A BRIEF LOOK AT CAMPING PAST AND PRESENT

(A Brief Look at Camping Past and Present by Bob Phillips first appeared in Lake Champlain Weekly in June 2010)
The Fourth of July celebrations are just about upon us. With this coming weekend we also see a jump in the family camping in our surrounding areas. Camping has taken on a new look for many but the basics are still the same. Taking a brief look at camping, we see that there are basically three types of camping still in vogue today. I made the choice of three types, backpack camping, tent camping and vehicle camping, because they are broad enough designations to cover the most common types.
The first is backpack camping. This is camping using the utensils and equipment that you and your group are able to carry on your back to some remote area. This may or may not include use of a small tent and often other luxuries are left behind for the sake of ease of burden. Backpacking did not really get it’s full growth until the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Often, before that time, campers stayed at some type of base camp and only hiked what was possible in a days outing. There were a few brush rats who bivouacked for the brief overnighter or two, but that really was not the norm much before the 1960’s. The explosion of backpacking really started a whole new industry in the outdoor pursuits, that of light weight technology.
Strangely enough, with the shrinking of truly remote wilderness areas and the physical expectations of the modern hiker, I see less of the backpack camping than in other years. Perhaps even the emphasis on leaving as small a footprint as possible on these areas has also persuaded many to forego camping and enjoy the wilderness in day excursions instead. They can often set up a base camp at a local campground and cover much of the wilderness in day hikes in and out.
The second form of camping is tent camping. This is usually confined to designated campgrounds where there may be many luxuries not found in the backwoods, or not! Showers, swimming pools, game rooms and numerous other activities can help fill in the nights of camping at many camping areas. If you are more interested in peace and quiet, there are also those primitive campgrounds that basically provide a somewhat level spot to pitch your tent and nothing else but an outhouse for your rest facilities. Many families begin their camping careers in this fashion.
The obvious difference in tenting from backpacking is the weight factor. Since you drive right to your camping site, you can often bring much more substantial camping equipment. The more recognizable features of this camping is the cabin style tents, multiple burner gas stoves, folding camp chairs and of course the large capacity insulated coolers.
At one time this was also known as, auto-camping. Meaning that you loaded up your automobile and headed to the wilderness to spend an extended period of time sleeping in tents, eating in the out-of -doors and generally getting away from it all. Different forms of tent camping actually predate the backpack camping by a decade or two, beginning back in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
Out of this comes the third type, the vehicle camping that many enjoy today. The popup/trailer/truck /motor home vehicles that populate many of our campgrounds today. Many still find this a relatively inexpensive vacation where they are still able to get in touch with nature and yet don’t have to sacrifice all the luxuries of home. This camper camping began back in the 1950’s and continues to have it’s ups and downs to the present day. It is often tied directly to the health of the nation’s economy, however, as much of this camping is a bit more expensive than the previous two styles.
This is not intended to be exhaustive look at camping but rather an introduction so that you see there are numerous opportunities to get out and enjoy the great outdoors around us on a whole different level. Camping out under the wide open skies.
Whatever the style of camping you like, I hope you do truly enjoy the outdoors as you head afield and astream this summer.

THE ADIRONDACK CAMPING MINDSET

     The often repeated mantra frequently heard in the Adirondacks is: "We're going camping this weekend!" Camping means different things to different ones.
     To some it conjures up the image of open skies, a campfire ring and a small backpackers tent. Others may see it as loading the camper trailer and driving to a multi-site campground and setting up camp in a prescribed manner by leveling the trailer and settling in.
     This is quite different than the concept of Adirondack camps which are, more or less, permanent structures built by owners on their own properties or leased land. The camping experience tends to be a more mobile experience in most peoples mind.
     For many, the whole Adirondack summer remembrance revolves around that camping experience whether only a short week in duration or a full month or more. Some even stretch the event over a few weekends, holding down their jobs during the work week and enjoying the weekends by camping at different localities.
    Often an individual's life history can be viewed by the different stages of their camping experiences. As the body grows older it is not so easy to camp on the bare ground or with minimal shelter and bed to sleep in. There is a natural progression toward campers, which are often easier on the body if not easier on the pocketbook.
     The one thing that can be said is that camping not only builds character in a person but it also builds lasting memories.

HIKING TECHNOLOGY OF THAT WORKS

   Hiking has become a passion for many. There is a fairly new thought that extreme light weight equipment is the way to go today. The ideas is that if you carry all the essentials and they only add up to a quarter or a third of the older equipment you used to lug around, you will certainly enjoy the hike so much more.
   There are some limitations. Two liters of water still weighs in at two liters of water worth of weight. However the container you carry the water in can weigh either a few ounces or a pound or more depending on the choices you make in containers.

(hiking a typical Adirondack trail)

   There are still times when you may opt for a bit more weight in some items simply because of the greater durability of that item. Nothing spoils a hike or overnighter like a piece of failed equipment. This brings up another idea that is a good piece of advice to follow. Do not take a new, untried and untested item into the wilds without first know how it will perform and stand up to the rigors of the back country usage.
   Modern Technology has been a great boon to the back packer and camper of today. Technology allows us greater freedom to move about in the back country with ease and confidence. The one tendency that many still manifest is that tendency to pack more than is actually needed, and thus they defeat the advantages of technology.

HIKING CLEARS THE MIND AND SOOTHES THE SOUL

(this article first appeared in Lake Champlain Weekly magazine, Sept. 1 2010 by Bob Phillips)

        In this age we live, there is much interest in physical activity. Many like to bike, walk, canoe, kayak and run in order to turn back the hands of time or at the least suppress the aging process. We try to enjoy a certain quality in our life that allows us to participate in the many things we find exciting and meaningful.
One of simplest of activities that we can engage in is hiking. Whether we enjoy short ambles out through the countryside or we enjoy the scenic nature walks along rivers, lakes or through the woods, the end result is the importance. Often we cut short the real benefit of these hikes. We don’t fully incorporate the true essence of the hike into what might do us the most good.
Certainly hiking is great for our overall physical health. We are well aware of the fact that we need to put in a certain amount of time with our heart rate operating at a certain level in order to gain healthful benefit from the exercise we undertake. But too often we are so concentrated upon the heart rate and maintaining the aerobic level of efficiency for the most effective benefit, that we miss out on another truly healthful benefit.
The physical health benefits can’t be minimized. But there is the mind and we might even mention the soul that also benefits from our hiking endeavors. The physical certainly allows our hearts to operate much more efficiently over long periods of time and under stressful conditions. There is also the calming effect of our exercise that allows our minds to strengthen and our souls to calm, even in the midst of stress.
Way too often I see individuals speed racing through their hikes, whether nature walks or mountain hikes, and I wonder if they really receive any enjoyment from these outings. Sure you can check off one more trail conquered or one more peak bagged, but did you enjoy the trek along the way? Or do you end the hike feeling more exhaustion than exhilaration?
When we put head down and with shoulders swinging we hit the trail and don’t look up until we cross the self-imposed finish line, we often short change ourselves. On any outing there is much to experience along the way that might well lift the soul and clear the mind of the complications of the day. To miss those experiences is a sad commentary at the least.
In my own way of thinking, I have solved more problems of life while out hiking than in any one other place I find myself. I have often cleared my mind of all the clutter that often fogs our insight for what lies ahead in life. This happens, not because I am so self absorbed during the hike that I rehash these things throughout, but rather because I allow myself this little bit of time to really get in touch with the natural world around me and experience the solitude and tranquility of a hike.
Little things often speak to our minds and souls if we just allow them the privilege. It may be something as small as watching a little toad along the trail or seeing a number of red efts coming out after a steady rain. Perhaps a snake crosses your path and you watch it’s searching progress as it hunts for food. Maybe you are lucky enough to find one of our larger yellow spotted salamanders following a particularly damp period of time. It may be something that is thought provoking such as finding an old stump torn apart by bears feeding on the insects found inside. All these unique experiences can refresh the soul and stimulate the mind.
Sadly, too often I find people do not see these things because they are too busy getting from point A to point B in the fastest possible time. I know this is true because I have often asked hiking partners if they saw this or that along the trail and the answer is always the same. “No, but I would have liked too!”
As the admonition goes, take time to smell the roses along the way, as you head afield and astream this fall because it clears the mind and soothes the soul.