In preparation for a camping trip this weekend, I rummaged through the garage this afternoon and dragged out a stuff sack full of gear that I’ve had since around 1994. (Yes, I’m getting old.) I remember buying most of the stuff for a trip to Belize I took with two guy friends. Their plan, which I bailed out of nearly immediately, was to start off in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve and follow a river to a certain city. (It’s all a little vague, now…) There were no trails to follow, particularly. These guys — who had very little hiking or camping experience — planned to blaze them. I ended up staying most of the time in an amazing little campground. (God bless the Internet. It’s amazing how I can walk down memory lane now, online, and find out that the Turkish caretaker/owner we hung out with has apparently left the country.)
Anyway, I originally packed with the intention of spending quite a bit of time in the jungle — before I realized how ill-advised my friends’ plans were — so I prepared pretty seriously. This afternoon, item after item materialized from within the stuff sack — a first aid kit, a cook set, waterproof matches, a compass, a whistle, concentrated biodegradable soap, a camp towel, water purification tablets. It was all the stuff I needed to survive, by myself, back then. Just going through it, I felt this swelling of pride. I was a pretty damned good camper, I thought to myself. I had it going on. (I even made a Flickr set of some pics from the journey.)
This camping trip, however, is very different. And I found myself looking at my backpacker gear kind of wistfully, reminded of a time when all I had to worry about was myself. And I could ride the waves of circumstance: finding the campground, hanging out with some mountain biking guys, going cave exploring with a local guide, and returning to find out that my friends (those intrepid trail blazers) were hanging out by the pool in the gringo-friendly one-and-only hotel. (They’d given up on hiking after one day wielding machetes.)
On this camping trip, I’m taking my two-year-old son. It will be his first time camping. His first time sleeping in the outdoors. His first time tucking his toes into a sleeping bag. His first time. And I’ll be taking care of him, and vicariously enjoying those first-time, wide-eyed experiences. I don’t think we’ll need a compass this time, but I’m bringing along plenty of diapers and wipes.
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My rummage through the stuff sack also turned up some really great camping checklists, that I think Justin will appreciate, and maybe others will, too. To give credit where credit is due, I should mention that these are from Oshman’s (now part of Sports Authority) and the Whole Earth Provision Company:
- Oshman’s Camping Checklist, Pg 1
- Oshman’s Camping Checklist, Pg 2
- Whole Earth Provision Company Checklist, Page 1
- Whole Earth Provision Company Checklist, Page 2
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