Ultimate Camping Thread

Rtt are sweet!!! I'm for whatever gets people outside!!! As far as truck camping I think I am gunna sell my pop up and get my family into a tent. The pop up was kind of a pita, and all the kiddos wanted to do was play in it.

 

90% sure I am moving onto a tipi style tent for truck camping. If anyone is interested in an RTT near wyoming/colorado shoot me a PM.

 

Lol. Only thing I don't like about the RTT is that they are on the roof. Lol
I've seen people utilize trailers for this.
I would rather be able to hope in the truck and cruise whenever I want instead of dealing with taking down my tent.



Just saying.

Whoops almost forgot.
I have been looking into the light weight hammocks and really like the idea. Where would you store your bag though? Is there room in one?

 

Hang it from a tree or leave it on the ground. It would be pretty funny to see somebody sleeping with their backpack next to or on top of them in the hammock

 

Yeah I figured that'd be it. Guess one should get a dry sack for their bag before hanging it in the tree.

 

Just don't buy a "cheap" hammock. Spend the extra $20 and get a nice one. Well with hammock campin most people use top and under quilts. http://www.undergroundquilts.com http://www.wildernesslogics.com

I am workin on making my own quilts for a fraction of the cost using ripstop nylon and apex clymashield (prob $50ish) rather than drop $160 on a quilt.

I honestly am using a gossamar 3/8" pad under my hammock and sleeping in my trusty 15 year old NF cats meow just fine. Just like in a tent you gotta have insulation underneath. Tons of room!!! And a ridgeline to hang gadgets. Watch shugs videos on YouTube. Maybe pick up the ultimate hang by Derek Hansen.

 

Yeah i love my cats meow. Used that thing down into subzero once or twice and it still worked (although i was wearing tons of extra clothes!) but the size was killing me. Just doesnt pack down nearly enough. When it takes up 1/3rd of the 55L bag just itself i knew it was time to move on. Though i will still use it for car camping!

Haha yeah i could fit everything in my 35L if i really wanted. But i like putting everything inside the pack and not having to actually "pack" it is kind of nice too. Just toss crap in and not have to worry about order or anything. The 35L the tent would have to go on the outside as well which i dont like to do. But my packing is also a bunch of stuff sacks. Food all goes in a stuff sack. Clothes in a stuff sack. MISC items in stuff sack. So its nice to just pull out a stuff sack that you need then just toss it back in

But my packs have to be a bit of multi-use so i havent gotten a hiking/backpacking specific light weight one as of yet. My packs have to be able to do winter adventurers too which means carrying ice axes, skis, poles, harness, rope, ect. Just need to much extra features that add weight. Still 4.5 pounds is something i can live with for now!

Yeah the fire is near Leavenworth in WA. Its just north of the highway and i'd be starting at the highway and going straight south. So hopefully itll work out! And should be smoke free since the winds have been blowing east (sorry about that all you in ID and MT!!)

If i dont get to go on my route ill be stuck doing just an over nighter. The hike im doing (part of the PCT) doesnt need permits or anything so i can just go. All the other hikes need permits and often need reservations

But they have moved the closure down further from the trailhead so its looking good! Fingers crossed!

 

I am looking at those and Wyoming Lost and Found. Both are within driving distance to check out at some point so Ill probably be making some calls. Might see if I can set up a group buy when I am ready to buy. I won't do much winter camping this year but I am hoping to get it sometime around winter to test it out and see how warm I can keep the tent.

 

Well got back from my shortened hike. Had to cut it to just an overnight cause my dad had surgery today (nothing serious just needed someone to drive him home afterwards). But it turned out to be ok. Weather wasnt that great and the trail wasnt in the best of shape.

Anyways I started at Stevens Pass Ski Area on the PCT. The weather was ~50 degrees, misty at times, and foggy the whole day. This is supposed to be one of the best sections view and scenery wise but the fog kinda made it meh. I ski Stevens Pass a ton in the winters but had never been to it in the summer. Was interesting to see.


Also the trail had plenty of down trees over it still. This was probably the worst section really though. Nothing to bad in reality and ive seen much worse. This just happened to be an avalanche path. Broken trees everywhere and still deep snow in the ravine (saved a bit of up and down!). But the trail also took a good 5 minutes to find again since there wasnt a clear path across.



The trail was also pretty muddy from snow melt out. Made the steeper sections of the trail a bit hairy but nothing to bad. My feet got a bit wet at times though from punching through snow. Also each "pass" still had snow. This was the worst and it was probably 3/4 of a mile of hiking on snow.



Made it to my destination a bit earlier than planned. Well i had two spots in mind. This one and the next was another 2 miles or so but involved a 700ft climb in .7 miles and i was sure there would be lots of snow at the lake since there was a bunch at this lake. But this lake was still 16 miles in. I was averaging 3 miles per an hour or so. So i stopped here. Still foggy. You can see the snow is still around. But a cliffbar and a shot of maple jack made for a nice snack


My Big Agnes tent all set up with my new sleeping bag. Kept me nice and warm just in shorts and a long sleeve. I do toss and turn a lot though so it got all sorts of twisted lol. It rained at that night so i was really glad i had the tent. It wasnt heavy rain and there was enough trees that a simple tipi style would have still worked but i just prefer the tent


And my dinner...which was good in thought but didnt turn out that great lol. Taco meat. But i left the cheese, lettuce, and burrito shells in the fridge at home. So i literally just had taco meat....o and some Sriracha. Not exactly my idea of a great dinner. But another shot of jack and eating next to the lake made up for it



The next morning i hiked out ~5 miles or so. All downhill which was nice. But started with some nice eggs and bacon for breakfast and then hit the trail. Was out by 8am and then just had to wait for my dad to show up to drive me home. No pictures cause it was really an uneventful hike. Typical NW trail through the woods. Foggy. Misty.


Overall was an ok hike. Ill go back next year and do Stevens Pass to Snoqaualmie Pass (which includes the section i hiked) but i learned to wait. Mid August i think would be best as hopefully the snow will be gone and the trails will be dried up a bit more.

 

Why are you getting rid of your RTT? I figured those would be great for camping without having to mess with disassembling a ground/other tent.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^??????

 

I'm assuming a tipi style tent is not a roof top tent.

 

Anyone have any experience with these stoves?

This one for backpacking. I've made a few cat can stoves but I think I want a more efficient stove.
http://whiteboxalcoholstoves.com

This one for car camping fun with the family.
http://www.fireboxstove.com

 

Whitebox is great alky stove. I have 6! Never tried the wood burner you're looking at but the price is right. Love to hear your thoughts if you pick it up.

 

Presumably because the one they make is a heavier gauge making it more reliable?

 

Looks like it might be made out of a bud light alu bottle?

 

Here's the 1st one I made. It works ok I was able to boil water in about 7 min using about 1.5 oz of denatured alcohol.
Should I try heet in the yellow bottle?

Also any suggestions on improving my stove. I have 1untouched extra cat can to mod?

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

Funniest camping commercial I've seen and it reminds me of so many people.

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