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Friday Five: Torture edition!
Jul. 25th, 2014 10:21 amToday's Friday Five is about camping torture!
1. Have you ever gone camping?
That's a yes. Four times, primitive camping at music festivals, which is the only thing that would even entice me to TOLERATE camping. Bonnaroo 2010, Wakarusa 2012-2014.
2. Do you prefer to rough it or do you prefer some comforts?
I prefer "some comforts", if by that phrase you mean "an RV or possible a hotel". I can't sleep in a tent with people around because I hear everything, but I also can't sleep in one in the total quiet because my imagination goes wild. I can't stand port-a-potties, but I like the idea of digging a hole (backpacking style) even less. I feel gross & sticky without running water. I am a fan of modern climate control.
3. What is your favorite meal to prepare ‘in the wild’?
Not preparing one at all? If I had to choose, though, I would do grilled fish. Fast & delicious.
4. Where was your camp site (by a lake, in the mountains, etc.)?
Both music festivals are set in a mountainous region: Bonnaroo is in the Appalachian hills of Tennessee, and Wakarusa is in the Ozarks. Waka has the more mountainous features, and if you camp in West Woods, you get all-day shade, which was a major plus.
5. Million dollar question – did you have fun? The music was fun in all these situations. I hated the camping in all of them, however. My major objection to all 3 years in Wakarusa was the WEATHER. I don't wish to ride out major thunderstorms in a tent or my car, and in all 3 cases I was forced to do exactly that. 2013 was the WORST, with 60 mph gusts. I FELT like the only thing holding the tent down was me & Bryan, but upon checking the pegs the next morning, we found it had held EXTREMELY well.
That's my basic gripe with camping: we're good at it. We pitch a tent quickly. We pack food well (we've mastered the art of dry ice with water ice over top) & make wise decisions about what food to pack. We prepare for the weather & handle it well. We bring stuff to "bathe" like wet wipes & hand sanitizers. We even know how to rig Bryan's CPAP to a small engine battery (we have a lawnmower one but we understand a marine deep cycle would be better), and we know how to recharge that battery using a car engine. We know how to do this, and if there was ever some emergency in which we HAD to camp, we'd be a pretty good pair of people to have on your team. The fact remains, though, that we HATE IT WITH A PASSION. We are uncomfortable, gross & sticky, and if it wasn't for the music festival aspect, we'd be bored as hell.
So. Next year? I'm booking a hotel in Ozark for Wakarusa. :)
1. Have you ever gone camping?
That's a yes. Four times, primitive camping at music festivals, which is the only thing that would even entice me to TOLERATE camping. Bonnaroo 2010, Wakarusa 2012-2014.
2. Do you prefer to rough it or do you prefer some comforts?
I prefer "some comforts", if by that phrase you mean "an RV or possible a hotel". I can't sleep in a tent with people around because I hear everything, but I also can't sleep in one in the total quiet because my imagination goes wild. I can't stand port-a-potties, but I like the idea of digging a hole (backpacking style) even less. I feel gross & sticky without running water. I am a fan of modern climate control.
3. What is your favorite meal to prepare ‘in the wild’?
Not preparing one at all? If I had to choose, though, I would do grilled fish. Fast & delicious.
4. Where was your camp site (by a lake, in the mountains, etc.)?
Both music festivals are set in a mountainous region: Bonnaroo is in the Appalachian hills of Tennessee, and Wakarusa is in the Ozarks. Waka has the more mountainous features, and if you camp in West Woods, you get all-day shade, which was a major plus.
5. Million dollar question – did you have fun? The music was fun in all these situations. I hated the camping in all of them, however. My major objection to all 3 years in Wakarusa was the WEATHER. I don't wish to ride out major thunderstorms in a tent or my car, and in all 3 cases I was forced to do exactly that. 2013 was the WORST, with 60 mph gusts. I FELT like the only thing holding the tent down was me & Bryan, but upon checking the pegs the next morning, we found it had held EXTREMELY well.
That's my basic gripe with camping: we're good at it. We pitch a tent quickly. We pack food well (we've mastered the art of dry ice with water ice over top) & make wise decisions about what food to pack. We prepare for the weather & handle it well. We bring stuff to "bathe" like wet wipes & hand sanitizers. We even know how to rig Bryan's CPAP to a small engine battery (we have a lawnmower one but we understand a marine deep cycle would be better), and we know how to recharge that battery using a car engine. We know how to do this, and if there was ever some emergency in which we HAD to camp, we'd be a pretty good pair of people to have on your team. The fact remains, though, that we HATE IT WITH A PASSION. We are uncomfortable, gross & sticky, and if it wasn't for the music festival aspect, we'd be bored as hell.
So. Next year? I'm booking a hotel in Ozark for Wakarusa. :)
