Category Archives: Camping

Are Internet Forums Obsolete?

January 14, 2016Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, The Digital LifeNick Gatel

The Digital Life

In the last half of 2015 I didn’t post much here on PopUpBackpacker.com. Life was getting in the way of living – meaning work was interfering with my leisure time and backpacking and camping trips declined. However, I have corrected this deficiency in life. Let’s move on to the subject at hand.

Since you are reading this, you probably know what an Internet forum is, and I would venture to guess you have participated or presently participate on one. Forums or their ancient electronic relatives from the 1980’s and early 1990’s: bulletin boards, CompuServe, Delphi, or AOL were all precursors to what we now categorize as social media. All of this is leading to the question: Are Internet forums obsolete?
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My Favorite Camping Gear of All Time

January 11, 2016Camper Upgrades, Campingfavorite camping gearNick Gatel

It is common for backpacking bloggers to publish their favorite gear for the year. I have done this every year since 2012, and there has only been one change to my favorite gear in four years as documented in my favorite backpacking gear for 2015. This is different than most backpackers, who seem to have new favorite gear each year, which leads me to believe that their focus is gear-centric and not walking-centric. This begs the question, why do so many backpackers constantly buy new gear? Is it consumerism or do they not focus on skills instead of magic equipment to keep them safe in the backcountry? I’ll let you, the reader, sort out that conundrum.

I have never posted a list of my favorite camping gear. I have been camping for over 50 years and for the past 25 years it has included a camper. The previous 25 years I camped with a tent. In 2003 I refined my camping equipment and little has changed since then, other than we have bought two larger campers over the past 10 years.

So instead of presenting my favorite camping gear for 2015, I will share my favorite 3 of all time.

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Wave 8 Heater: Long Term Review

January 11, 2016Camper Upgrades, Campingcatalytic heater, Olympian Wave 8 heaterNick Gatel

I have been using Olympian catalytic heaters (now owned by Camco) for more than 20 years. Given that I have used these heaters for hundreds and hundreds of nights, I think I am qualified to do a long term review.

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The First and Last Camping Trip

January 4, 2016CampingNick Gatel

No, we haven’t given up camping. Just got back from a 9 day trip in the Nevada desert. We rang in the New Year on this trip, meaning we were camping on the last day of 2015 and the first day of 2016, which is something we have done for 13 consecutive years.

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How To Winterize A Camper

December 15, 2015CampingNick Gatel

Over the years I have noticed that many campers stop using their campers in the fall and go through a seemingly torturous and time consuming process called winterizing. Basically they are taking the camper out of commission, mothballing it – akin to the Navy decommissioning a ship. And during the following spring or early summer the camper owner re-commissions their camper. Wow, all that money spent to purchase a camper and then mothballing it for 6 months a year?

I just finished winterizing our camper.

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