Managing Your Recreation Inventory

Backpacking Gear, Camping, General Talk, , ,

Inventory Clip ArtNo, this isn’t about gear. A while back I wrote an article about backpacking gear getting boring. So is camping gear.

It is time to talk about getting out into the wilderness and actually using your gear.

Sometimes I am amazed by the amount of time so many folks spend on the Internet talking about camping or backpacking, but not really going out and actually doing it. So many people talk about not having the time to camp or hike. Here is a little secret, you can go camping and/or backpacking over 100 days per year and work full time!

Before you say, “But I don’t live close to wild areas,” consider doing this: MOVE

If getting outdoors is important, which I assume is true for most people who spend days on end on Internet forums talking about it, then move if you live far from recreational opportunities.

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State of Charge: Your Camper/RV May Be Killing Your Battery Bank

Camper Upgrades, Camping, Solar,

THIS MAY BE CONTROVERSIAL

If you own a camper or other recreational vehicle, it probably has a battery or two or at least is set up for a battery.

If you want to utilize a battery in your RV, battery selection is paramount and probably more important is the proper charging settings.

Now if you only camp in campgrounds with umbilical cords to the power grid, you don’t need a battery bank. But I will suggest that you are missing a lot by “camping” in these virtual parking lots. Get thee out into the more wild areas where there is no electric grid. It is called camping, you know – not Parking.

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Black Friday? Go Camping or Backpacking Instead!

What's Up With That?

What’s Up With That?

I live in a small town and don’t have any personal experience with the Black Friday phenomenon. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about it.

Last year, one week before Thanksgiving, I was working in the Los Angeles area and went to Best Buy the Friday before Thanksgiving. There were several tents set up in front of the store and people were inside them. I thought it was some sort of store display, as most of the tents had music playing inside of them. When I entered the store, I asked one of the employees about the tents outside. He told me they were shoppers who were camped out waiting to be the first ones in the door next week, when the store would open early Friday morning, the day after Thanksgiving. These people were going to live at Best Buy for a week just so they could buy stuff!! I don’t get it.

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The 4 (not 10) Essentials for Hiking and Backpacking

Backpacking Gear

Where I live and hike, each year dozens of people are rescued because they lack the skills, experience, common sense, brains, or equipment to stay safe. And almost every year some die. And each year it gets worse, because people read about places to hike on the Internet or in trail guides and head out without the skills, experience or gear that could keep them alive.

Here I am hiking up the Desert Skyline Trail. Picture by Craig Wisner.
Here I am hiking up the Desert Skyline Trail.
Picture by Craig Wisner.

Gear and equipment is important, if you know why you need it, how to use it, and when certain items are necessary.

If you hike or backpack, then you probably have heard of the 10 Essentials that should be carried on every trip, even day hikes.

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Camp Chef Pro 60 Double Burner Stove

Camping

Cooking in a camper is different than when on an ultralight backpacking trip. UL backpackers usually try to pare down the weight of every item, so small stoves and instant foods are the typical fare, not to say the backpacker can’t get fancy and prepare some outstanding foods from scratch.

The LiteTrail Titanium Solid Fuel Cook System has a pot that can only hold ½ quart of water, but is perfect for the lightweight backpacker.
The LiteTrail Titanium Solid Fuel Cook System has a pot that can only hold ½ quart of water, but is perfect for the lightweight backpacker.

But camping lends itself to gourmet cooking.

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On Deserts…

Backpacking, Camping, General Talk

You may wonder why we camp in deserts so often and why I prefer to backpack in them too.

You may deduce that since we live in the desert, it is close and easy to pursue outdoor activities there. That is partially correct – but the desert destinations are by design. Back in 1977 I moved to Palm Springs because I wanted to camp and hike in the desert, along with several other reasons. So I thought I would pontificate On Deserts.

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