What is REAL! camping.

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nettles150390

Forager
Nov 7, 2013
161
0
High Melton, Doncaster
So I'm annoyed right now, been looking forward to go in camping with my mates for the past two weeks (I work away from home so don't get to see them all that often) then today they back out because of the weather. So I sent them a little rant on what is true camping. What do you guys think of my definition?

. Right I wanna clear something up for the *†****** among my friends, camping is not what you think true camping is not weather Dependant. You say the word camping and people think of taking a tent outside sleeping in that and a sleeping bag cooking a meal on a stove usually something simple and not very fulfilling then hidind from the rain and the wind in your tent. That is not camping its roughing it. Its cold, uncomfortable and is just surviving out side for a few days. It requires no knowledge and no skill. Which is why people only "camp" in good weather, be cause it makes roughing it easy.

So what is comfortable in the current time of year, comfortable is being warm an dry sat in front of a warm fire place sheltered from the wind and the rain with light maybe reading a book or listening to music, talking to friends, knowing you have a dry warm bed to go to sleep in after eating a filling hot meal.

Sounds pretty good right? YOU CAN HAVE THAT CAMPING!!!!!

With a little bit of knowledge you can have habe a warm soft bed hell it can even be raised up of the floor if you want you can have a camping chair, there's even one that are padded I prefer my hammock chair personally you can harm a warm fire place a fire with a heat reflector behind it throwing all the heat towards you. Sheltere from the elements? Find a flat bit of ground out the wind throw a tarp up over you head, now out the wind with a roof over you head in front of a warm fire place your now warm and dry sat in a chair reading a book, wow starting to sound like home, food well let's see, I want a roast dinner so I'mgunna bring with me a hunk of beef some potatoes some parsnips an onion some gravy mix and some broccoli cauliflower and peas, im going to spit an slow cook the beef over the fire wrapped the tatoes onion and parsnip in tinfoil and put then in the embers then I'm gonna put some water in my pot with the broccoli and peas and caulk and boil them over the fire once its all done in gonnaput it all on my plate add SME gravy mix to the veg water and pour it over my food. And wash it all down with a beer. YUM! Now warm fed and a Lil sleeping I'm gonna make a brew and get into my sleeping bag under my personal tarp which it pegged into the ground on one side to block the wind I'm gonna curl up warm in my sleeping bag a couple of meters away from the fire an read my book while drinking my brew before going to sleep. Warm dry and well fed and listening to the sound of the wind and the rain outside my shelter. DONT TELL ME! Its too cold, too wet or windy to be comfortable camping.

so yeah my rant, but what do you think about my definition?
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,996
4,650
S. Lanarkshire
Truthfully, you're right, but, and it's a big but….it's Winter. There's less than nine hours of daylight just now, and I know I can only sleep for eight at the very most….so that leaves seven hours of cold and chilly to hang out round a fire in the dark not doing a lot.

It's too long. I couldn't spend all day in a pub blethering, I can't spend seven hours in the cold dark blethering either.

Give it a couple of months and folks might be more up for it :)

M
 

nettles150390

Forager
Nov 7, 2013
161
0
High Melton, Doncaster
It's too long. I couldn't spend all day in a pub blethering, I can't spend seven hours in the cold dark blethering either.

Give it a couple of months and folks might be more up for it :)

M

Fair enough point and if there's what was up with them I met agree but its not its that their scared of the wind. An I don't have a few month in a couple of weeks I'm moving back down to Doncaster for work nearly all year to next winter
 

nettles150390

Forager
Nov 7, 2013
161
0
High Melton, Doncaster
Maybes a bit harsh, however it's not nice being let down given you are away from home working.

Windy

That's exactly it, one of the guys from the bushcraft group organized a trip for this weekend and I said no cos I was supposed to be going on a camp with my best mates that I've not really had time to hang around with. And when I double checked for this other event (3days ago) they were all like yeah yeah defo going, then this morning they backed out that's what got my goat up
 

bambodoggy

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 10, 2004
3,062
50
49
Surrey
www.stumpandgrind.co.uk
Its not nice being let down and certainly when you've been looking forward to something so much......

BUT.....there have been very high winds over the last day or so and more are forecast.....if you take your excited camping head off and put your sensible grown up bushcrafters head on you may think it's not a time to be sleeping in amongst and under big bendy snappy wooden things ;)

I'm not suggesting this would ever be the case with you but I know the Scotish mountain rescue people will be able to give you plenty of stories of callouts to people who had been planning their Scotish trip for ages, really really looked forward to it and been so excited when they got to the hills after a long drive up that they go up in weather that any normal person wouldn't dream of mountaineering in. It's the 'We've wanted this so much and waited so long that we're doing it regardless" syndrome..........and believe it or not, this has resulted in loss of life!

Just my thoughts......I'd still be miffed if I was you though mate :)

Cheers,

Bam. :)
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,695
714
-------------
Meh. Pretty much any camping trip that involves more than two people will have a certain amount of drop out in numbers anyway. Especially in winter.

Chill out and next time go for smaller number with hardier people.
 

Harvestman

Bushcrafter through and through
May 11, 2007
8,656
26
55
Pontypool, Wales, Uk
Winter camping? You must be mad...

15972558030_41bd76cb84_b.jpg


(with apologies to Al)
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Winter camping is for one reason and one reason only" DEER HUNTING CAMP! Or ELK HUNTING CAMP!

[]http://www.tonyrogers.com/humor/images/island_deer/island_deer_2009_2_1200.jpg[]



camp-in-snow.jpg


elk-camp01.jpg
 
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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,729
1,980
Mercia
My big question would be, if you wanted to go so badly, why didn't you go solo?

If it was all about seeing you mates, why didn't you for a night out instead?

No-one stopped you camping, or seeing your mates come to that. So no problem surely?
 

Dannytsg

Native
Oct 18, 2008
1,825
6
England
I'll extend and invitation to you if you ever fancy an overnighter again without anyone to go with. You aren't too far from me so by all means drop me a PM if you wanted to organise something.

P.S I am not a fair weather camper :D
 
Jul 30, 2012
3,570
224
westmidlands
Camping

VERB

Camping

1Live for a time in a tent, especially while on holiday:

NOUN

Camp

1A place with temporary accommodation of huts, tents, or other structures, typically used by soldiers, refugees, or travelling people.

Glamping

A form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping:

There is traditional camping where you sustain yourself, glamping which is a strange idea, through hiking camping, basecamp camping, roughing it camping (ultra light weight),
 

cranmere

Settler
Mar 7, 2014
992
2
Somerset, England
I would sit on that for a day or so and consider whether you want to re-write it when you're less angry. I'd be pretty darned cross too but I learned not to write in anger a long time ago or at least not to send it straight away.

Camping is what you make it, much like bushcraft. I can be comfortable camping out in all sorts of conditions but I've been doing it for a very long time, I have decent kit and I know how to deal with most conditions. If you're inexperienced then rough weather can be pretty scary and off-putting and you are likely to be uncomfortable because you don't know the tricks and wrinkles, and inadequate kit can make things worse.

Why not take them out in nicer weather so that they have a good experience and start to learn how to do things without struggling?
 

wandering1

Nomad
Aug 21, 2014
348
2
Staffordshire
Fair enuf if I'd planned a weekend in the sticks with my mates and then they backed out at the last moment I'd be pretty hacked off but I wouldn't sent a txt like you did (even if it was justified)

Ok they do have a point. Bad Weather. It is winter after all and if they travelling (line you d
I regularly go "camping" in winter but tend to stay close to home (within a 50 mile radius)

But their a factors that need to be considered
Like. Being stranded due to cancelled trains, or high winds bringing tops of trees to the grounds blocked roads and the fact that council rarely get the gritters going until there's a pile up
I know where I am we forecasted to have heavy snow so I know that will affect my travelling times

The other side is that if they aren't accustomed to winter camping then that will pit an automatic damper on things
 
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rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
Very harsh post there, and I agree with British Red...you could have gone solo.

What experience and kit do your mates have? If well experienced and equipped I'd have been miffed but I'd not talk to mates like that.

Sorry chap, your a bit out or line there IMHO.
 

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