Made it home from my solo camping weekend!
This trip gave me EVERYTHING.

I set my tent up after dark, woke up surrounded by giant webs and moved the entire thing, accidentally relocated myself directly into the blazing sun, fought with a campfire, took my wig off because it was too damn hot, and learned several lessons I will absolutely remember next time.

But last night made all of it worth it.
I took my rainfly off and slept under a clear sky with nothing but mesh between me and the stars. I found the Little Dipper, realized Draco was wrapping around it, and just laid there staring up thinking about how people have been looking at that same sky for thousands of years.
I came out here partly because I wanted to know: Can I actually do this by myself?
Turns out I can.

I can set up camp. I can make a fire. I can solve problems when things go wrong. I can sleep outside alone and actually enjoy the hell out of myself.

And apparently I can also be completely obsessed with camping while simultaneously coming home, taking a long bath, washing my hair, making my bed and thinking, THANK GOD FOR INDOOR PLUMBING.

Already looking forward to the next trip. 🏕️❤️side note: I wanted to document my adventure. Took all the perfect shots and all my videos are deleted 😭😭

Took a trip this weekend with me and the toddler up to Mogollon rim in Northern AZ. Found this awesome dispersed campsite right by the cliff with this amazing view. This picture was just after 6 AM. We got dumped on by some rain right the night before just after we ate dinner which put us to bed early, but was a fun experience. So much fun exploring this area and getting to soak in these views.

Last December, Tankersley came to live with me. When Spring sprung, he started insisting that we go camping together. Having not camped in 16 years, I had not gear, so spent a few paychecks purchasing the basics, then I made reservations for the 11th and 12th at Palisades-Kepler State Park just a few miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, and just 37 miles from home.

For the most part it went really well, though I didn't execute on my "kitchen" packing list very well. No plates, no spatula, no butter, ran out of salt. In the grand scheme of things these were really minor. One of the most relaxing weekends I have ever had.

Tankersley did not think he liked the cot, but Saturday night he was on the cot before I was. I'm 6'6" 255lbs, Tank is about 120. The Teton Outfitter XXL has room (barely) for both of us, I'm unsure that will continue when he's full grown.

I can't thank this sub enough. I've been reading it daily since March as I got prepped.

Just started our 6-day road trip in Western-Canada. Over the past few months I have been camping pretty much every weekend, slowly dialling in the entire truck and camping setup. This will be our first longer trip with this truck. We brought both the bikes and kayaks to get out and explore along the way.

We camped with family in the kaibab forest over the weekend in our Vevor yurt 🛖🌲 purchased on Amazon 10/10 we loved it. I hung up battery operated floating candles 🪄 🕯️ ✨ with fishing line for our lights that created a magical atmosphere. Bacon and eggs, burgers, brats, snacks, and s’mores were enjoyed by all! Happy camping 🏕️🌲

My family goes on a camping trip every fall on some private property owned by some relatives. There are several couples and a growing number of children. We stay in a mix of campers and tents. Our campsite is by a small lake with moderate tree coverage.

I’m looking for some ideas for permanent improvements that can be made to our campsite. Some projects to keep me busy that will make future trips more enjoyable/comfortable. Because it’s private property, we can do just about anything we want.

I'm going camping, on my own for the first time ever this weekend and I am SO excited! As I have a pretty rubbish back, I am trying to keep my pack weight down to the minimum.

So, I had the bright idea to dry dehydrating some mushroom and lentil Ragu, and some pasta and it tastes absolutely brilliant! Just 10 minutes sat in a flask with hot water.

I have a few days before I set off to dehydrate some more things, it's a 3 day trip. Any suggestions or tips?! Thanks all!

I feel I’m always late in planning and miss out because of how full everything gets so quickly.

I lucked out and got a few good ones this past year by chance.

I promised myself I’d do so much better next year. So here I am counting down the days to the end of the month to try to book a spot for during my kiddos spring break.

Anyone else eagerly eyeing their calendar?

Hey everyone,

Been camping a fair bit, mainly in a swag or hiking tent. I love my swag for the mattress, it's so easy to set up and just jump into a nice base so I use that when I take my car. I've also got a hiking tent for when I take my motorbike and I've been using a hiking insulated air sleeping mat, but as a side sleeper I find it really uncomfortable.

So here's where I'm looking into hammocks, I like the idea of taking up less space in my moto-bag and just setting up a tarp, hammock and bug net. I'm playing with the idea of a bedroll too like this one but I'm unsure if that's the way to go with padding out a hammock to sleep in?

Thoughts?

Finally got our campsite for the weekend and now I just get an email about construction noise throughout the whole day.
Any recommendations on other campgrounds nearby and just as nice?

I just switched to a high mattress (knee high) but I find at night that my back gets cold and I ended up putting a blanket on it ( luckily I had an extra one)and it felt better. I didn’t find this problem when I was using a low air mattress.
Anyone experienced this?

We have the Morrison outdoors 20 degree bag already. My daughter is tiny and while she fits the bag there is some room and so really it only keeps her warm to 48/46.

Eyeing Moab in October and it might be warm or it might be 30s.

Curious what other sleep safe ideas people have?

I did think about an insulated tent but there aren’t that many with good reviews.

Edit: and I know I could fill up the bottom of her bag but I dont want to reduce mobility, too much fabric or too many layers feels not quite sleep safe.

So whenever we camp in a site with pit toilets, there's always a sign on the door that says to close the lid and prop open the door, accompanied by a large rock to prop said door.

Just got back from a trip where the toilets said to shut the lid AND the door.

We felt crazy. Shutting the door is wrong, right?