’I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. You’re doing a heck of a job. You cut your teeth here, right? That’s where you started practicing? That’s good. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me.’
—George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., May 27, 2004
I don’t quite understand why the topic “Planning a Camping Trip” is located under Stock Markets and Brokers. I am yet to figure out the logic – any help someone? Meanwhile, read the review;-)
Imagine a world where you are away from civilization, where showers and water closets are worse than ones in Indian Railways, where Internet is a new word, cell phones simply stop ringing and there are jungles all around. Imagine a forest filled with deer or bears if you please, a lake to boat, a trail to hike, a fire to light up and cook that barbeque you always dreamed of. Indeed, a wonderfully enjoyable experience, Camping is one the best outdoor fun one can achieve.
But to have the fun, you need to prepare – sigh, and that is where Camping begins to get difficult. Unless you are not fully prepared for camping, chances are you will spend the night wondering if your tent will fall apart or fly away in winds; of course, on a stormy night the additional fear of a lightning striking your tent is equally scary;-). However who can stop nature, and one doesn’t quite decide to camp outdoors with air conditioner in tents. Anyhow, coming to the basic essentialities for camping, some key points to ponder(not just ponder but acted upon too!), are –
Place
Of course, some may suggest downtown Cleveland as an exotic place to c-), but I suggest using the internet more. The internet is a good place to start hunting for camp grounds, where err…you can camp! Remind yourself as to what level of camper are you – beginner, intermediate or advanced. If you are beginner, its more sensible to choose places where you don’t run into snakes or bears in forests. You want to survive your first camping, may as well choose a safer bet to do it.
If you are adventurous enough, you can go in for back country camping, which by the way means that the government is not responsible if a hungry bear found you attractive. Back country camping is true “nomadic” camping in real sense – u actually get to stay in forests and fend yourself from fauna. For simpler fun, choose normal camping.
Do you have lights? Showers? Rest rooms? Yeah - many camps have all this and more. Its your decision – whether you want to live in a “resort” style camp or just camp. I figure that except for normal necessities, a base camp is a more enjoyable experience.
Insecticides
You need a good pest / insect repellant spray when you are camping. Most usually, a camping spot also has a trail to explore. The trails can be several miles, and can be covered in trees, thorns and exotic insects which you may not have seen in your biology books. It makes sense to carry an insect repellant with you so that at least “some” of the exotic ones don’t bite you. Of course, don’t carry a scented insect repellant in a bear forest – bears are “attracted” by the smell;-). And yeah, please wear jeans and covered clothing to hike to save yourself – we learnt it the hard way – (On a tangent, I got bitten by a insect very early on in the hike after which no other insect bit me – I guess it was a insect repellant insect! Please find some if you are lucky!).
Cooking
Of course you will cook – I don’t assume you did survive like rishimunis on fruits and honey in forest. You need a charcoal burner, grills and other assorted things you may want to cook. Chicken barbeque is a great idea in forests devoid of bears(Yeah, you might notice, bears seem to be my favorite animals…), and your charcoal burner will help you do that. Firewood is also useful to make a camp fire (A touch of Bush eh?), as well has uses for cooking. For the un-initiated, there are always ready made foods you can carry out there – especially MTR based foods.
Try to keep your cooking simple – you came here to enjoy nature, not wonder how many spoons of oil you need for exact taste of Delhi Darbar. Pick some basic utensils which might be good to cook on charcoal. Use throw-ables as much as you can – helps you clean up later.
Clothes
Depends from person to person – if you are a person who likes to move closets together, god help you. Others know the meaning of light travel. Never forget a rain jacket and umbrella – you never know the weather in forest.
Maps, Gps Locator
Heh! heh! What if you get lost in the forest and come across a bear nest?
Tent!
Of course the most important thing for camping is mentioned last in this review – and that is the tent. Choose a tent wisely;-). You get tents of different sizes and different makes; make sure it avoids rain, and has plenty of openings for air. Study the instruction guide carefully and take every single item that might be needed in setting up the tent, especially hammers.
Your tent must not only be secure, but also be able to hold you through the nights – you cannot afford to get up in morning and see your tent missing;-)(okay, that’s exaggeration). Take your bedding appropriately - its impossible to attain luxuries of home, hence choose your bedding which allows you to sleep wisely!
Setting up a tent is a great fun, and it’s a good learning experience. If you don’t know how to set up a tent, practice it at home!
Weather
Check your weather before you travel, and weather at the camp. You don’t want to get caught in a late night thunderstorm or high winds. Believe me, it is damn scary.
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Camping can be great fun – the fun of living outdoors, and activities make camping a truly refreshing and recharging experience. If you haven’t camped, you are missing something then!
PS: This review was mainly written with United States in mind, sigh! I wish I had camped elsewhere, though the basics should remain same!
Happy Camping!
’I’m honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.’
—George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 25, 2004