So... why the hell do people camp?

[GripR]

When I took an interest in joining the boy scouts at age 7, my parents told me it was a weird thing white people did, so I didnt join.We have climate controlled buildings with big cushy beds, wireless Internet, and flush toilets. Why do people insist on camping, when we've spent thousands of years putting nature in her place?

My grandfather goes camping, but thats for fishing. Where he's at in rural Thailand, there isn't exactly a Wal-Mart nearby with prepackaged lobster.

I'm not criticizing the practice. I just dont understand why Americans do it. Enlighten me!

some day when you earn your American Citizenship, you'll understand. i love camping because i love the outdoors...

[themadscientist]

Is there something you wanna tell us?

I fabulousssss!

[Fenvy]

wha? you need a reason to camp?

I talked to some people before, some people don't wnat to do it at all and some people loved to do it. I am glad me and my gf got to go yosemite and camped 2 nights there. My advice is that if you don't want to go, don't. If you are curious, why not give it a try? You really don't need a reason or incentive to do anything.

why does everything have to raise the flag of religion, sexism, racism or politics? shut the **** up about it already, geez

[GripR]

wha? you need a reason to camp?

I talked to some people before, some people don't wnat to do it at all and some people loved to do it. I am glad me and my gf got to go yosemite and camped 2 nights there. My advice is that if you don't want to go, don't. If you are curious, why not give it a try? You really don't need a reason or incentive to do anything.

why does everything have to raise the flag of religion, sexism, racism or politics? shut the **** up about it already, geez

loveless,

hey you got anything for sale?

[gabossie]

I go camping because it's damn fun. I spent many years in Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout) and I sorely miss having a chance to go camping every month. I did some really badass stuff, going snow camping, week long canoe trips down the Sacramento River, hiking through Desolation, etc. I don't know how anyone could NOT find that fun and exciting. You know what I find interesting, when I'm somewhere inside stuck without my cell phone, or internet it drives me crazy, but when I get out and go camping and don't have those ammeneties I completely forget about them.

[Oatmealman]

I actualy like camping. Down here in the stix... georgia... we go muddin*1 and at the end of the night get really trashed and build huge bon fires*2. Its a lot of fun.. or it was in high school.

*1: Muddin: A term used by southerners for takeing 4x4 vehicles off road and getting them muddy*3

*2: Bon Fire: Really big fires out of whatever you can find... and grain alcohal or shine*4

*3: Mud... is just wet dirt.

*4: Shine: Liquer thats way too strong for you yankees.

AMEN!

[Jesda]

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/08/14/128-camping/

If you find yourself trapped in the middle of the woods without electricity, running water, or a car you would likely describe that situation as a “nightmare” or “a worse case scenario like after plane crash or something.” White people refer to it as “camping.”

Ultimately the best way to escape a camping trip with white people is to say that you have allergies. Since white people and their children are allergic to almost everything, they will understand and ask no further questions. You should not say something like “looking at history, the instances of my people encountering white people in the woods have not worked out very well for us.”

SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS ME!

[krash]

I'm brown and I like camping.

Its awesome to go OUT in the woods, its dead silent and you can just hear nature. Its a pretty awesome feeling. Plus figuring out how to do things without too much technology and stuff is pretty fun. Going out there with friends and family is the best, no distractions, no interruptions, just quality chill time. But when you come back, you appreciate the hell out of that flushing toilet and cushy bed.

[raremotive]

Why go camping:

It's something else to do!

It's cheap. Some people go crazy with equipment, those are just people obsessive personalities. But I have equipment dated back to the 50's and still function like it was designed to. All of which was handed down to me. The only expense is getting there, paying for a spot, and licenses. Beyond that, it's what ever equipment you have. Also, having friends who do outdoor activities, you can always ask and they would be more than happy to loan you equipment.

It brings you back the basics. It's a reminder of where us humans have been. It takes you away from your everyday life. Where you just need food, water, warmth, and a place to sleep.

It's DIY paradise, you just come with your tools and you do the work.

It makes you appreciate things you took for granted with out realizing it. Assuming you have visited your grandfather in Thailand, you would know that feeling. Especially living in the rural parts there. Then coming back here. Big difference, and you are thankful for what you have afterward. Camping is like that minus the $1,500 ticket to get to Thailand, and the 24 hour flight/traveling time...

You get to see the natural beauty the Earth has to offer and been there long before you.

It takes away distractions, which allows you to bond with family and friends. Bond fires have always been my favorite.

As mentioned before, the night sky is amazing without the city light glow.

If you enjoy fishing, camping lets you hike out to remote areas and stay there to fish in specific lakes. It's a waste to hike in, fish a little, then hike out all in the same day.

I can't imagine myself going out in the wilderness for a few days.. and just sit around. The only reason I would camp out would be a one night hang out with family and friends. Or doing something, fishing, hiking to reach a scenic site.

It's been 5 years since I been camping, mostly because I been schooling, just too busy to go somewhere worth camping. But once I am out, I would like to get back to camping. Mostly just to add to assortment of things to do. And since camping is cheap I can do it often. But, I do not order outdoor magazines or catalogs, and the last time I browsed a sporting good store was about 2 years ago.

And I swear if you call that crazy, you have no idea... I don't choose to live out there on months end in those conditions. It's just smart. You don't hike to a remote place that has a promising chance to catch good fish, only to leave in a few hours, to hike back(which can lead you to catching no fish at all, which made the whole trip a waste). You can spend a couple days out there and get the most of your enjoyment while you are there.

And finally... I see far more races than just white people enjoying the outdoors as a recreational activity. If you truly believe that it's just a white person thing, you are truly living in your own small world.

[Jesda]

Poverty sucks. I came from it and I don't understand why people insist on recreating it. Staying in Thailand with my relatives, I sleep in a tent... INSIDE the house. The house is basically a rain shelter with some electricity. It isn't sealed from the environment. Everyone sleeps in one gigantic room. You 'shower' using a bucket that you scoop into a pool of collected rainwater and pour on yourself. You flush the toilet with the same bucket that you pour into a porcelain hole. I don't know where the sewage goes, and I don't ask. Its not all night clubs, prostitutes of dubious sexes, and beaches -- the third world f*** sucks!

I can understand if people are tired of "the grind" from commuting, being trapped in a cubicle, and tolerating stupid human beings, but past experiences have permanently cemented my appreciation for well-developed shelter and infrastructure. No need for me to make a hobby out of simulated poverty.

My enjoyment of nature involves waterfalls, lakes, walks, scenic drives, historic sites, and ancient ruins. Then at the end of the day I head to the nearest town and sleep in a hotel room. I like to see and experience the beauty of landforms and living things without being subjected to its dangers and annoyances, and that's coming from me, a big Henry David Thoreau fan. I'll read Walden or look at old travel photos if I need a reminder of how awesome drywall and air conditioning are.

[Jesda]

CAN WE GET SOME f*** VERDANA ON THIS FORUM

[IanS]

Wow, this is an old one, but I guess I will chime in.

I dont like the term camping. It brings the image of a young family in some camp ground somewhere living out of the trunk of their volvo for a weekend while sleeping in a tent.

The BWCA equals real camping.

I hate the city. The smell, the people, the traffic, and all the nasty that comes with it. I like having the internet, a computer, and a cell phone, but eh.

I dont want neighbours. I want to be able to walk out my front door, buck naked, only to start peeing off the porch, and randomly firing a shotgun into the woods, and I dont want anyone close enough to say anything.

For me, camping is getting away. Unplugging, and falling off the grid. Testing to make sure I can still hold my own against good old mother nature. Its as much as a mental reset for me as getting behind the wheel of a race car.

Everybody has their own way of letting go.

[raremotive]

Poverty sucks. I came from it and I don't understand why people insist on recreating it. Staying in Thailand with my relatives, I sleep in a tent... INSIDE the house. The house is basically a rain shelter with some electricity. It isn't sealed from the environment. Everyone sleeps in one gigantic room. You 'shower' using a bucket that you scoop into a pool of collected rainwater and pour on yourself. You flush the toilet with the same bucket that you pour into a porcelain hole. I don't know where the sewage goes, and I don't ask. Its not all night clubs, prostitutes of dubious sexes, and beaches -- the third world f*** sucks!

I been to Thailand. I stayed in a little village just outside of Nakhon Sawan for months. I know exactly what it's like. Your tent was more like a mosquito net, I didn't even have that and I wasn't enjoying it either. The pool of water is clear, and you can see the dirt on the bottom of the pool where it collects, and some how it's clean enough to splash yourself daily with it. It's also cold water. There no windows, only shutters, no A/C. I hate the squat toilets, and pray they have the water hose for each toilet. Aside from that food is everywhere, markets everyday with ready made food. You feel a sense of chaos, because the laws are so loose.

Here's the flip side for you. Camping is nothing like living in "poverty" as in Thailand. My experience of Thailand was ANYTHING like camping. Your comfort level is gauged by the equipment your bring. I don't like being in mosquitos, I bring spray-on's, candles or hang near the camp fire. Different people have different comforts. Some people can handle just a blanket to sleep in the outdoors, some a tent, some a RV, some a lodge, some a resort, and some a hotel. But I can promise you, it has nothing to do with race.

I would like you to try on your own before you pass on your judgment, and genuinely try with out predetermined failure in your mind. But again, I will not ask you to step out of what makes you comfortable.

[Bingo Jed]

I go camping on the beach.

4WD access only and a year pass is $60. It's 30 minutes from home so going out there doesn't have to be some huge dramatic production.

8-)

[Jesda]

Since you all want to get deep:

No, it has nothing to do with race, but it has everything to do with culture, which corresponds VERY frequently with race. European traditions are major reasons why the US is what it is, for better AND worse. Its a tradition of expansion, exploration, and conquering. Its a determination to control the environment, the people and animals within it, and how it operates. Its resulted in genocide, war, famine, poverty, rape, and misery, but its also provided the drive for learning, discovery, and invention on a level never before seen on earth.

That Protestant work ethic stemmed from an environment where settlers were surrounded by real fear and real uncertainty. Settlements were founded and frequently died out. They were slaughtered by natives (sometimes justifiably), killed off by harsh climates, ruined by poor planning, paranoid as f***, and subjected to the worst that nature had to offer. They had to develop 100% of their infrastructure from scratch. They didn't wait for President Johnson to build some projects for them. They did it with their hands and tools, tools they also had to make themselves.

It wasn't easy to just pack up and head back to England or New York. If you failed at building your community, you died. That's it. You fail, you eat dirt.

So yes, in America this thing with camping and "getting back to nature" is primarily a white people thing. Its a product of developing civilization so much that some people have developed a desire to run from it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Its a product of developing civilization so much that some people have developed a desire to run from it.

I completely disagree. And I actually GO camping.

For me (and every other whitey I've ever been camping with) it has NOTHING to do with wanting to "run" or "escape" from civilization and everything to do with wanting to experience as much of life as possible. I love civilization and the amenities it affords me. And I also love being able to choose to go sleep next to a fire, enjoy the fresh air and smells of nature, etc. I'm not "running" from civilization. I'm just doing something different for a bit.

And, anyway, much of camping often involves bringing some aspects of civilization with you. For me, camping conjures three smells: fire, two-cycle exhaust, and dirt. You can't tell me camping with motorcycles and 4-wheelers and dune buggies and sandrails is "running from civilization."

Camping's about not having to care about making your bed or washing your hair or any of that s*** for a bit. It's about living simpler for a bit with the sure knowledge that you can go back to your heated house when you're done. You're not escaping civilization. If anything, the enjoyment of camping is reinforced by the knowledge that civilization will still be there when you get back, but that it can wait.

I can understand you have a perspective of poverty I will (thankfully) never share, and it affects your view of something like camping. But you seem determined to see camping as an insult to people who are forced to live that way, when it's nothing of the sort. It is ENTIRELY POSSIBLE to love nature AND civilization. There are entire cities in southern Utah built about combining both of those in the best way possible. Fancy rich-people houses and shopping centers 5 minutes from beautiful geography and nature at its best.

[raremotive]

So yes, in America this thing with camping and "getting back to nature" is primarily a white people thing. Its a product of developing civilization so much that some people have developed a desire to run from it.

Camping isn't about escaping from civilization or taking it back to the roots. It's about the activities that it involves. Fishing, hiking, dirt biking, hunting, those are fun. Doesn't mean I make it my whole life. I am on car forums, not camping forums.

It's multicultural, I talked with my friends from japan, taiwan, china, and even thailand. And each say they see people go camping. Even the one from Taiwan tease the japanese friend, that a lot of Japanese come to his country and hire guides to summit the mountains.

Small world isn't it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Oh, I should add that the other HUGE point of camping is to bring people together. Spending time with good people. It's kind of like having a multi-day barbecue. Everything revolves around the campfire and the dutch oven or grill or whatever. Meals are social events, and you share that with each other. Sure, you can grill with lots of people at home, but you can't have a fire pit, and you can circle your tents around the fire, etc. It's about enjoying the simple things together with friends.

[Jesda]

Sure, my grandfather goes camping too, to get food to bring it home and eat. He's in his 80s. He probably loves the solitude, especially because the house is so open (no bedrooms) and shared with the extended family, but the free fish is a big bonus. He doesn't load up his 2010 Subaru Impreza covered in Obama stickers with $5000 of unnecessary s*** from REI to go 500 miles to a weekend campsite. He leaves on foot (we gave him a tent, which must have been nice for a change). He doesn't get to hole himself up in his den playing Warcraft for an entire weekend, so that's his "me" time.

In America, modern camping is primarily about recreational escapism. It comes from centuries of cultural influences. Read some two hundred year old guides to and observations of nature, or excerpts from Lewis and Clark's travel logs, it all comes as a result of a need to explore, know, and conquer everything in sight. In Henry David Thoreau's case, it was an opportunity for introspection. I admire his views on consumption and the occasional illogic of modern life, even though he cheated and ate cookies that his mother brought him.

And AC is nice. I'm cranking that s*** down to 65F as we speak. I'm fine with driving to a location to spend the day and then settling down in a modern structure. Not washing my hair grosses me the f*** out. I have hair (remaining) like an Italian -- my head turns into a nasty ball of slime. I naturally stink.

I once spent a weekend at a mansion in Idaho, and since then I've wanted nothing more than to live on a lake in the woods away from people. I love being among nature, but I require a fully enclosed compartment within it.

[raremotive]

Sure, and that's what you are comfortable with.

And your generalization of American camping is sad. It's not true. You are talking about a small proportion of population who does that while the rest does completely different.

[Jesda]

Its a quirk of American white culture.

Not all black people eat fried chicken, and my driving record is surprisingly clean despite being a slanteye, but its still fun to talk about. Lighten up, brosephina.

[MinisterofDOOM]

He doesn't load up his 2010 Subaru Impreza covered in Obama stickers with $5000 of unnecessary s*** from REI to go 500 miles to a weekend campsite.

I lol'd. Yeah...I've never been a fan of doing things that way either. When my dad and I go camping with friends, we're often the only ones who use a tent. Everyone else sleeps in a 5th wheel trailer. I'll often take a few gadgets (like GPS to document hiking paths) but I've never understood the "bring the house with you" thing. But then, I don't really like crowded campsites, either. I don't want to camp on a square of grass next to other people...I get that at home.

I can definitely relate to your grandfather's desire for solitude in camping. Backpacking sounds extremely fun to me. Take the necessities plus GPS and start hiking. I do also enjoy camping with lots of friends and hydrocarbon-spewing machines, though.

[raremotive]

Sure,

when you going to camping with us? Just the basic pick a site, set up tents walk, around/near a lake, cast a few lines, cook dinner, crack open a few beer bottles, make a bon fire, make smores....and pack up and leave the next day...

[Red coupe]

I don't want to camp on a square of grass next to other people...I get that at home.

Gotta be honest here man, sounds like you got a pretty shi**y house.
Maybe if you spent less time at work on Nico, and more with your nose to the grind stone you could at least afford carpeting.

[seang]

I want to camp and hike on South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan--stranded 8 miles offshore, how awesome is that? I have had a fascination with it for years now.

[astang]

Camping is fun when you do it right. If the outdoors isn't your thing then so be it. I don't think I'd be able to live like that for more than a week but I love tents, bonfires, hunting, fishing, and all the stuff like that you can do. It's also great exercise if you're hiking with a pretty heavy rucksack. It's also good bonding time away from technology. Much more old fashioned.

[numbnuts240]

I'm brown and I like camping.

Its awesome to go OUT in the woods, its dead silent and you can just hear nature. Its a pretty awesome feeling. Plus figuring out how to do things without too much technology and stuff is pretty fun. Going out there with friends and family is the best, no distractions, no interruptions, just quality chill time. But when you come back, you appreciate the hell out of that flushing toilet and cushy bed.

this. i wish i had more time to go camping. it's nice to dive into nature, hear the birds, smell the air, see the stars, cook differently, hike, fish, explore. it's a chance to switch things up a bit, keep life a bit more exciting.

[hitbychance]

camping is just another reason to get drunk

[wingFeather]

Must be enlightened individuals!

[zerepdivad]

I also once asked my parents if i could join boy scouts or some crap like that when i was younger. They also told me that it was a weird thing white people did and involved sleeping outside with no heat, and stuff like that. My mom then told me that they didn't come to this country to do the same stuff they pretty much HAD to do back home. I still don't understand it myself either. Back in Mexico i have family that we still talk to that actually has to do stuff like that. Such as my great grandmother, and grandfather. They literally walk like half a mile in the morning to get water, from a river, and they also take showers by collecting water in a bucket and scooping it out and pouring it on themselves.
I appreciate my life here a lot more after going to visit them. I get more pissed off than anybody when i hear some guy in his damn prius talking about how this country is going to s***, and how bad the economy is. I have been known to respond to people asking if they've had to wash themselves with water from a bucket this week at all. Oddly enough i have not had one person respond yes.