Dispersed (Dry) camping...

[Guest]

I really enjoy backpacking and canoe camping.
Mike and Steve... You guys really gave me a good gut wrenching laugh about the animal sounds.
Reminds me of something that happened back in the Boy Scouts...
There was a racoon scurrying around in the dry brush around our tents one night just before bedtime and a new kid got all scared... Thought Big Foot was after him.
The next morning we had a hard time waking him up because he just about layed there all night probably scared stiff as a board...

[SteveH]

"animal sounds"?

Dean,

I didn't say anything about animal sounds......I just said "sounds". If I'd known for shure they were just animal sounds, that would be OK.

[Q]

Most of my camping is in the high desert. As soon as the sun goes down it gets cool if not cold. It's not uncommon for it to get into the 90s during the day, and the low 40s at night.

Q

[Guest]

"animal sounds"?

Dean,

I didn't say anything about animal sounds......I just said "sounds". If I'd known for shure they were just animal sounds, that would be OK.

Well...
I think you are too far east for that to have been Big Foot...
I think you are too far west for that to have been the Jersey Devil...
Maybe the wind might have just fooled you a bit. ...

I've encountered bear a few times on backpacking trips...
Two times I had to bang some pots together to get them to leave the camp, as they were trying to figure out a way to get to my food which was hanging in a tree. The other times while hiking, I must have been up wind from them because they took off on a dead gallop as soon as we saw each other.
I gotta say, I had some sort of cat startle me once out of a deep sleep.
I wasn't in a tent, I was sleeping next to a log. I think it hopped over the log and was startled by my pressence... It let out a shreek that sounded like a woman's scream. All I saw was a cloud of dust in the moonlight, so I couldn't tell what type of cat it was, but most likely it was just a bobcat.
It got my adrenaline going that's for sure.
One of the neatest animal encounters I've ever had was on a backpacking trip into the Marble Mountains Wilderness Area.
I had a huge buck in velvet come right up to me when I was sleeping, or at least he thought I was sleeping...
He started whistling at me...

[TomS]

I've had some of my best primitive camping experiences while bicycle touring. I just wait until nobody is looking and simply walk or ride the bike into the woods and set up camp. Nobody will bother me because nobody knows that I'm there. Also, the animals in the area do not associate humans with food, so they never bother me.

Unfortunately, my wife refuses to camp at any place with out flush toilets and showers. So, I'm stuck using campgrounds when we're together.

[Joanne]

I started this section because there is so little information available on dispersed camping. In addition I think teardrops are perfect for dispersed camping. If anyone has any information on dispersed or dry camping, hot tos or where tos... please post it here...

Here's a starting point: some information on dispersed camping in the National Forests...
http://www.title-3.com/DryCamping.htm

Most of my friends just don't understand, but I enjoy dry camping. I'm usually self-contained when I camp so I don't need a pre-made camping spot. I wish the restroom issue was a little less of a hassle but it comes with the territory.

At the north rim of the Grand Canyon, just outside of the park is some really great dispersed camping. One time it was hunting season when I was up there (I didn't realize) and there were a lot of hunters in the area. Apart from that time I've rarely seen anyone else when I'm out there.

The other type of camping I will sometimes do is minimalist camping. I throw my camera, a sleeping bag, change of clothes, some canned tuna and bagels in the SUV and head out. Forget the tent. Forget the camp stove. Just wander wherever my curiosity leads me. I've had some great trips like that as well.

Joanne

[Arne]

Some of the most serene camping I've done is hammock camping. I put it between 2 trees, and put a tarp over it if I feel it necessary. The tarp is very light (just a sheet of plastic) and it and the hammock can go into a backpack with little trouble....

When I leave an area, unless I have a fire, no trace at all, and the ground doesn't have to be level, but tree spacing is important... and it allows me to camp where others can't. And the hammock is more comfortable than most of the ground I've slept on.

[campadk]

Some of the most serene camping I've done is hammock camping. I put it between 2 trees, and put a tarp over it if I feel it necessary. The tarp is very light (just a sheet of plastic) and it and the hammock can go into a backpack with little trouble....

When I leave an area, unless I have a fire, no trace at all, and the ground doesn't have to be level, but tree spacing is important... and it allows me to camp where others can't. And the hammock is more comfortable than most of the ground I've slept on.

Arne you must feel spoiled and pampered now with the tear!

[Arne]

Now, I don't have to carry anything on my back... and my back appreciates that... but at the time, I really did like the hammock.... I could camp just about anywhere there were trees and it didn't have to be flat..

The tear has the advantage of pretty much all weather camping...(I was working on the tear this a.m. with the heater on which was very nice).

[tdhombre]

We like to go to the more remote places and enjoy the solitude and quiet. Here is a link to a document about "dry" camping that has a lot of really good pointers in it.

http://www.phrannie.org/boondock.html

Enjoy!

[Arne]

Well, I'm back here after reading that site for about 15 minutes.... very interesting, and thank you for putting it up....

[len19070]

Getting out Dry camping is great!!

I have a trip I do every year that is an absolutly beautiful place. Just drive in the woods and stop. Have to bring in what ever you need. I mean there is NOTHING! No water, toilets ,showers....nothing. We cook over the fire and I'll bet the only thing we use a stove for is first Coffee. Great fishing..Sat. night Fish dinner. Its great. I'm thinking of inviting a few of my TearJerker friends this year.

Happy Trails

Len

[Guest]

and the one thing that I distinctly remember about it, was that it was spooky! There was NO one around, and it was absolutely quiet, except for all THOSE sounds, and totally dark. Don't think I'd want to do it in a teardrop.

Have ya ever noticed how an armadillo rustling around in the leaves after dark sounds just like an axe murderer?

G

[purplepickup]

and the one thing that I distinctly remember about it, was that it was spooky! There was NO one around, and it was absolutely quiet, except for all THOSE sounds, and totally dark. Don't think I'd want to do it in a teardrop.

Have ya ever noticed how an armadillo rustling around in the leaves after dark sounds just like an axe murderer?

G

Your talk about getting spooked by sounds in the night reminds me of a scout camping trip. In the ‘80s I was a Cub Scout leader and took a group of 9 & 10 year olds camping on my property in northern Michigan. It’s very secluded and the only sounds to be heard at night are the usual sounds for Michigan…crickets, tree frogs, cicadas, bull frogs, and an occasional coyote howling in the distant. We were all sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and they decided they wanted to tell spooky stories. Each one took their turn of telling their own versions of stories like The Headless Horseman or The Telltale Heart. I was just listening and watching and everyone was having fun. It didn’t look like anyone was getting freaked out.

Then they wanted me to tell a story. I said that to tell my story we would have to take a walk down the trail in the woods and the only light we could use would be the full moon. They already knew that having a flashlight on would ruin their night vision. We took off down the trail and the moon was very bright that night so we had no trouble seeing where we were going. I started to tell them about the swamp monster that lived in the cedar swamp down by the creek and that the only time he left the swamp was during the full moon. They all said “Yeah…sure George…..right. You’re just trying to scare us and we ain’t goin’ for it.” I told them that I’d show them the trail he took when he came up out of the swamp. It was really just a freshly installed buried gas pipeline that had been put in thru the swamp but in the full moonlight it did look like a trail going right into the darkness of the swamp. When we got to it, I think they were starting to wonder if I was fooling or not. Just as I was going to tell them it was really a pipeline, a Screech Owl let out the loudest, most blood curdling screech from a tree right over our heads. Everybody’s flashlight came on, including mine and we looked like fireflys running around in circles, not knowing where to go. We briskly walked (ran) the quarter mile back to the safety of the fire with our flashlights on and shining on anything that remotely looked like it might be a swamp monster. It took a long time to convince them that it was just an owl and there really wasn’t a monster. I was afraid that the parents would be upset but at the next pack meeting our den all got up in front and told about what a wonderful camping trip they had and that they had to protect me when we went for a walk because I was so scared.

Those kids are all grown now and whenever I see them they still talk about that trip.

[hammer & tongs]

For more information; go to the regular RV forums and they list many...the RVers call it "boondocking"..