What attracted you to go camping

Outdoors, there will be mosquito bites, can’t take a bath, they are confronted with wind and rain this bad weather, what attracted you to go camping

[Force10JC]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

Just being outside and experiencing what nature has to offer (hikes, kayaking, etc.) and generally feeling that bond with nature. There is a sense of freedom in being able to pack up your vehicle and just be "someplace else" within as little as an hour and at very little cost. I also really enjoy shopping for the gear then seeing how that gear performs and I really like setting up camp too. Some can find those last two things tedious.

We usually bring several bug repellents from the 50% deet variety to the all natural homemade essential oil concoctions and don't usually have too bad a time with mosquitoes.

As far as taking a bath, we have only camped (3 times so far this year) in state parks that have enclosed showers on-site. My wife refuses to camp without access to showers.

For an avid camper I don't think weather is ever really a deterrent unless it is really extreme. I know for me it is not. If you are prepared and your equipment is properly maintained, you will still have a good time. On our last trip it rained 3 days straight in the late afternoons for between 2 to 4 hours each of those days and we really didn't miss a beat with anything.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

Pushing my bod to some form of limit in the beginning. Now it's just the thrill of zoning out of big city life.

[Mike]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

I go camping pretty much just for the marshmallows.

[Irate Mormon]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

Necessity, because of the odd hobby I mentioned in some other thread. It seemed more convenient to camp than to drive home after overextending my time. It started with a blue tarp and kind of took on a life of its own. Nowadays, it's for the companionship. I always bring my guitar. Chicks dig that.

[actad]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

I wanted to be self-sufficient when traveling - my own bed, my own stuff, my own timetable. Everything that I tent camp with fits in the trunk of my car, and I can set up and tear down in under an hour. I rarely hang out outside of a motel room, but always hang out outside of my tent watching the stars or watching a campfire.

[MacGyver]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

Camping for me started just after I got my driver's license. My best bud and I thought it'd be cool to go out in the woods, get wasted (yeah - I said it), and eat a bunch of fire cooked food. Not long after that I met the woman who was to be my future wife (and ex-wife) and she had the same idea. And so it went until the marriage went sour AND I met up with the group that I'm still camping with today. We go out mostly to get away from the bricks and asphalt and just generally have a good time drinking, eating, listening to music and playing games like cornhole, Kan Jam and Uno. No schedule, no traffic, no worries.

[Denni2]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

We camped whe I was a kid. My favorite memories is sleeping in the back of the pick up with my parents. I didn't enjoy it as much after they got the travel trailer. My friends and I still stayed in the back of the truck.

My ex introduced me to backpacking and I really loved the simplicity. We took very little gear, he showed me lots of skills, we usually went to private property and soul forage and hunt.

It took twenty years to get my hubby camping. He had only camped with a few navy buddies and didn't really hav a clue. Finally I told him I was camping and if he didn't want to go that was fine but I need to camp. I find the less gear we bring the happier I am. I just feel like I need to be in the woods and keeping things simple.

I would love to find a group of friends to camp with, but we are both shy and always keep to ourselves not wanting to intrude on other campers.

[terasec]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

probably started as a kid
grew up in NYC in the 70's
we were typical immigrants in NYC
dad had a contracting business with a beat up work van,
yet on weekends would empty the van of all tools, lay down some carpet and it was our camper for the weekend
would buy our camping gear such as our hibachi at local lamstons, and we were set
the simplicity of how we did it always stuck with me,
we didn't even have water purification methods,
ran out of water dad would somehow find a spring leaching out of the rocks somewhere and we would fill up on water
now when I camp, I often have it rough sticking to minimal gear, yet love the rewards
after a cold long night, that daylight is a beautiful thing,

[toedtoes]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

For me, my family had camped when we were little - first in tents, then in the truck camper.

As a young adult, I did tent camping but hated all the setup, etc. I also found that few people wanted to go camping and I didn't feel comfortable tent camping alone.

Fast forward many years and I was getting really into photography. It made sense to start camping again. As I knew I would be doing solo trips, I got a used hardsided travel trailer cheap. Once I decided I enjoyed it and would go solo, I traded in the TT for the Clipper.

I find now that I camp to just get away from reality for a few days. It just gives me time to re-energize.

I often have a friend join in on the trip, but after this past trip, I am not having "inside" visitors anymore. They can join me as long as they have their own place to sleep. No more napping in my RV for 3 hour stretches multiple times a day...

[michelliot]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

It's the mosquito bites, lack of bathing, the wind, rain and bad weather, or at least the opportunity to experience them all.

[RafterH]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

It's the mosquito bites, lack of bathing, the wind, rain and bad weather, or at least the opportunity to experience them all.

Well said.

I started earlier than my memory. We tent camped a lot. Parents got an OLD Aljo trailer from mu Grandfather when I was 12. my closest brother and I never spent a night in it. In the summer we would use a cot for air circulation and in the winter we would bed on the ground.

I am 56 and still don't want a trailer (wife does for health reasons and might happen soon). I camp alone and with my brothers, sons nephews, daughters. Had one of my grandsons out when he was 6 months old. He still loves it and asks "Papaw, when can we go again".

Recently made my own double layer hammock. Have camped alone in it once so far this year. I think I'm going to really enjoy the hammock when my wife can't go with me. Also, have recently taken up backpacking again after a long period.

I camp on fishing trips, hunting trips or just to camp.

[campmore540]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

I would say my mom and dad got me into camping. We started out in a tent and then moved to a pop up that my dad bought for 300.00. Him and I worked on it to make it road and camp ready. After i grew up and had a family of my own I started taking my kids camping so I Could make those great memories with them like I had. We bought a pop up a few years back and used it for 1 season and found that we like tent camping better so now we are back in a tent.

[caheaton]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

I can't remember a time when I didn't camp. As children, my parents took us camping (usually to Northern Ontario). We camped in a canvas wall tent then, later in the back of the pickup (my father had it set up with a truck cap and beds that could be slid in and out as needed). When I got older I was in both cub scouts and later boy scouts. Seems we camped at least once a month through those years. As an adult, my wife and I would accompany my parents on camping trips to Michigan (my father's home state). We'd camp in a tent, my parents in their popup.

Now that my father is older and widowed he no longer camps, but my wife and I still carry on with tent camping. For me, it's simply being in nature...to drift off to sleep hearing the ocean's surf (more often than not we camp near the ocean) and awakened in the morning by the sounds of the birds or the sunlight hitting the tent. The pervasive smell of a pine forest or the salty tang of the sea in the air. Those are experiences no hotel or motel can offer.

As for bugs and bathing, we usually camp where there are showers. If none is offered, we bring our own. We always retire to our tent clean and refreshed. Bugs are rarely a problem, as I'll time and place our camping so as to miss the bulk of them. Those that are around are easily managed with a little bug spray or a citronella candle or two. Weather is not a problem...ponchos in the day and at night it's relaxing to listen to the patter of rain against the tent or feel the rumble of thunder as it shakes the earth. For me, camping is the difference between being in nature rather than just looking at it.

[welfull]

Re: What attracted you to go camping

Although the field of environment is very bad,But I can relax,can put aside the pressures of life and work,can enjoy the beautiful nature