LOOKING FOR DEALS ON GEAR

During the yard sale season, many good finds can be picked up for a song and dance. I didn’t do much of that kind of thing this summer but I did come up with a few good pieces of equipment.

            First, I found a light weight tent that looked interesting. This was at a moving sale and it was marked ridiculously low to begin with so when I asked the condition of the tent, the owner immediately said “It should be alright, but I’ll make you a deal. Take it for a dollar.” What could I do? For a dollar I at least had another set of tent stakes, even if the tent was no good!

(tent picked up cheap, yet a good find)

            Once I got home with this find, I set the tent up in the front yard to check out its condition. Pleasantly, I found it to be in quite excellent shape as far as the fabric, zippers and netting goes. The only problems I see is that the collapsible poles are a bit worse for wear. Someone must have bent them a bit farther than was intended for them to go because two sections were split. But for just a few bucks, new poles can be had and it is certainly a roomy tent. Its light weight also makes it good for moderate weather backpacking.



(cook set picked up for one dollar)



           

Second, I also found another cook set that was in mint condition. If ever used it wasn’t used more than a single time. This excellent set consisted of a shallow cooking pot with a cover, a dish and a metal drinking cup. Although a little large to use backpacking, it will come in handy on any fishing and hunting camping trips in the near future. I believe I spent a total of one dollar for this as well.



(inside contents of the cook set)



            Not all items go for a dollar. The third item picked up was a rifle scope with a mil-dot reticle. This will work well on any number of rifles and although a bit more in money, it was still way less than shelling out for a new one. Of course it will mean making another trip to the shooting range to sight it in, but sacrifices must be made!

            Not only did I find these additions to my gear, but a couple of friends also found a number of useful items. Each one found a ground blind for less than half the price of new cost, and neither blind had been set up more than once or twice. The original blazing white tags were still on them. Add to that camo seats and stools, fishing equipment, plus a number of other items and you get the idea.

            Although I would not look in this direction for items that my life might depend upon, it still shows that some very useful camping and outdoor items can be found second hand. Don’t over look the opportunity next time your spouse suggests another yard sale trip.

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.