My husband convinced me to try camping recently. I am not much into camping, but I agreed. I know I had to travel light, but that is just not something in my nature.
Packing Light
There are many things to prepare for when leaving for vacation, and I wanted to be prepared. My belief is that your mode of travel defines how much you can bring with you. I used to be horrible about over packing clothes, and camping certainly didnt fit in well with this habit. I would bring two sometimes three outfits for a day. Most times I would bring back several outfits that never were unfolded from the suit case. The more I travel the more I learn to cut down on what I take along. I bring along basic pieces that can mix and match. I also bring different accessories that help turn a day time outfit into an evening one with a few adjustments.
Adding Some Canoeing
Our trip last summer did not involve needing any night clothes. My husband talked me into going to the boundary waters canoe area on the northern Minnesota Canadian border. We would be leaving the car at an outfitter and would have to limit our supplies for the week to what we were able to carry in backpacks. This needed to include clothes, food, cooking utensils a tent and bedding. We would be canoeing and portaging to different camp sites. Because there was a possibility that the canoe would tip, we needed to have everything sealed in water proof containers. I was somewhat leery about this adventure. I have camped many times but the campgrounds I am used to have shower houses and picnic tables and the car is parked next to the tent. In the boundary waters I did not know which way to go to get back to the car. I found a waterproof flashlight to bring along. I thought it would be important to have a reliable source of light in case we needed to signal for help.
Getting Wet
My back pack was a large Duluth pack. I had my clothes and toiletries, the prepackaged dried food pouches, trail mix water bottles and the waterproof flashlight in my pack. Tied on the outside of the pack was my sleeping bag a pop up tent and a campfire kettle. The pack weighed in at sixty three pounds. I was not sure if I would be able to carry the pack while also supporting a canoe during portages. My husband carried the rest of the things we needed so his pack weighed over eighty pounds. We managed to keep everything dry the first leg of our trip. We set up camp and canoed close to it the first day so that we would not have to set up every day. We did get one day of raining. My waterproof flashlight was about the only thing that didnt get soaked and nonfunctional in the rain. We certainly werent the most prepared campers in the world.
The trip was certainly quite an experience. My husband totally loved it, but i’m not sure whether or not I will repeat the trip. It was OK I guess, but I would much rather stay in a hotel. I would also consider trying some RV camping, that seems like something I could get into. I think I just need to ease into it a bit more next time.
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