"camping"

[endersblade]

I feel ya. I'm not interested in camping at all, but I used to do it with my dad all the time, and it was in the middle of the damned woods, we ate whatever we could catch. Though we slept in the back of his truck, I don't know why he never used tents.

I much prefer taking an actual camper and hooking it up somewhere, having running fresh water, etc. But again, I don't do the camping thing anymore. It's probably been 25 years since the last time I even did THAT sort of camping.

[Bigbamboozal]

I've roughed it hardcore. I have fieldcraft skills and the like, and can manage fairly comfortable.
That said, I'm pushing 40 and sleeping on the ground or in a tent is starting to really suck.
You need to be in decent shape to sleep in a tent or it beats the shit out of you in a relatively short amount of time.

Don't worry OP, I can still rough it and make a solar stile, build my own shelter and catch dinner and I know how to take a shit in the woods, just that when I take the kid and missus out it's with a tent trailer. Nothing wrong with a few creature comforts. But yah, aside from navigational use and music, electronics stay home.

As my boy was going camping for the first time we went to a camp ground that was a little more like one of those parking lot in the forest styles, the second time we went out into some remote forest. As he gets a little older and more able and aware, we spend more time jeep camping further out.
Every kid is different, some are ready to jump off into the bush, some need to be slowly introduced to it.
Better to gauge it to your own experience and ability and that of the people you are taking.
Even grandma should get to camp if she wants, toned down though it may be.

It's all where you draw the line. And personally, I'd prefer that the majority of wanna-can's stay at their walmart parking lot, gives me more time to enjoy the backcountry and less time bailing their ass out/finding them fucked up with no tools/parts/water/fire extinguisher/first aid, you can't imagine the shit I've seen.
Seems like a win to me considering the average person can't seem to manage their garbage.

Sorry if that all sounds jaded lol, I guess it somewhat is.
Oh and fyi, there already is a different name for each, one is called camping, and the other is known as 'roughing it', see if you can figure out which one is which

[BatteredRose]

"Back in my day"....

You shouldn't say this. People do what they like and they don't give two fucks how you did it "back in your day".

I mind my business. You mind your business. We all mind our own damn business.

Your response is you not minding your business!

[melodramocracy]

I'm curious as to what "my day" was for you as well, OP.

Mid 70's (yep, I'm that old), camping was going to a campground with my grandparents and aunt for a week. In an RV. And while I didn't have the TV that I did at home, pretty much every other amenity was there.

You can camp any way you see fit, even now.

[Crissi]

You know theres degrees of cmapuing right? From outright roughing it, to just sleeping in a rural area in a cabin or RV.

I mean by your definition, living in the jungles of Belize for a month wasnt camping, because even though we only had tents, we also had constructed showers with water held in a large metal resoivoir on top, a dining hall that had a movie projector, an area with many stalls set up to be temporary toilets, and electronics to help analyze artifacts. Completely disregarding the fact we were in the middle of nowehere, often hiked to get to our site areas, and were without any kind of electonics other than cell phones (which we couldnt even use until we reached a town 20 min away) and the occational lap top.

[Baium]

I guess everyone treats camping in each their own way..? Your view of camping might not be what others' view of camping is but isn't the important thing that everyone has fun doing it, or did I miss something? =S

BUT MY WAY IS THE RIGHT WAY and everyone else not doing it my way makes it impossible for me to do it "the right way." Oh no wait.. got that part wrong.

[Torgent]

Honestly never understood what people saw in outdoor camping.

It's a nice way of getting away from everything. It's great for bonding with family, as there are no distractions. You can bring board games and just enjoy life. Plus, there is nothing as beautiful as waking up at sunrise with dew on the ground and birds in the trees above you. Sounds girly and lame, but it's amazing. Combine that with a cup of coffee and a log, and you've got a damn good commercial.

Also: there's something rewarding about cooking and sitting around a fire that you made with a flint (no lighters or matches). It's not something you do every weekend, but a few times per year and it's really refreshing.

[Hanto]

I assumed camping was basically going out into the woods with whatever and staying there for the weekend or however long with whatever you wanted (tents, campers, RVs, whatever). When I was kid, my folks used to take me and my bro camping in the forest for various weekends and we had tents, a tarp or two and some more modern stuff like those propane burners and whatnot. It was a ton of fun overall!

Anyway, I don't think camping has a specific method since there seems to be a broad amount of ways to do it; the common thread being living(or surviving for some) in the outdoors for a few days.

[Sevyvia]

So I see alot of people consider going to a parking lot with electricity ran to every "camp site," and sitting around a fire for 3 days call this camping. It's annoying, back in my day if you went camping you went into the woods somewhere far away from society and actually rough it. If you wanted a shower you went into the lake or the river that was near your site. You fished for most of your food and you slept on the ground maybe in a tent. not a camper with all the amenities of home.

the point of camping is to disconnect yourself from society and technology. Taking electronics with you is cheating and not camping.

So, basically, what you're saying is that you're right and everyone else is wrong. That's a unique position in human history. We should record this moment.

[Kellhound]

Camping is driving your 4X4 as far as you can off-improved road and living without any technology that post dates 1915 as much as possible. Anything else isn't camping, but that doesn't mean people don't enjoy it.

[daenerys]

People going out in their campers may be taking their preferred vacation, but it is definitely not camping. To me camping implies no more electricity than the batteries needed to power flashlights and other small devices used sparingly.

[Emageht Tsoluoy]

So... camping is only the way OP claims it is then?

Lets get real then.

Camping is only when people walk out into the woods without any sustenance, shelter, or protection, and live in the woods for weeks with only the clothes on their backs to comfort them. none of this sissy 'north face' down parka comfort either. you gotta use burlap sacks and belts made of poison ivy.

[Florena]

If you like to rough it while camping, fair enough. Don't stress out over how other people do it. If you don't like it, then just ignore them and go camping in the woods your way. No reason to get worked up over it.

[Cosmic Janitor]

So... camping is only the way OP claims it is then?

Lets get real then.

Camping is only when people walk out into the woods without any sustenance, shelter, or protection, and live in the woods for weeks with only the clothes on their backs to comfort them. none of this sissy 'north face' down parka comfort either. you gotta use burlap sacks and belts made of poison ivy.

Your undies have to be made of poison ivy and moss, the belt needs to be made out of self made hemp of some critters guts which you caught, killed and skinned yourself.

[Charge me Doctor]

Honestly never understood what people saw in outdoor camping.

fresh air, privacy, to do physical work.
And personally, i just want to be in a harsh environment

[Dispraise]

How the hell does one "cheat" at going on a holiday? It's not real camping if you enjoy it? Can you list the demonstrable benefits of sleeping on a pile of rocks? And wouldn't it be more real if you were catching your fish barehanded, and eating them raw? Drinking stream water, and hoping you don't die of dysentery?

[Charge me Doctor]

How the hell does one "cheat" at going on a holiday? It's not real camping if you enjoy it? Can you list the demonstrable benefits of sleeping on a pile of rocks? And wouldn't it be more real if you were catching your fish barehanded, and eating them raw? Drinking stream water, and hoping you don't die of dysentery?

It's just people who do "oldschool" camping butthurt over people who do "wrong" camping (probably because "oldschool" ones can't afford things that "wrongdoers" do). Seriously, it doesn't matter as long as you have fun

[Alvito]

People camp for different reasons. I have gone RV camping and I have also taken only what i could carry miles into the mountains and camped. It depends on my mood, where I am going, who I am going with and how long I will be there. Sometimes I just want to get out of the city for a night or weekend so anything will do. If you are staying out at the sand dunes in the desert then an RV is pretty much needed. Enjoy whatever you do and let others do the same.

[Tradewind]

I miss going camping, being so close to the mountains makes it even better. Favourite spot is about a 2km hike from the drop off/parking, around a lake and base of the mountains. Amazing spot, right next to a glacial run off too so you can get some wicked clear and cold water, don't even need to boil it. Also works great as a fridge. Just put your perishable'ish stuff in a plastic bag, tie it down and dunk the bag into the stream.

Think I need to go there this summer.

[Independent voter]

I do both types of camping. There's a lot of wilderness around here, government owned and sometimes we backpack way out into the middle of nowhere, maybe fish or just enjoy the scenery.

Then there's car camping where you often take a dirt road out to a place and unload the car to make camp. You bring ice chests with beer and whatever.

Dogs go crazy because they can hear all the wildlife that hangs around camping spots looking for free meals. They whine all night long and don't get much sleep.