After this morning's workout (intervals – I hate intervals), the FBIL and I were sitting on his front porch, drinking water and shooting the breeze. We started talking camping.

There are two kinds of camping that I like, and they are almost polar opposites.

I love lightweight camping, either backpacking or touring bicycle or long-range canoeing or whatever. Carry everything with you, under your own power. Pare your needs to a minimum, cooking with a canteen cup and a spork. Bring two pairs of socks and alternate. It's a wonderful challenge, and it really gets you back to the more primitive state of nature. You can get so far away from civilization, it's unbelievable.

I love heavyweight camping. This is the kind of camping that requires you to park your car no more than 100 yards from where you'll be camping. If it's any further away from the parking lot, you need either a heavily-laden canoe or a pack mule. You've got an air mattress, a camp chair, and a screened pavilion in addition to your tent that's bigger than a medieval peasant's home. You've got an iron skillet, an iron dutch oven, and a coleman stove in case the weather gets unpleasant. You get the fun of being outside and seeing nature, while also brewing some perfectly good coffee every morning before cooking the bacon and eggs and buscuits after a night sleeping in such a way that you didn't get acquainted with the tree roots under the tent.

And for me, there's no fun in the middle ground. I either want to be comfortable, or I want to be so uncomfortable that the suffering is part of the experience.

As Hil is not an experienced camper, I think we'll be starting out with the comfy option for her. But that might not stop the FBIL and I from doing something more hard-core. We're competitive enough that we were talking about having a backpack weigh-off at the trailhead.

Posted by: Boviate at 11:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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