Ultimate Camping Thread

You might check out Santa Ynez river outside of Santa Barbara. I think it's in the Los Padres National Forest. The Paradise Road entrance is where I used to go fishing. Basically the road zig zags along the river and eventually dead ends. There are day use and campgrounds (I think) along the way. There are a few spots where the road goes through the river so be sure to go in your truck. I did see a car drop a wheel off the edge of the road in the middle of the river once. You'll need a permit to park probably need one to camp too. It can be a very popular place on the weekends so if I were you I'd take a day trip up there and make sure it's what you want before you go for a weekend. I'd go fish in the early morning and then bug out by afternoon if the crowds got too much.

 

Finally getting my Crovel today after 2 months of backorders.

 

Has anyone read about the NEW Neo Air Xtherm?
Lighter, Warmer, Better haha
I guess it won some awards over seas.
Anyways I'm probably buying some type of Neo Air next. Thought I'd post.

http://www.snewsnet.com/cgi-bin/snews/22268.html

http://www.thegearcaster.com/the_gearcaster/2011/07/therm-a-rest-neoair-gets-warmer-and-lighter.html

 

How much did it cost? I like that. Let us know the details on it! If anything, it would be a good piece to keep in the vehicles.


6 lbs so not exactly backpacking friendly... still worth having in the car. Looks like they are about $100.

 

looks like my next backpacking trip wont be until Dec. might try to do some car camping in between to try and hold me off until then.


I love winter camping. Can't wait though.

 

I've got a winter backpacking story.

I had a friend that went on a backpacking trip in the Smokies at the end of every year (Dec/Jan). This is an annual thing for him an sometimes his son and a friend will go with him too, but not on this trip. I ran into him a few years ago at an outdoors store and he told me how he got caught in a snow storm on top of Siler's Bald (I think). There was about 5 feet of snow overnight and he was stuck in the shelter for a few days. Ran out of food and had to be air lifted out by the Nat'l Guard. Luckily he only suffered from dehydration/malnutrition. He did say that he and God had gotten a little closer during that time. He had some pictures on the net but I think he took them down.

Just be careful when hiking in the mountains in the winter. And always let someone know where you're going and when you'll be back.

 

that is a crazy story. Glad he is ok! I for one never go backpacking alone. Too dangerous in case something happens, like in his situation. I also always pack an extra meal (one of those mountain house meals keeping it light) in case something should go wrong. I give my family a map of where I will be and have my routes marked out and times then I will also give the park ranger's office a call as well.

 

This is really nice! I would love to have this in the truck!

 

my friend and his buddie went camping on a island thats in the middle of one of the local river around here. it was shallow water so the jst walked the rocks over to the island. well over night a flash flood came and traped them on the island for 4 days and they only had 1 day worth of food and water. needless to say the heli had to pick them up lol.

ya i dont do the solo thing much either. i know a guy who was back in the woods making a shelter and he cut his finger off and had to hike all the way back to the road and drive himself to the hospital....thats just tooo sketchy for me

 

When I lived in socal I'd go out on day hikes by myself without telling anyone. After forgetting my flashlight and hiking out in the dark a time or two I started letting at least one person know where I was going. When I heard my friend's story (he was in his late 40's when it happened) it really sank in how things can get bad quick. Being prepared (thank you Boy Scouts) and letting people know where you're going is about the best you can do.

 

Yeah crap like that can happen way too easy. Like myself, I am allergic to yellow jackets. If I get stung and have problems and need my epi pen, if no one is around I am dead.

 

That's pretty serious. I have a mild allergy to bee stings but not bad enough for an epi pen. I always carry some benedryl just in case. It's come in handy a few times. I hope you never have to use your epi pen.

 

I'm allergic to insect bites and stings, too. I used to carry an Epi-Pen, but it got to be a hassle to constantly renew and stuff.

I'm not too bad, I just swell up a lot in the sting area. Now, if I got stung in the neck, then I might have a problem...

 

That's how I am. I don't carry one with me because its a pita. I got stung by a whole nest of yellow jackets and had to be rushed to the er. My whole body was super swollen. That was one of the worst experiences I had when I was a kid.

 

When I was in Scouts, we stayed in a group cabin in February one year.

It was freezing cold, so we fired up the propane heat and when it got warm enough all the dormant wasps and hornets came out. I was stung at least 15 times, including 5 times in one hand. I couldn't close it. That's how I found out about my allergy.

In college, stretching during football practice, I put my hand on a hornet. It stung me in the tip of my left middle finger. By the end of stretching, my finger was swollen to the point I couldn't close it. Midway through my whole hand was swollen, and by the end of practice I was swollen all the way to my elbow.

I went to the ER and they gave me 2 shots in the ass to reduce the swelling. I was good to go by gametime the 2 days later. Funniest thing is that I probably had my best practice day ever with the swollen hand. I was a Tight End, so having use of your hands is kinda important for catching passes and stuff.

 

damn! that is pretty bad!




On a side note, Had the tent set up yesterday to re-seal the seams and a few little holes in the floor. Ended up sleeping in it last night out in the back yard. Weather was a nice 70 degrees. Perfect!

 

Last month I finally got a warm weather sleeping bad. An REI travelsack 55*. Haven't had a chance to use it yet. I always used to take my Wiggy's 20* bag and just lay on top of it (and still be hot). Hoping I get to try it out this fall.

 

Awesome! You should get to use it here in the next few months! I need to get a mid weather bag. Until funds are better, the blankets will work.

 

and a good thing is you can put the 55* bag inside the 20* for extra winter comfort

 

Hey Lisa, this was in my newspaper this morning. Be careful out there! They were talking a lot about the Yellowstone area.



Kinda ironic this was in the paper this morning after I watched Yogi Bear last night.