Camping Fan

I can’t wait…in exactly 36 hours I will be on my way to another camping trip!

I am going to be spending the weekend with the Webelos scouts that are in my pack at our local cub scout camping facility doing what scouts typically do: bb’s, archery, knot-tying, building stuff, eating s’mores and having campfires.

Fortunately or unfortunately for us it’s going to be raining for most of the weekend so we have to pack extra raingear but that’s not a big deal to me as camping in the rain can be extra fun for the cub scouts which then makes it extra fun for me watching them splash around in the mud.

Till next time,

Eric

So who out there goes hiking overnight?

Has anybody done any hiking/camping on the Appalachian trail?

I’ve had the opportunity to do a couple of day hikes and one overnight hike on the trail as it passes through Northern New Jersey.

The first time was a guy’s trip. Several fathers and I took our male children up to High Point State Park and rented cabins for the weekend. This was more of an excuse to get away for the weekend than it was for real hiking. We went nuts on food and beer and had a really good time. We spent most of Saturday hiking about 4 miles along the trail with kids from 8-10 which was very interesting after about the first mile.

We at like kings though, with grilled shrimp, lamb chops and filet mignon all cooked over an open fire.

My kids still talk about that trip and it was about 4 years ago at this point.

Definitely worth doing again.

Eric

For those of you that have never been winter camping and are thinking about going, here is a tip for you:

Wear lots and lots of layers.

Alot of people think that if you just wear one big and bulky layer you will be warm, it’s not true. I found out the hard way the first time I went winter camping with the Boy Scouts. I thought my big and bulky winter coat with a long sleeve shirt underneath and snow pants with sweat pants underneath would keep me warm. The reality was that I have never been so cold in my life!

Wear a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweat shirt, thermal shirt, lightweight jacket and then a nice medium weight jacket and you will be fine in pretty cold weather. If you wear thermal underwear, lightweight sweatpants, heavy sweatpants and then a snow pant kind of thing you will be fine on the bottoms!

Till next time,

Eric

Do any of you go camping in the dead of winter?

Have any of you ever experienced the beauty and solitude of a campground under six inches of snow?

If you haven’t, then you are missing out on so much.

I only started winter camping about 2 years ago when my older son crossed over into Boy Scouts. I have to admit that the first time I went I wasn’t really prepared for it and suffered a little. But after that trip I asked some questions and did a little research and now I’m prepared for camping in some of the coldest weather the Northeast can produce.

I will give you all a little advice: don’t buy big and bulky outer clothing as it doesn’t really work by itself and it makes it difficult to maneuver. You are much better off building up several layers of good quality winter clothing.

If you ever get the chance to pitch a tent on a snow covered field it’s worth the effort!

Eric

I had the opportunity today to drive through some of the most beautiful parts of Southern New Jersey and it got me drooling over my upcoming camping trips.

For those of you that have never spent any time camping in Southern New Jersey especially in the fall, you are really missing something special.

The Pine Barrens, the beaches, the lakes, the streams and everything else you could ever want within a short drive is absolutely incredible.

The smells, the views and the brisk beautiful air down here is unlike anything else I have ever seen in my life.

Check out www.njcampinginfo.com some time to see what you are missing!

Eric

Hello all,

This has got to be the best time of year to go camping!

The weather is still warm during the day, the nights are starting to get cool, the leaves are beginning to turn but the pools, lakes and streams are still warm enough to swim in.

I really look forward to camping in the fall every year.

I usually try to plan at least 2 trips between mid-september and late october each year just for this reason.

This year I’m really lucky, I will be camping 3 out of 4 weekends during my favorite season. Starting with the last weekend in September I will be tenting it right up to mid-october.

I can’t Wait!

Eric

So now that September is rolling along, the kids are back to school and the leaves start changing is your camping over?

Do you stop camping once the fall hits or do you just start ramping up your activities at this point?

I gotta be honest, until about a year ago we were pretty much done camping by the end of September.

Now that my older boy is in Boy Scouts and I’m involved in the leadership I have been camping pretty much year round and I absolutely love winter camping.

Now don’t get me wrong, when my family goes camping in November we bundle up pretty good but I have really been enjoying the quiet solitude of that time of year.

Your not battling to find a campsite on a weekend, your not dealing with 852 kids screaming in the pool and your not fighting 27 drunk parents rolling around the campground at all hours of the night.

What do you think?

Eric

“Food, glorious food!
We’re anxious to try it.
Three banquets a day –
Our favourite diet!”

As I started writing this post that song from the play Oliver popped into my head! Sorry.

So what do you all eat on a camping trip?

Are you burgers, dogs and cold cereal crowd cuz it’s quick, easy and cheap?

Are you a steak and lobster on the barby crowd because it’s absolutely mouth-wateringly good?

Or are you, like me, somewhere in between?

When we plan our meals for a weekend trip it usually kind of goes like this:

Friday dinner - we either eat on the road or more likely we will get to camp, set everything up and then go out to a diner or mid-level restaurant for a sit down meal to help us unwind and relax. The last thing I want to do after spending 2-3 hours setting up camp is to have to crank up the grill and cook for 30-45 minutes before I can eat.

Saturday breakfast - usually pancakes or french toast with bacon or sausage. Something tasty and hearty to keep us going for the long morning of activities.

Saturday lunch - kind of depends on the plans for the day. If we are hanging around the campgrounds then we will probably bring cold cuts and just make some sandwiches while we are in between activities. if we are going somewhere for the day (beach, hiking, etc…) then we will either pack a sandwich lunch or grab something wherever we are.

Saturday dinner - this is usually the fancy steaks on the grill, campfire baked potatoes and some sort of a veggie. every now and then if we are going to be out running around all day we will just do burgers and dogs but we like this meal to be a little more of a treat then that.

Sunday breakfast - cold cereal usually.

How about you?

Eric

So you and your other half have finally chosen the perfect site for your weekend camping trip.

Now what?

Do you book the campground online? Do you call and ask for their activity schedule for that weekend? Or do you just hope and pray that when you show up they have room available for you?

I’m pretty anal retentive so I of course call, ask 15 different questions about their sites, activities, location, etc… and then I book a site and give them a credit card to hold it.

Now we start planning our meals…are we eating burgers and dogs all weekend? Do we want steak and lobster on the grill?

When are we leaving the house? Do we need to get dinner on the way down? What gear are we taking? Are we allowing the kids to bring a friend each? If so, we need to pack the extra tents for them to sleep in.

It’s actually a lot of work to plan a decent camping trip for us. We might be a little to detailed for most people but we want to enjoy our weekend while we are there so we try to make sure we don’t forget anything before hand which would cause us extra grief while there.

Till Next Time.

Eric

Hello all,

So how do you plan for a camping trip?

Do you actually sit down somewhere with your spouse/partner/family and talk about where you want to go, what you need to take and what you want to do while on the trip?

Or do you just decide you are going this weekend and on Friday afternoon throw a bunch of stuff in the car and off you go?

Just as with anything else, there are many different ways of going camping.

My wife and I usually do something kind of in between. In the spring we look at our summer calendar and try to find 6 to 10 weekends that we will probably not have anything going on and block them out for camping.

Then about 2 weeks before that weekend we make a final decision if we are able to go or not.

If we can then we begin the ardous process of finding a campground. Do we want to revisit a campground we have already been to? Do we want to go somewhere new? Do we want to go to the beach? The mountains? Or somewhere in between.

To be continued…

Eric