I hate camping

[riser4]

and get super drunk while the kids roam free.

And that's a bad thing how?

[KQ]

Can he get us a discount?

Well he died back in '86 but as a past chairman he did get a lifetime 30% discount. I lobbied unsuccessfully several times in my youth for the ability to use it but he was felt it was meant only for him to use (didn't want to abuse the privilege). I know he did use it for Christmas presents for us kids - skis/boots/etc.

One of the cool things about Dad being at REI was that we would get prototype equipment to test. I remember when he brought home one of the first generation dome tents - it was the wildest thing we'd ever seen and boy did we love it. It was bright yellow with a grey floor and the poles were stiff fiberglass. A bit hard to get the poles together and with use the female ends would crack and split.

Was there a book written about him? I read a book about REI and a guy that rose to the top. Very interesting read. Made it to the top, and crashed and burned a couple times.

No book and surprisingly very little on the internet about him considering he was an elected public official and served on the Seattle City Council (under Dixie Lee Ray). He was just a guy who loved the outdoors, joined the mountaineers and was a Scout Master - one of their big trips every year was to hike the Bailey Range in the Olympics.

Was that the second store? I remember the Anchorage store opening in 79. First one I ever went to in person.

Yeah, Berkeley in 1974 was the beginning of the great expansion. I read somewhere that they now open 4 - 7 new stores a year. Crazy.

Whittaker and my Dad were all about expansion but others weren't which is why Jim left. Here is an article that talks about the two of them as President and Chairman pushing for expansion:

Sporting Coop is Cutting Back

[warthog]

I used to camp once a month, rain or shine, snow or not. That was when I was young, with the Boy Scouts.

Did a couple 2 week treks too, one in New Mexico, one in Maine on canoes.

Now, this is how we do it:

Car camping

[XXX-er]

Best way to camp without doubt is out of a canoe.

Usually plenty of wood about on the banks so I don't feel guilty about harvesting deadfall.

Canoe is a big tub to load gear in. Real comfortable to spend a day in. Dogs like it. Fishing, wildlife encounters, remote camping and occasional white water are big pluses.

Read parts of the whole thread, but did not seen any mention of tarps. If you are canoe or car camping in NE, get good setting a tarp up.

I must say in winter I have definitely moved away from the tent to huts or day tripping from friends, hostels, hotels. Having a warm shelter is so much nicer and I seek out places that have them.

I've done both IME except for being slow on the portage Sea kayak trumps canoe, reason being it can be cold and raining sideways but I'm totally protected in the kayak, a good gortex shell kept me dry but I would end up sitting in a wet seat so now its the gortex dry suit with the built in feet which is just fucking awesume AND I don't have to paddle with that ass hole in the bow/stern

an amusing chateau cardboard, a flask of scotch and a bag of dope for when the booze is all gone which usually seems to run out about 10 days in

You definatley need a good tarp IME the super lightweight silicon tarps are the shit for living under when I get to shore and based on the last trip a spare tarp is a really good idea

I usually don't do any cooking on a gas stove, all the cooking is done on the beach fire which also keeps me warm

shit in the inter-tidal zone wipe yer ass with a piece of seaweed and douche with a mild saline solution AKA ... the pacific ocean

2 days of laundry? I'm out on the edge of canada and I won't see anyone for 3 weeks, before the awesume dry suit I wore light nylon pants which got completely saturated multiple times with saltwater so they could stand up on their own, its usually so fucking cold I'm wearing everything I brought, if got extra clothes I brought too many clothes SO one set for being out there and one set in the truck


yeah the winter camping just sounds like more shit to buy and still be fucking cold ... ski huts for me eh?

[hatchgreenchile]

As a younger buck, I did it wrong. Freeze dried food, overweighted packs, no beer, no hammock and way too many miles in a day. That blows.
Now, we'll bring some brew, some kabobs for dinner, mangos and eggs for breakfast and chill in the hammock. Maybe a summit of two nearby and a little fishing to catch dinner. It's awesome.
This is where we were last weekend. Nice and quiet and away from everything.

[El Chupacabra]

I like hot showers and a comfy bed. Also don't like campgrounds full of people and noise.

Solution : 4wd truck with camper on it. Water heater, fridge/freezer, electric light, queen bed, outside shower, sink, stove (inside plus one we attach to the big propane tank and cook outside), BBQ grill. Drive to remote spot, day hike or mountain bike, return to quiet camp, clean up, hang out in camp chairs with a cold beer. Perfect.

Oh, also recommend living somewhere in the West. Lots of public open land and few biting bugs.

[Dhelihiker]

White people problems

[BmillsSkier]

I used to camp once a month, rain or shine, snow or not. That was when I was young, with the Boy Scouts.

Did a couple 2 week treks too, one in New Mexico, one in Maine on canoes.

Now, this is how we do it:

Car camping

Boom.

I owe so much of my love of the outdoors and camping/backpacking knowledge to the Scouts. Philmont was an unreal experience.

Love having the N. GA mountains and the AT about 45 mins from me now, just getting back into some camping - car/tent with day hikes and a few overnight backpacks thrown in. It's nice to be back... but it's also nice to have a giant cooler of icy cold beer within arms reach of my fireside camp chair.

[Timberridge]

White people problems

Come to think of it, I've never seen any black folks camping.

Its kinda like lacrosse, only whites do it.

[skifishbum]

Best way to camp without doubt is out of a canoe.

Usually plenty of wood about on the banks so I don't feel guilty about harvesting deadfall.

Canoe is a big tub to load gear in. Real comfortable to spend a day in. Dogs like it. Fishing, wildlife encounters, remote camping and occasional white water are big pluses.

Read parts of the whole thread, but did not seen any mention of tarps. If you are canoe or car camping in NE, get good setting a tarp up.

I must say in winter I have definitely moved away from the tent to huts or day tripping from friends, hostels, hotels. Having a warm shelter is so much nicer and I seek out places that have them.

driftboats their like canoes only they hold more, maneuver easier, and fish better out of
not to mention the ability to trance dance and stay dry

[iceman]

That's their prerogative.

[BigDaddy]

You get the beast in there, too?

And is that the start of a Lewis and Clark reenactment? (Who also had a Newfie on board with them).

[skifishbum]

swampin a 2 night 2 boat trip
2 coolers 5 tents 7 pads/bags and the assorted creature comforts that make camping a little less roughin it
but not to the point of glampin
way to soy and for rich poseurs
no pooch
but seamans his hero

that dogs a happy camper and is happiest on the water
spassin out now as i load the campin gear to head out this weekend
the wifes into it but rain harshens her mellow and doesn't do winter
after the army it's hard to have a shitty camp trip

[SB]

Thats one loaded rig, almost looks like it has to be ballasted down to keep from tipping like a cow.

[BigDaddy]

Great pic and pup... love having a happy wing man on field trips.

[KQ]

Come to think of it, I've never seen any black folks camping.

Its kinda like lacrosse, only whites do it.

That's because they are out climbing Denali. And BTW - Lacrosse is a sport that was invented by and played by Native Americans. Plenty of ppl of color play the sport. In Historic First, Native American Brothers Win Lacrosse Trophy






First All-African American Team Climbs Denali

[warthog]

I owe so much of my love of the outdoors and camping/backpacking knowledge to the Scouts. Philmont was an unreal experience.

Boy Scout talk gets bashed around here. All these tough guys are self taught.
I mentioned that I still put Eagle Scout on my resume, and people shit themselves. They just don't understand what it means.

I was the leader of one of those Philmont crews. Had 8 guys and 2 adult leaders with us, but I was in charge the whole time. I was 15. One of the greatest experiences of my life. Wish I had the time to do something like that now.

Having 2 girls, I will not be able to be involved with Scouts. Girl Scouts is not an option. My girls will learn it from me, like I learned it from the older guys in my troop.

I will have to post the good photos of our beach camping. That is what we really like to do the most. Car camping six because it is in an RV hell. Bathrooms are nice, showers are nice too, but I don't want to see or hear people. We are really lucky to have a bunch of spoil islands here that we can camp on. One is really close to a boat launch, so I shuttle people back and forth on the boat. We usually have 3 or 4 dads and 5-7 kids with 2-3 boats. Fishing, tubing, wake boarding by day, smokes, bourbon, and skirt steaks on the open fire by night. The only thing that six is cleaning sugar sand out of everything months later.

[neufox47]

I don't like camping in campgrounds anymore unless it is in a National Park or somewhere that you just can't get to without camping. Also, I prefer to walk or canoe to a spot, setup my hammock, enjoy being the only person / group there. The boundary waters were awesome. Need to go back.

[grrrr]

Started in Boy Scouts also. Quit pretty much right away when I found out there was more meetings, badges and bullshit than camping. Instead just started solo-ing at 13. Did my first week long solo trip at 14.

I get a kick out of the weekend warrior camping history in this thread. My longest sojourn in a 2 man tent was 7 months. That took me well into an Alaskan winter. An average year for me now is 60 days, although I am getting paid to do that.

Had a 5th wheel. (Not camping). Car camped. (Barely camping). Going to do 2 weeks this fall on the G650, mostly because I've got to go back to the PNW, and frankly I hate flying.

[Timberridge]

Holy Filipino fishing boats Batman!

Btw. KQ, less than 3% of Men's Division 1 lacrosse players are people "of color," and of that less than 2% are black. That's not "plenty." There may be more blacks at NASCAR races.

Now back to camping.

[GeezerSteve]

Several of my hiking/climbing/ski touring buds are Eagle Scouts and/or NOLS grads, and all of them are very good campers. I'm self-taught. There are several ways to develop camping chops.

I cannot imagine not camping out of a backpack 30+ nights/year, most off-trail miles from the nearest party, at least two 7+ day trips each year. Now that semi-retirement is a couple weeks away, I hope to ramp that up to 40 or 50 days/year. (We also camp in a pop-up camper as a base for day ski tours, lift-served skiing, scrambles, etc. -- Four Wheel Camper, ordering a new one today -- but backpacking vs. vehicle camping is apples vs. oranges.)

What am I doing wrong?

If you gotta ask. . . . Backpacking can be uncomfortable for noobs, but it's comfy -- even with lightweight gear -- after you develop camping chops. A few ideas off the top of my head: Get and learn to use an ultralight silnylon tarp for those rainy camps. Figure out the food thing. Get a comfy lightweight mattress, e.g., Exped Synmat UL 7 or NeoAir. Consider a sleeping quilt or pad sleeve bag (e.g., Big Agnes).

[KQ]

Holy Filipino fishing boats Batman!

Btw. KQ, less than 3% of Men's Division 1 lacrosse players are people "of color," and of that less than 2% are black. That's not "plenty." There may be more blacks at NASCAR races.

.

Well hopefully that and ppls attitudes will change

Inner City Lacrosse

[char]

I get my best sleep camping in the woods. Once I got a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core it's like sleeping in my own bed.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I recommend either:

A) staying in a hut
or
B) pitching your tent nowhere near other humans.

If being alone in a beautiful place isn't worth minor inconvenience and discomfort, you'll probably like golf or another similarly undignified past time.

[bigAK]

But man I got memories of living in the woods all summer, hitch hiking across OR/WA/ID/MT/WY/ND/SD/MN/MI/WI backpacking around the Missions, Bob Marshall amd Pintlers. Gorging on trout fished from lakes up in cirques in the Rockies and Cascades...all cold and scratched and lumpy sleeping scared of bears or hobos or weirdos railyard sneaking. Soaking cold and wet in the Coast Range by Siletz as it was being torn down, stamping in the dark morning trying to keep warm. Dizzled amazed up in da UP blazing in the Porkies. Planting trees down by Stevenson, WA, cutting Xmas trees in November in Oregon living under tarps.

This. I feel very fortunate to have grown up getting dropped off by planes or boats in the middle of nowhere and kayaking or hiking around for 1-2 weeks, barely seeing a soul (if at all). Absolutely terrified me every time that link to the world disappeared over the horizon, but the adventuring and feeling of accomplishment that followed makes up for all the suffering and miserable moments. So glad it was important to my parents and that they didn't let some little snot-nose kid get in the way. Enjoyed a lot of long solo trips over the years since - carrying and providing everything (including entertainment) for one's self is a whole other experience - and now have a great lady-partner to adventure with in and out of civilization. Ain't no place I'd rather be than sleeping in a tent.

Whiskey/bourbon has an excellent weight:drunk ratio...