How do I camp?

[wolfpackjeeper]

If you are backpacking then avoid stuff in cans. Why pack in the extra weight? Rember a pound of steak weighs just as much as pound of crappy beef stew, and I do not have to pack the can back out. I eat good on the trail. A frozen stake will make it at least as far as day one just fine, and is still probably frozen in the center on day two if you pack it right. Get the vacuum sealed ones. Add a carrot and some potato in a tinfoil sack and throw it in the coal for a bit. Makes a great meal. Rice cooks well, and if you dice up some chicken and put it in a ziplock baggie with some condensed creamy soup then freeze it, it cooks well on the trail.

Bagels pack great as a bread. And if you buy the right coffeepot they can be stored nicely. Get some squeeze jelly and some peanut butter (put in a squeeze tube, the camping store sells them) there is a quick lunch. I know a lot of guys who liked tuna, especially now that it comes in mylar pouches instead of cans.

I am also a firm believer that the guy who invented Ziplock baggies should be canonized as the patron saint of camping.

Also, while hiking, the fun sized baby ruth and snickers bars are good to keep in a pouch you can reach for a quick energy boost. Just as much energy as a powerbar and they taste better. Little boxes of raisins are good too.

I am much more of a hiker than a car camper. And I was an eagle scout. I will be out at SERE school sometime over the summer, so that should be cool up until the POW training.

 

[Cnickgo]

Couple of my thoughts after thumbing through the thread:

1. As someone mentioned, try to go on a trip with an experienced camper. It is the best way to learn.

2. You are in NJ, most likely you will be going into the Whites. This is a heavy trafficked area, please read and follow Leave No Trace principles.

3. I highly recommend taking several car-camping trips before attempting a backpacking trip. Go to a campground (not a KOA) for a weekend to test our your gear and learned skills. Backpacking as your first trip WILL be miserable, for you and others around you. Backpacking requires a lot more planning and experience.

4. Ground-cloths are important to protect your tent floor. They should be no wider than your tent. Any tent you buy other than from Walmart, you can buy a groundcloth specifically made for that tent. Also, for most people, a 4-man tent sleeps 2+ gear comfortably. Understand that if you sleep 4 grown-ups in a 4-man tent, you will be shoulder to shoulder. I don't like my buddies that much

5. A sleeping pad is not only important for your comfort but insulating you from the ground. Foam pads work fine! As far as sleeping bags go, a decent investment will serve you for years to come. An easy trick to stay warm is to wear a beanie/toboggan to reduce the heat-loss from your head. Strip down as much as you feel comfortable in your bag. Wearing clothes inside a sleeping bag can cause you to overheat, sweat, and therefore become cold. Stuff your clothes for the next day at the foot of your bag so they aren't freezing the next morning!

6. Cooking. If you are car camping, get a classic Coleman stove : http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=3000000492&categoryid=2020&brand= If you can't find someone with experience to teach you how to use one, buy from an outfitter and have them show you. Those stoves are almost impossible to destroy, and will expand your menu from hot-dogs over the fire.

Most importantly, make sure to leave all iPods, gameboys, and computers in the car, turn off the cell phones, and have a great time with your family. Take plenty of pictures!

 

[mrmikey32]

off topic: i wonder how many eagle scouts have responded to this thread so far.

I made life and almost eagle. never got to finish my service project...

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Cub scouts.. never went on to boy scoutswl:

 

[mrmikey32]

Ohhh, and never forget your heaters when you go camping.

the two on the outside are certified and trained snow rescue dogs.

 

[Jeepman401]

If you are looking for a quality tent, check ebay. This time of year manufacturers are introducing new models, and discontinuing older ones. You can usually find some great deals. I picked up a 4 season tent a few years ago. List price on it was $520, I paid $35= shipping, it was set up in the store as a display model.

off topic: i wonder how many eagle scouts have responded to this thread so far.

I am, I still stay involved too

I did some backpacking in NM back in 2000 when they had the drought and all the bear attacks. We were super careful about that.

Philmont? I was out there in 02 during the fires

 

[asp]

I am, I still stay involved too

Philmont? I was out there in 02 during the fires

i will get involved again when i settle down. i'm not in one place often enough and i don't have the time to devote to it that it requires. within the next 5 years or so i will.

i never got to philmont

 

[beakie]

almost forgot this golden rule;
piss before you goto sleep!!!!

and a helpful tidbit of info;
on a cold night, eat something before bed, your body will stay warmer while it works at digesting the food, peanut butter on pita bread will take a while to digest and is a slow burning protein so it will serve you well the next morning.

 

[Boatwrench]

Not an eagle scout... I was a scout but my troop was more focused on picking on each other and being popular than camping/hiking really.

As everyone has said, there is a reason cotton is nicknamed "death cloth."

As for food points you made, yeah, definitely... another of the favorites among me and my crew is dinty moore beef stew, throw it in a stock pot and heat it up (add a can of baked beans if you all want to suffer.) Bring a loaf of bread and use it to swab out your bowls and the pot afterwards, tastes great and reduces the amount of scrubbing you have to do. Burgers/dogs are always great because you can grill em up and not really worry about cleanup quite as much.

Bacon grease can be reused when making pancakes so you don't have to bring butter for the griddle/pan.

:yelclap:

 

[Boatwrench]

As for the egg idea, I usually take a nalgene bottle with the eggs, so I don't have to worry about a bag breaking in my backpack. Scrambled eggs do make for a difficult to clean mess in the pan though. I will have to try the boiling in a plastic bag trick, but I wouldn't pack it in the bags. I have a high distrust of anything liquid in a tearable or breakable container inside my backpack.

Cut an orange in half and scoop out the orange meal leaving the rind to form a bowl. Pour the scrambled raw egg into the rind and then set into the campfire's coals/embers. The eggs cook and have a slight orange flavor, but no clean up.

 

[wolfpackjeeper]

Philmont? I was out there in 02 during the fires

Yea, and when we were out there one of the things we kept talking about was how bad the fires were going to get if one ever started. That place had ravines 200' deep piled thick with dead fall.

 

[SteveT]

'Nuff said

 

[Jeepman401]

Cut an orange in half and scoop out the orange meal leaving the rind to form a bowl. Pour the scrambled raw egg into the rind and then set into the campfire's coals/embers. The eggs cook and have a slight orange flavor, but no clean up.

You can cook muffins that way too, or a favorite of mine, brownies in a orange, just leave a bit more of the orange in the rind.

Ever cook bacon and eggs in a paper bag?

Yea, and when we were out there one of the things we kept talking about was how bad the fires were going to get if one ever started. That place had ravines 200' deep piled thick with dead fall.

I want to go back someday, my trek came into base camp over the tooth on the last day, but I blew out my knee the day before and had to get a ride back into base camp.
plus I can go climb baldy, they had such a poor excuse why we couldn't last time, something about needing to walk through a wall of fire to get there :roflmao:

 

[wolfpackjeeper]

My group was filled with piss and vinegar teenagers who all talked about seeing a bear and what we would do with it when we saw one. Usually talking about a new rug and claw necklace or some such idea. Then the day we saw a black bear, the other guys freaked out and the leaders decided we would just finish out our hike into base camp that day since we were only supposed to have a five mile last day anyway.

Of course, had they looked at the update to their map, they would have realized that the reasonably strait route in had been changed to mile long switchbacks that took us an extra 12 miles instead of 5. 21 mile day at the end of a 10 day trek anyone?

 

[bigalpha]

Always let someone know where you are going and when to expect you back. This way, if you encounter that bear and you are unable to make it into a rug or keychain, someone will know where to send that search party.

edit: Or you could be like this guy, who is really manly.

 

[jth877]

Guns. Lots of guns. LOL!

Seriously, if you are in the deep woods, nothing if going to save you like a .22 rifle if something happens. I take a .22 for plinking fun, a 30-06 and whatever handgun I feel like bringing. My friends do the same and we have a great time. Make sure the sleeping bag is rated for at least 20 degree BELOW the temp at which you expect to be camping in. Also a pad to insulated yourself from the ground. Bacon is a must! Cook ur home fries in the bacon grease.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Guns. Lots of guns. LOL!

Seriously, if you are in the deep woods, nothing if going to save you like a .22 rifle if something happens. I take a .22 for plinking fun, a 30-06 and whatever handgun I feel like bringing. My friends do the same and we have a great time. Make sure the sleeping bag is rated for at least 20 degree BELOW the temp at which you expect to be camping in. Also a pad to insulated yourself from the ground. Bacon is a must! Cook ur home fries in the bacon grease.

Guns are not required for camping. but please plan ahead. If you are going somewhere far from civilization.. and you KNOW there could be bears/Mountain lions.. then yes, a rifle would be smart to have with you.

Honestly,.... I rarely bring mine. I've never so much as seen a deer where i go, its just to heavily populated with Humans..

 

[buzzbombxj]

There is a ton of good advice here, but one thing I don’t think has been said. Unless you are going in or out of the tent at that exact moment, keep it zipped! All sorts of creepy crawly things will end up in there, along with a bunch of misquotes that you won’t notice until you are trying to sleep

 

[jth877]

Guns are not required for camping. .

Heretic!

 

[urban yan]

Never chop wood drunk.
I lost allot of friends that day.