Camping Tips

[onza]

If you don't have a water purification pump I suggest bringing some tablets as well.

 

[bigi]

Better firestarter:

Take cotton swabs and massage a bunch of Vaseline into them. They will burn long and slow, take up very little space, don't weight much, and will light in any weather.

Marked for next trip!!!:biggrin:

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yep. Knife, flame, shelter, food, firearm.

I gots my 9mm yo. Should be good enough for bear right? Boom! Headshot! Mmmmmonster kill!!!

 

[ViviTheMage]

I am surprised so many people use blow up mattresses ... not sure that's camping .

Put a few miles on new hiking shoes, you do not want to put 10-15 miles on the first day, with fresh shoes ... it will hurt.

 

[The_Dude8]

Get a good pair of trekking poles if you're backpacking, easy on the knees when you're going down hill.

 

[Redfraggle]

Lesson: Bears like Doritos too.

My mother learned they also like gum and toothpaste. So hint: put all that shit away with the food, and don't leave it in your pack.

 

[Redfraggle]

Ok Dirty Harry. You pack that giant handgun and associated giant ammo in your backpack just in case you run into a bear that is just looking for food. Let me know if you ever actually run into a bear and how that gun works out for you. And you say we are out of our fucking minds, haha. Like you said in your final paragraph, any handgun you bring on a backpacking trip is useless weight.

Pretty much this. Most people are fucking morons and will just end up with a false sense of confidence with that handgun and get dead or shoot a campmate.

*note: I am not an anti-gun nut, I just think taking one backpacking is stupid and dangerous.

 

[BoomerD]

The old saying, "I don't have to be able to out run the bear...I just have to be able to out run YOU," well, a handgun merely ensures that...shoot your camping buddy...let HIM deal with the bear.

 

[ShawnD1]

The old saying, "I don't have to be able to out run the bear...I just have to be able to out run YOU," well, a handgun merely ensures that...shoot your camping buddy...let HIM deal with the bear.

Actually most bear attacks are related to territory and the bear being afraid of you. If your friend goes down, the bear will chase and kill you as well.

Bears with cubs are the most dangerous thing you'll encounter.

 

[DrPizza]

A gun while camping is all but useless unless it's in a position where you can fire it within seconds. If you see the wildlife and it hasn't already charged you, then you generally have time to back away. If you see a big brown bear and it's charging toward you (40mph?) then the best you're probably going to do with that gun is leave a blood trail for the conservation officers to follow as they search for the man killer. Then again if it's late summer/early fall, with all the fat, wounded bears are often very difficult to track - the fat clogs the wound & they stop leaving a blood trail.

As far as black bears, if there's an issue, it's the fault of humans. Both types of bears generally avoid humans when they can - they don't actively stalk humans. (Good thing!) Usually a little noise scares them off. Then again, if you're too noisy, you don't get the opportunity to experience that wildlife close up. I've been within feet of black bears a couple of times; both times are permanently etched in my mind. One was because I stalked a deer that was making a rub on a tree - it was a bear itching its back; ooops! The second time, some other noisy people (dirt bikes) scared a momma bear and her cub. They ran straight up the trail I was walking down. I was just barely off the trail, leaning against a tree. I could almost have reached out and touched the momma bear.

--

Another tip - not for backpack camping; but for family style camping: if you have a deep fryer at home, when you change the oil, save the old oil. I have almost 2 gallons to take on our trip this summer. It's like using kerosene to start a fire. If your fire is barely going, the wood is a little damp/green, and you want a roaring fire & then hot coals to cook some food over, splash some oil on the fire. It's a lot safer than charcoal lighter, and doesn't have the smell of petroleum products (diesel, kerosene, or if you're a nutcase, gasoline.)

Therefore, the ideal thing to bring camping with you is an extra "friend" who can't run as fast as you can. And, you don't have to carry them.

 

[Oyeve]

Bring a bigass knife and be prepared to use it. I go camping all the time and always bring my razor sharp machete. other than the obvious uses it wards off drunken idiots who wander near your site. Nothing sobers up a drunken dickwad than the sight of me with my beard, half naked running at you with my freaking machete screaming like a madman.

 

[dank69]

Bring a bigass knife and be prepared to use it. I go camping all the time and always bring my razor sharp machete. other than the obvious uses it wards off drunken idiots who wander near your site. Nothing sobers up a drunken dickwad than the sight of me with my beard, half naked running at you with my freaking machete screaming like a madman.

Oh, so THAT'S why spidey/boomer bring their gun. :awe:

 

[Redfraggle]

Another thing I learned -- no matter what pan you use, powdered eggs WILL stick to it. Bring some ground meat and mix the two up and make meatloaf in the fire instead. You can wrap it in bacon (it burns but your meatloaf doesn't) and then in foil.

DrPizza -- do you get your "friend" to carry the gallons of oil to make him extra tasty to the bears?

 

[DrPizza]

Another thing I learned -- no matter what pan you use, powdered eggs WILL stick to it. Bring some ground meat and mix the two up and make meatloaf in the fire instead. You can wrap it in bacon (it burns but your meatloaf doesn't) and then in foil.

DrPizza -- do you get your "friend" to carry the gallons of oil to make him extra tasty to the bears?

lol. And, I wouldn't bother trying to carry that oil while backpack camping. There are a lot of other, slightly more time consuming, but effective methods of getting a roaring fire going.

 

[Redfraggle]

lol. And, I wouldn't bother trying to carry that oil while backpack camping. There are a lot of other, slightly more time consuming, but effective methods of getting a roaring fire going.

Bears like car camping too, if you go in the right places.

But yes, there are many effective ways to start a fire without that oil. I think birch bark is among my favorites in a pinch.