As we are staying in our main home province until Christmas, we have taken up "car camping" since June. Until now, I've never camped in Ontario during the summers as I am a mosquito magnet and had imagined being so irritated, I would not enjoy the rest of it.
Thanks to Covid, I was aching to get out to nature so much, I surprised D with the suggestion of giving it a go. He had already started bikepacking and have been used to me saying No Way, so that idea surprised him greatly. I don't think he really believed me until I started getting my gear together.
Our initial mistake was deciding that we'd just throw everything in the car and go from there and not really think it through. We are both so used to hard limits with packing for flights and bikes, it felt so freeing to have the entire vehicle's worth of room to bring pretty much everything we wanted. It was license to go a bit nuts and we did.
The first time, we packed so much stuff, it looked like we were moving...spent too much money buying ice for all the extra food (like the 2 dozen eggs etc., etc.) we didn't need...brought 2 coolers (crazy, I know)...and eventually losing a lot of the food due to melted ice getting into containers and ziplock bags (lost some great ribs and potato salad etc)...
The second and third times, we did much better as we came to terms that just because we have room, doesn't mean we need to use it all. That it still takes thinking and problem solving. It was luxury to be able to buy an outdoor grill that went over the fire so we could cook stuff over it. Not something we would take abroad but something that super enhances the experience in the here and now.
And there was the issue with showers not being available this year at our provincial parks. After unsuccessfull searches for a small privacy shelter to be delivered in time, we found online plans to build one out of pvc pipes and tarps. The trickiest part was finding the corner pieces. A pool supply company came through for us. It withstood wind gusts up to 40 km/hr. D did use extra tent stakes and guy lines.
It was also an opportunity to add a camping size frying pan (gsi), a better camping pot kit (sea to summit sigma) and an ultralight camp stove (msr pocket rocket deluxe) and a couple of stainless steel plates (msr again) to our arsenal as we identified further needs and wants for when we move towards the more minimal end of the range again.
We are both quite tanned and excited for the fall and winter seasons.
Thanks to Covid, I was aching to get out to nature so much, I surprised D with the suggestion of giving it a go. He had already started bikepacking and have been used to me saying No Way, so that idea surprised him greatly. I don't think he really believed me until I started getting my gear together.
Our initial mistake was deciding that we'd just throw everything in the car and go from there and not really think it through. We are both so used to hard limits with packing for flights and bikes, it felt so freeing to have the entire vehicle's worth of room to bring pretty much everything we wanted. It was license to go a bit nuts and we did.
The first time, we packed so much stuff, it looked like we were moving...spent too much money buying ice for all the extra food (like the 2 dozen eggs etc., etc.) we didn't need...brought 2 coolers (crazy, I know)...and eventually losing a lot of the food due to melted ice getting into containers and ziplock bags (lost some great ribs and potato salad etc)...
The second and third times, we did much better as we came to terms that just because we have room, doesn't mean we need to use it all. That it still takes thinking and problem solving. It was luxury to be able to buy an outdoor grill that went over the fire so we could cook stuff over it. Not something we would take abroad but something that super enhances the experience in the here and now.
And there was the issue with showers not being available this year at our provincial parks. After unsuccessfull searches for a small privacy shelter to be delivered in time, we found online plans to build one out of pvc pipes and tarps. The trickiest part was finding the corner pieces. A pool supply company came through for us. It withstood wind gusts up to 40 km/hr. D did use extra tent stakes and guy lines.
It was also an opportunity to add a camping size frying pan (gsi), a better camping pot kit (sea to summit sigma) and an ultralight camp stove (msr pocket rocket deluxe) and a couple of stainless steel plates (msr again) to our arsenal as we identified further needs and wants for when we move towards the more minimal end of the range again.
We are both quite tanned and excited for the fall and winter seasons.
Hi MW. Been away for some time taking a break from social media. Glad to see you are doing well. Embrace retirement ( if that is in your plans). I did it 8 years ago and while it has cost a significant amount to the bank account, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Reviewing your “places I miss” it reminds me of something I was discussing with our adult children. COVID may change the way we view world travel for some time... we should be thankful and grateful that we have had the opportunities presented to us over the years to have travelled and explored as many parts of this wonderful planet that we have... we are very fortunate.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your camping here in our home province... we’ve been doing the same albeit from the water... sailing and now enjoying trawler life; a foot in both camps - unlike my spouse, I’m just not quite ready to pass on the sailing life... yet. All the best.
Hello! Great to hear from you. The last we connected, you were preparing for a number of oversea trips starting with Iceland. Hope they were inspiring and fun.
DeleteEight years already -- Wow, time moves fast. I'm in a good place mentally with retirement. Am mostly past the heavy emotional part and excited for what is to come.
I too, am worried about the collective loss we continue to experience and what may be the post traumatic aftermath on a world level. Hope we are able to come through this without losing all of our innocence and joy.
Trawler life sounds so peaceful. We ended up selling our sea kayaks earlier this summer. I miss the water, so will need to look for other ways to get back out there.
Continue enjoying life! We are fortunate to be where we are.