Camping and Backpacking GEAR thread

true, If a polar bear comes near anyone they'd be in trouble

 

Yup, that's when you tell it you just saw a seal run past you haha.

 

just got beat that seal

 

A simple 2 burner Coleman propane stove and an aluminum nonstick skillet & aluminum non stick 6qt saucepan w/lid serve all my car camping needs. Target, Walmart, Khols all carry them. Just make sure both fit on the stove at the same time for those multi pot meals.

Doesn't really take up much more room that some of the kits and you can store items in the sauce pan.

Paper cups & plates all the way....burn in campfire when done.

 

Burning trash is a major no no in every campground I've ever been to.

 

Oh...I've never camped in a traditional campground. All back country sites with fire rings.

Makes sense for actual campgrounds.

Use proper discretion.

 

For sure.

Doing so in back country sites out here would be an even bigger issue, but we have a lot more wildfire danger than Maine.

 

I can't imagine the conditions I see on the news....seems crazy. We're fortunate here. Maine sits atop a giant granite & gravel aquifer! Wager water everywhere!

 

Getting geared up to make my first cross country trip. There is a time limit so I'll try and make the best of it. However I have to make it to Utah by a certain time. I've noticed in most state parks or campgrounds that I've stayed at previously there is a closing time and check out/in required. If anyone else has done something similar to this, how should I approach this? I'm on a budget so I can't just stay in a hotel so camping is the best option especially with trying to cover a lot of ground. Suggestions?

 

Not a problem in National Forest or BLM campgrounds, self pay stations

 

Also Corps of Engineer locations. Usually on water because they manage the dams.

I hate campgrounds. Barking dogs. Screaming kids. Generators...

If you're up to sharing your route, maybe we can help with locations?

 

Yeah that's no problem. I'm going from North Carolina to Utah. More than likely I will go 40 west for the bulk of the trip but there is a possibility I'll go the northern route. I believe that is 40 to 70 or 80?

 

Where from NC will you be leaving from? If you are further east, you can make it to the NC TN line in a day's travel. Book a spot at the East Asheville KOA campground ahead of time. You can roll up to your site at whatever time you want, as long as it is after the normal check in time. We've rolled in after midnight a few times, set our tent up and went on to sleep. Check in/out in the AM and be on your way to your next stop. The tent sites have water and electric if you want. Fair prices and we get the spots near the smaller lake. More peaceful, minus the train sometimes throughout the year.

EDIT: Here is a map of their campground. Don't let the closeness of the spots fool you. The map isn't to scale. There is plenty of room for travel trailer or tent or both. We've taken both up there plenty of times. We normally get D-25 as it has a nice piece of land that sticks out into the lake that we fish off of. The CC spots I believe are strictly tent without any electric or anything like that. Right beside the stream that runs through. Less spots there as well.

 

Sub'd

 

I'll second KOAs. We usually stay in them when we travel across the country.

You can make reservations ahead of time, or pull in at the end of the day and get a spot. If you are stopping late in the day, as mentioned earlier, they will leave your campsite info by the front door. A nice thing is they have hot showers!

Sure, there are usually other campers there, but it beats a hotel.

 

If you are planning on staying with them multiple times a year, get the membership for $26/year. You'll build up points to put towards another camping trip plus get 10% off each reservation. I can easily save that $26 back after a couple of trips.

 

We have a membership - I forgot to mention that.

That's another good point - KOAs are significantly less expensive than hotels.

 

I got hooked on them on our first trip to the mountains. My wife and I had never stayed in a KOA and honestly never heard of them. We wanted to take the tent and make a weekend trip to the mountains. I did some searching for campgrounds because this was our first trip to the mountains and not be a in cabin, so we didn't really know what to expect. Decided to try the KOA versus some of the other campgrounds after reading reviews and looking at pictures. This one made the most sense. Close to where we were looking to go, cheap prices, a lot nicer campground, and all over the US and I believe a few in Canada as well.

We went to the Linville Gorge and checked out the scenery as well as hiking. It's about 1.5 hours away from the campground, but worth it to me. There is some camping spots up there as well. It's full on backcountry camping for the ones who like that more. I think it's free but you have to register just so the rangers will know you are up there.

EDIT: That's actually where the pic from my sig came from. I think it was from Wiseman's view up there.

 

Especially right now. I drove up into the woods North of Bingham this past weekend, and there was so much standing water in the fields under the power lines on Deadwater Road that ducks were swimming in them, lol.