The Great Outdoors, Camping, Backpacking, Trekking, and Vagabonding Thread.

If you've got stories, wisdom, pearls of advice, experience on any of these topics, please share them here.

Since, this topic if far too broad for a separate forum, I'm going to take Durchii's advice and just make a massive thread out of it.

I figured "General" would be a good forum for this. Move it to where you like though, if this isn't fit for here.

Here are few references to check in with:

Equipment -
http://forum.grasscity.com/general/154347-camping-backpacking-equipment-3.html

Cheap Travel -
http://forum.grasscity.com/general/147539-inexpensive-travel.html

If you haven't been able to notice by now, I'm completely obsessed with travel and survival. Any and all things that go along with it. So, I'm trying to combine all my different threads of one related subject, into a single place for us all the share.

Now, I know there are plenty of people on this forum that are dying to live-off-the-grid more than they already are. To challenge their lives to the unknown. Living out of your pack, not knowing what's going to happen from day-to-day.

Since there many of us like that on here. I'm sure someone has some interesting stories to share.

I'll go first. One of my first times Vagabonding.

I was in Egypt. Probably 60 miles south of Cairo. I was out in the desert with a guy from Estonia. I had just met him a few days, prior on a 3rd class train, that I thought wouldn't make it passed a few miles.

Well, we head off into the desert. We had our general course. To wind up in this little town where we can meet up with fellow travelers. It was going to take us 2 days, 3 at most. Well, the first night we camped out near some old, rusted, abandoned cars.

Mind you, we didn't have a tent. Just some sleeping bags and fire going. We were under the stars, toking up, (GREAT hash in Egypt by the way.), and just sharing thoughts with one another. Well, we're dazed, totally out of and really tired from the 30 miles we had trekked that day. We begin to drift off.

Now, I had no idea at this point that Scorpions are attracted to warmth and fire at night. I found out the hard way, they are.

The first sting was on my thigh. Luckily, these weren't really that venomous. Just feels like intense bee-stings. I bolt up. Screaming like a little girl, rubbing my hands all over my body to flick off what ever the hell was on me. I turn on my flashlight, and see dozens of black scorpions on the ground.

I get stung again on my ankle. My Estonian friend groggily wakes up and right as he does, gets stung on his ass. He freaks out, and does the same thing. You know when you accidently walk face first into a spider web in the woods and hadn't noticed it? You freak out, scream, and run around saying, "They're in my hair! They're in my hair!" Well, that's what two 19 year olds were doing.

So, after we flick 20 scopions away with our sticks, we end up sleeping ontop of the roof of a rusted out car, we were camping next to.

We made it to our city though. A few swollen welts, and some pain. But, we made it. This taught us a valuable lesson. Scorpions like heat at night.

Still, just a funny story too look back on 2 years later.

Lets hear anything you have to share!




Not just stories, but advice. Packing correctly, where to go, where not to go. Anything related to travel. This is the thread it should be in.

 

Even if you were just on a two-hour hike. Let's hear about it.

Hell, I've been on a 2 mile hike before and experienced more than 3 days out in the in the wilderness. Nothing should be left unsaid here.

 

Trench foot is your enemy.

I buy some expensive socks. "Smartwool", well worth it though. $11 a pair. You're right. Foot care is one of the top things you need to take care of.

No cotton in wet climates, ever. Wool and synthetics. Cotton is your enemy in humid climates.

 

A funny story about bees.

My youngest brother and I are going camping on 53 acres of land that my best friend now owns.

Well, we get to the site we choose as home for that night. We bring along our two dogs. A black lab, and golden retriever.

We start to move logs, and rocks, to make our camp site. My littlest brother moves one log (we're in NC at the time), and doesn't know that a yellow jacket colony claimed that piece of wood as home.

He pushes it out of the way, disturbs the nest and they get pissed and start to swarm. My brother starts to run. Now, my dogs think he's just playing and start to chase after him and jump all over him. He gets knocked down by the golden retriever and one of the bees stings him, literally, right between the eyes. His face swells.

He looked like a fat, chinese, white-dude. I never laughed so hard in my life. Mind you, EVERYONE in my family is allergic to bees but him and I. So, we just wait for the swelling to go down. No harm, really.

But, man, was that a funny sight.

 

I guess I'm lucky. I've always worn thick enough socks to never have a blister. I've ran track and had blisters then. But, never while hiking.

Cheeba - Yea, I know what you mean. I took and ex-girlfriend on a simple camping trip once. No more than 2 miles and a really, nice section of land that plenty of people called home before.

Easy, novice-like camp. She FREAKED out at any sound she heard. Be it a cracked twig, she shot up, screaming like a bear was gonna rip us to shreds. So hard to calm someone down then.

Funny, now that I look back. But, annoying when I'm trying to sleep at 3 AM.

 

And, now its raining.

I wish I were out there. After building my own shelter with a tarp. I want to live by my small fire, trapping game, and living the most simplistic life-style I can.

 

Actually, I still have a small scar the back of ankle from where I kept scratching the sting. Its just red now...

 

True.

I was half-drunk when I posted that. I still want a place to call home. But, I do want to rough it a lot.

 

Haha, that is a good one.

One time when I was 18, a few buddies and I went camping. Nothing too extreme.

Well, I was really, really, drunk and high. I mean, totally shit-faced. I somehow had wandered off.

...and fell asleep on a road. Its about midnight, so not many cars were around. But, hell. Why did I think a paved road in blackness would make a good bed?

My buddies were all searching for me. Finally, they found me, and tried to wake me up, saying I could be killed. (all while laughing the entire time.)

Funny shit.

 

Ah, c'mon...no love for this video?

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I think it goes great for the Vagabonder/Trekker.