Backpacking Trip, Part 1

I do not like camping.

Camping is pointless.

Campgrounds are annoying. I am not a social person. Why go somewhere to get away and relax when there are a bunch of people right next to you?

I take each kid somewhere individually each year. For example, this year I took Beta, just him and me, to Cedar Point for the whole day.

And I took Alpha backpacking.

People who know me were curious as to why I was rounding up camping equipment.

“A tent? I thought you hated camping…”
“I do. That’s why I’m not going camping. I’m going backpacking.”
“What’s the difference? You walk around, you go to a campsite, and you sleep in a tent.”
“No, there’s no campsite. The difference is you make your own camp, wherever you want.”

Some people still weren’t quite clear on the concept.

The key is to find a national forest or national park that allows for backpacking (or what they call “dispersed camping”). That way you can camp wherever you please. Well, almost – they don’t want you camping next to the trail or near water. But it’s great – you walk along as far as you want and then you camp there. No “we have to make it 3 more miles to the campground”. And from the time we left the parking lot to when we returned to it, we did not see or hear any other people.

If you’re going camping to enjoy nature, then backpacking is the way to go, not camping. Or “campgrounding” as some call it. That’s the way to enjoy crowds and inconvenience.

After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

Matthew 14:23

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This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:36 am and has been carefully placed in the Travel category.

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