Category Archives: Camping

Camping Road Trip: 2 Months — 3,000 Miles — 2 Wildfires

September 18, 2021CampingNick Gatel

It’s been a while since my last post. We’ve been gone a couple of months, most of the time with limited or no cell phone service — just as I prefer.

Even if we are camped where there is cell phone service, I’m not going to post to this blog.

Continue reading Camping Road Trip: 2 Months — 3,000 Miles — 2 Wildfires →

A Camping “Shakedown” Trip

July 5, 2021CampingNick Gatel

It has been about 10 months since we went camping. We have never gone that long between trips. This abnormal behavior was due to Joyce breaking her ankle in 3 places back in September of 2020.

Joyce’s ankle is healed and it was time to renew our habit of “excellent camping adventures.” Since the camper has been sitting for nearly a year, I decided a short trip of around 5 hours each way for 5 days was a good starting point.

But there was one problem: last year’s problem of full campgrounds has extended and even gotten worse in 2021. To compound this, we wanted to camp the week leading up to the 4^th of July weekend. What a mess! Continue reading A Camping “Shakedown” Trip →

Campground Security?

May 12, 2021Campingcampground securityNick Gatel

Are campgrounds safe? Can you leave your campsite during the day without worrying about theft? Do you need to secure your camper at night with locks or alarms? Do you need a gun?

These are some of the questions I hear, mostly from newcomers to camping.

Continue reading Campground Security? →

The Problem with Product Reviews

April 24, 2021Backpacking Gear, Camping, General TalkNick Gatel

With the advent of the Internet and online shopping, the potential to become more informed buyers has lost its promise.

Instead, product reviews have mostly become a for-profit enterprise that only benefits manufacturers and those who make a living reviewing products.

Continue reading The Problem with Product Reviews →

Camping in the Time of Coronavirus

September 16, 2020CampingNick Gatel

An Epic Trip in More than One Way

It has been a difficult year for millions and millions of people. Pandemic, stay-at-home orders, economic difficulties on both personal and corporate levels, and large numbers of people struggling psychologically with all that has, and continues, to transpire.

Except for a long protracted illness that resulted in the passing of Joyce’s beloved eldest brother last month, we have fared well. For this we are fortunate.

But it was time for an epic camping trip. Continue reading Camping in the Time of Coronavirus →

Backpacking, Camping, and Herd Mentality

September 8, 2020Camping, What's Up With That?Herd MentalityNick Gatel

What’s Up With That?

So here we are, 5+ plus months into the COVID-19 pandemic with on and off shutdowns in our lives. Along with this, we now have common words to describe our situation, words that most of us almost never used prior and are now everyday terms, such as “social distancing” or “herd immunity.”

On word that doesn’t get much attention, and should, is herd mentality. Last month herd mentality came to the forefront while I planned and then executed a camping trip for Joyce and me. This herd mentality didn’t harm us or ruin our trip, but, once again, gave me pause to think about how we act out our lives. Continue reading Backpacking, Camping, and Herd Mentality →

Sea to Summit Alpha Cookware for Backpacking or Camping

August 28, 2020Backpacking, CampingNick Gatel

This collection of cookware from Sea to Summit has been available for a couple of years.

I have been mostly using freeze-dried and instant foods for quite a long time and have been an advocate of freezer bag cooking, which is the lightest and quickest way to carry and prepare meals.

I am slowly going back towards actually cooking meals on the trail to improve the quality of foods I eat. For those who want to cook food, the Alpha series of cookware is hard to beat.

So much thought and effort went into the design, that if one is in the market for new cookware they should check out the Sea to Summit Alpha series of pots and pans.

Continue reading Sea to Summit Alpha Cookware for Backpacking or Camping →

The Problem With Campground Reservations and How to Fix It

August 12, 2020CampingCampground ReservationsNick Gatel

The focus of this post is public campgrounds, such as those run by counties, states, the US Forest Service or the National Park Service.

You want to go camping next month for a week. Hopping on the Internet you navigate to the online reservation system and find that almost every campsite is reserved for Friday and Saturday, but the other five days of the week are available to reserve. Almost no one is camping on those dates. In other words, 70% of sites are sitting empty generating zero income. Continue reading The Problem With Campground Reservations and How to Fix It →