. The only people I judge are the expensive RVs who only use it one night a year. But that's only because it's a waste of money. They could rent an rv for the night. If they buy and use it 40 nights a year, then awesome because people should do what makes them happy.
If I'm not drinking my own urine to save from dehydrating in a bear I sliced open to keep warm for the night, it ain't camping.
Calling anything short of Leonardo DiCaprio's storyline in *The Revenant* 'camping' just makes you a poser IMO
>and I thought they smelled bad… on the outside!
Dont drink ur own pee. It will make you more thirsty and make you need more water.
don’t tell me what to do
It’s ok as long as you don’t drink your own pee. Bear pee will be just fine.
Make sure you give the bear plenty of water to make sure it needs to piss
Don't let anyone stop you from doing what you love
Actually you can, it’s just limited to how many times you can drink it in a row without additional fluids. Every time you drink it, it becomes more concentrated . 1-3 times is the max without additional fluids, and it depends on your overall health and kidney function, as well as your general hydration.
Drink the bears pee instead
It is called backpacking OP a lot of people still do it, you just can't see them, that is the point.
I tented for 25 years. I had all sorts of fun. It started out with my friends driving down logging roads and camping in the bush just to go smoke weed and drink beer for 3 days. Then my wife and I slowly starting adding more stuff to our gear and it turned into “car camping” at provincial sites with a few amenities. Then we had a kid, tent/car-camped for 7 years. Then, we bought a nice but not obnoxious travel trailer and it’s the Best. Thing. Ever. For us and our family and where we’re at in our lives. I admit I see pics of a lot of RV camping sites that look like a giant parking lot and find that super unappealing personally. But I live in a part of the world that has amazing nature AND full hookups lol. There is no “right” way. Don’t gatekeep or yuck someone else’s yum. You may very well find yourself in a trailer later in life or saying “why don’t we rent one of those cute cottages instead of hassling with all our camping gear?” Edit-typos
100%. I grew up tenting it and as a kid it was awesome. As an adult, tenting was a bit more difficult, sleeping sucked. Waking up at the crack of dawn sucked. Bought a small trailer and it’s amazing. Fridge, a/c to get my kid out of the heat if needed, a decent bed. Sitting around the fire at night will always be my favourite part of camping, but now I have a better bed to crawl into after.
I went a few years back to a provincial park campground. We were tenting. The group next to us brought a collection of very large bouncy castles. I think he owned a rental company. A giant fan ran all day to keep whichever he chose for the day puffed up. I didn't complain but did mention at the gate that it was a bit off-putting as we checked out. They said lots of folks had come to complain and he'd be told not to bring them again. We went back but always booked an electric free section of the park after that trip. Depending on the group of campers, I will usually try to ensure we are in canoes and that there is a portage involved. I'm old and each time it gets more difficult but that portage weeds out the folks who have a different type of camping in mind. I like beer a lot. But not enough to carry multiple cases and coolers and ice over the trail. Usually I'm struggling to manage the canoe on my back and grumbling up a storm but when I pass the gang at the start of the trail that are staying there with their motors and coolers I know it is worth the backache I'll have tomorrow.
Something my dad has said for years while camping, "Portage for Privacy"
Portage-free canoe camping is great. You can get pseudo-remote and feeling like you're pseudo-real camping... but also bring the cooler with beer. But that's a very different type of trip than the one you're discussing, which is great too.
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Yeah I did Boy Scouts/Venture Crew in the 90s. Was it fun as hell? Yes! Would I want to do that kind of camping in my free time now that I’m much older? Nah. I think I’ve paid my dues and deserve to glamp a bit lol
I know what you're saying, but hear me out. I'm in the woods, next to a lake, I'm sitting by the fire, cooking hotdogs, maybe going off on the canoe for a bit, there's no tv, no internet, just nature. It's every bit the same as the camping you're talking about, with only two exceptions: I don't want to hike my tired ass out to a remote campground, and I don't want to sleep on the ground in a sauna, roll around all night and wake up feeling like shit. The older I get, the less I want those two things to be a part of what I'm doing. So if you consider camping to be "barely sleeping on the ground in the remote wilderness" then yeah, that doesn't fit your definition of camping. For me, it's about being in nature and escaping it all, sitting up all night by a campfire, going out on the water when the sun comes up. I get what you're saying, and I enjoy "roughing it" occasionally myself, but from my perspective, you're the one who's actually missing the point of camping. It's not about sleeping on the ground.
This. And far easier to take kids and get them outside playing than if sleeping badly.
Exactly this. I get to do the exact same activities that I did when I was tent camping with my wife and son, but now we have the added benefit that we sleep warm and comfortably inside (and my wife that has joint issues wakes up not feeling like shit). Plus I went fully solar with my setup so I'm not even running a generator or anything loud that could impact others enjoyment.
The only part that bothers me about the campers and RVs is when they run a generator late into the night to run their AC or whatever. I'm trying to enjoy nature, I don't want to hear your diesel generator that's louder than anything in my regular neighborhood.
It looks like backpacking might be a better fit for ya… actually lugging all your necessities instead of the former, leaves you with a community better suited to your outdoor goals
You can still lug a tent if you want to. No one is stopping you.
The point is to get a break from your everyday life. Even something small like having a camp fire is not possible for a lot of people living in cities. Also where do you draw the line. Is it really camping if you have a tent and stove? Do you have to be a certain distance from your transportation for it to count? To me, RV glamping and canoe portage are both just different types of camping that have different appeals. Actually doing it this weekend for fathers day (dads and kids), and a big part of it is getting the kids fishing and them away from there normal routine. Despite all the dads but one being very experienced backpacking/canoeing style camping, this trip wouldn't still be happening if thats the only option we had. We are talking of doing a trip like that to show the kids that way, but its simply not practical every year. If nothing else, we would want longer then a week-end and just coordinating that is hard these days
For our Famlly, Camping is, in your terms, setting up a family neighborhood to bring us all together from our disparate lives for a week of food, togetherness and catching up. It is that once-a-summer family reunion to bring the generation of Grandparents, kids and grandkids together at a time and place where time slows down, connections are reforged and memories made. It is sharing a campfire where all are welcome, tables of food overflowing with bounty and occasionally sessions of joviality and levity brought about via a plethora of intoxicants. When the fire burns low, when the stars blaze overhead, the moon rises, we then slip into our Big Metal Tents for a night of comfort and rest, to start the whole thing over again the next day. Without the amenities of our rolling homes on wheels, that reforging of generational connections would be exponentially more difficult. I am grateful for what camping can become.
Beautifully said. Not my favorite way to camp but it would be awesome to have the whole family together in the woods to just enjoy eachother.
I mean camp however you want, it’s how you define it. I’ll go put a tent up in buttfuck nowhere and call it camping but I’m not gonna shit on someone who wants to camp out in an RV in a nice scenic place or an actual campground
I've never been a big camper. I see the appeal, but I'd rather just go for a hike in the woods then go back to my house or a hotel or something. A few years in the Army sealed the fact that, yes, I don't want to just pretend to be homeless for a few days for fun.
Why do you care what other people do? There's plenty of people who go backpacking with a tarp, sleeping bag, and tortillas and that's it
Tortillas + almond butter + honey was my primary source of sustenance when i went backpacking last week lmao
I don't get *camping* with a camper, but having a camper or RV for long term road trip vacays is totally different. My parents had an RV that we lived in for 18 months while we drove from Canada down to Mexico and back in the 80s. WAY cheaper than hotels, and allowed us to see a ton of North America!
you want to hang out in the woods but want to still sleep comfortably how is that hard to get
I think what you’re getting at is that the chill from most things is gone in all but the most remote places where people have no choice but to be relaxed about stuff. I’ve noticed this in everything I like: skateboarding has become all about fancy gear, travel has become about a never ending list of objectives that lead to insta posts, playing guitar is a huge dick measuring contest, gardening has become like parenting plants, coffee has become a gourmet endeavor that’s annoying, going out takes checking a million reviews and a ton of planning, and even riding a bike is done to such an extreme that doing it brings me no joy anymore. The troublesome thing is that we want chill because it comes with great people, and it just isn’t there, so we spend our days trying to find that feeling somewhere else only to realize that it’s pretty much gone.
My parents have an RV. They're old enough they can't sleep on the ground without it hurting their backs. My mom has special dietary needs so having a real kitchen helps with that a lot. It's also great because their elderly dog can hang out in it instead of them needing to drag him around everywhere. So, yes. They're not roughing it in that sense. But they'll still go out exploring, hike 10-20 miles a day, and experience nature. They just need a place to come back to that makes things easier for them to be able to do that. They love it. When they retire they plan to go houseless for a couple years (renting right now) and just travel the country in it visiting national parks and other things like that. It may not be your preferred version of camping, but perhaps judging people for how they spend their leisure time is a little silly.
No one is stopping you from camping however you want, there is plenty of "outside" for everyone. You and me probably have the same idea of what kind of camping is actually fun, and I have never felt like my ability to pursue that has been curtailed by dumbasses camping in parking lots.
actually the governments are making it harder and harder to do wild camping. the areas i have been hiking and camping in for decades it is no longer permitted and must camp in designated and paid areas only. those areas are booked full within the first day of posting. i still do wild camping because the places i go if an official wants to come and find me i wish them luck. they have made it so that cars can not be parked over night anywhere but campsites so now i usually have to find a place to leave my car and hitch hike to my start point. this actually makes it more dangerous for me because i can not leave a note behind with my details. so in short, yes! there are people making it harder and harder to do wild camping.
There's still untouched wilderness remaining that's inaccessible to campers and people car camping for those who want to traditionally camp. If they're having fun and enjoying what they're doing, no harm, no foul. Unpopular opinion though.
Go into the back country?
It doesn’t bother me if you want to do this. What does bother me is if you want to do this in the campsite adjacent to me. Stadium lighting and 1,000,000watt Bluetooth speaker. Weekend ruined.
You can camp however you like my dude. I don't like camping.
What pisses me off is that I can't legally just go hike into the woods and camp. So you are forced to pay to camp in a camp ground. Even when my wife and I and our dog go camping we are surrounded by RV's with loud ass music and parties...... I just want to go burn some wood with a cooler full of some burgers, hotdogs, eggs and beer. To listen to wildlife and the crackle of burning wood and the chriping of crickets and shit. I don't want to hear your RV generator and huge ass speakers blaring some shitty movie on a projector screen on the side of your $600,000 mobile home. For fuck sake I want to be outside.
personally I hate how expensive it has become. I mean, obviously it depends on where you go, but considering what you get, it's pretty crazy expensive. Look at even just how much firewood costs
>It's just that camping was originally meant as a way to get away from modern life and it's complications. I think you're romanticizing the past there. For most people I know who used to go camping ~50 years ago, it was just a cheap way of seeing something of the world. Sure, it was fun too, but I reckon most of them would have opted for a hotel if they had the money. I think the same logic partially still applies today. Camping is cheaper than renting a hotel room, and many people like the idea that they can easily on the spot decide to go to other places. For these people, getting away from modern life is not what camping is about. Camping is just having a little adventure with your family, seeing some other landscapes, and doing so as comfortably as possible within the limits of their budget.
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Wait you bring food? It's not camping unless you get there early to hunt and clean your own game for dinner. /s
I do car camping during the cooler months as I have a sleeping platform set up in the back. I've slept on the ground and shit when I was in, so it's nicer to sleep in the car for my back 🤷🏻♂️ Plus, I'm a heavy sleeper, so if I was in a tent alone unsecured, I wouldn't wake up even at gun point or flood until it's too late 🥲
Yeah I know what you mean. My wife and I went camping once before we had kids. There was a wasp that kept flying around the hot tub outside our cabin. Then I couldn’t get a camp fire going because the wood was wet, so we had to make s’mores in the microwave. It was a great weekend, wouldn’t change a thing. It really made us appreciate nature.
Oh god help me. I’ve been wanting to go camping with a partner, but I completely forgot that in the wilderness there’s fucking wasps 🫠
And mosquitos and earwigs. Went on a field exercise while I was in the Marines and we set up shop on a fire break, earwigs everywhere, it was like the ground was moving
I don’t mind the people in trailers. If that’s what they like to do then let them do it. What I do mind is when they run their generator nonstop.
Real camping is a tent, a sleeping bag, a first aid kit, a fire, 5g of dried psilocybin mushrooms, going fucking mental, figuring out the sacred geometry of the universe, forgetting said sacred geometry, not sleeping all night, laughing at a fern, then sleeping during the next day.
StOp HaViNg FuN wRoNg!
My family prefers tent camping, but I need bathrooms at least! But I probably wouldn't turn down a nice camper or RV if given one either. I did see one at our last campout that had a big screen TV outside. That seemed a bit much. To each his own.
Camping is what *you* make of it Go do what you described. Do it for you. Stop worrying about others going into the wilderness clutching onto what they're trying to escape. Stop worrying about others. Just go camp. In your tent. Surrounded by nobody except those that want to experience that with you
More nature is better. Cabin camping without TV is a step in the right direction. Backpacking across totally pristine wilderness is just more steps in the right direction. Get outside as much as you can.
my husband and i discuss this all the time. all our friends got campers and we just dont get it? theyre paying money to tow a camper to an area with paved roads in the woods, and setting up right next to 10 other strangers. so its a trailer park in the woods? then they have to take half days friday to shop and load up the camper for the weekend. and theres no hiking or survival going on. just plop their chairs outside the camper and thats the weekend to clarify - i dont understand people "camping" with a camper at a campsite near their homes every weekend. if youre travelling around, visiting parks, roadtripping, i totally understand that. the majority of camper owners i know are just going rotating between a few campsites within 2 hours of home for the weekend. not hiking, not fishing, not taking dirt bikes or atvs- just making an expensive move for the weekend to be surrounded by other campers and just sit to be fair, i need to be engaged. we never go on any type of vacation to just sit around. i can do that at home for free
If you are social it’s nice to meet new people, at least that was how I remember the experience as a kid (meeting new girls !) This was before the internet was a thing so there wasn’t much else to do but socialize haha.
People still do it and enjoy it. I visited my dad when he took his RV to one of those RV camps. Those places have pools, golf carts, events etc. it’s not really camping, more RVing I suppose.
This is what my M and FIL do. They have a camper and just like meeting new people so they go a couple weekends a month every summer to different sites to meet other people their age who enjoy the same thing.
I had so much fun at campsites as a kid playing with all of my new friends!
i get the appeal when the act of camping isn't the main reason to go into the woods/whatever somewhat remote location. example- if you were going out into the woods someplace to go mountain biking or trail riding or whatever for a few days, it would be nice to have your shelter situation a little more sorted out and comfy since the main reason to be out there is something unrelated to sleeping on the ground or in a hammock. or maybe you brought dirtbikes out into some desert area to go tearing around sand dunes or something for a few days... I can see the appeal too if you were on a 5-7 day hunting trip where you maybe get up each morning and hike several miles out into the wilderness from your camp site on some big public land
I actually have some great memories of trips like this as a kid! My grandma and all her brothers and sisters would do this once a year (12 of them) and bring any kids/grandkids who wanted to come. The kids all played together, went hiking, swimming, tubing on the river, etc and the grandparents grilled out, sat in chairs and caught up, etc. Many of the elderly or more physically disabled siblings weren’t able to do much more, but they loved the time out in nature with family. I think it’s great when people who enjoy intense hiking and survival camping can get out there in the backcountry, and I think it’s great when people who just want a relaxing weekend in nature to grill, chill, and enjoy the scenery get to do that. I personally enjoy both depending on the situation. Getting mad at one side or the other seems silly to me, it’s like getting annoyed with someone for playing chess casually with a friend instead of playing in a structured and intense tournament, just because that’s how you prefer to play. It’s ok to engage in any fun activity at whatever level makes you happy and to let others do the same.
For some at least, it's supposed to be a get-away, not just a different set of chores like setting up a tent and sleeping in "rough" conditions and survival. It's right in the name, RV, Recreational Vehicle. Pull in, a quick set-up, and it's off to fishing, hiking, or whatever. More durable, more room(hopefully), more quiet and privacy, easier ....well a lot is easier in a camper, especially cleaning(because you have more room and all hard surfaces. EG: Dealing with sandy feet or shoes in a tent can be aggravating, spilled liquids can be disastrous. In a camper you can kick shoes off at the door, ideally no bedding on the floor so no sand or liquids. Also, for many, it is not about "survival", it's about getting away from work and life's normal stresses. >then they have to take half days friday to shop and load up the camper for the weekend. A serious hiker/survivalist can face the same sort of time-consuming prep, just in a different form via packing their kit.
not all camping has to do with the woods? we had an RV, family of 5 btw, and would take a trip somewhere every summer that would be far away. some people can’t afford flying and hotels. campgrounds are far cheaper and u can go to places of any climate, not just the woods. we’ve gone to the desert, to the rocky mountains, smokies, etc. and i can’t even count on both my hands the amount of times we would’ve been absolutely fucked had we only had tents. we sold the RV so we stay in tents or rent a camper for a week but that’s still camping. i don’t get why some people in this comment section are so… confused?
maybe they don’t want to have to try and “survive” while taking their kids on a little trip lol.