Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

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Freed Roger
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

Gashouse wrote:
June 23 21, 5:35 am
Getting the family outdoors this summer:

1) This counts as serious glamping, but we did a houseboat in Voyaguers National Park a couple weeks ago. It was my first time there because why deal with motors when the BWCA is next door? It was interesting, and I'd consider it again. It was originally supposed to be a BWCA trip, but we switched to the houseboat to accommodate my in-laws, who are no longer able to do the BWCA.

2) Actually heading to BWCA this coming weekend. I was supposed to be doing a father-daughter 3-day weekend on the Superior Hiking Trail. I wanted to give my daughter a taste of backpacking because I think she'd like it. Plus, I wanted to use it as a warm up for taking her to Isle Royale next summer. We were going to go with another father-daughter combo, but unfortunately, her friend has a leg injury. A 3-day weekend with a pack on is against doctor's orders. So we had to scrap that plan, but we were lucky enough to find an entry permit for the BWCA on short notice. So, we're making the most of it. After going often to the BWCA pre-kids, I've realized how infrequently I've gone since then. Looking forward to some paddling for a few days.

3) We postponed a trip to Glacier last year for all the obvious reasons, but have it rescheduled for this year. I missed some camping reservations in the park, but am banking on nabbing a first-come, first-serve site after we get there. Looking forward to day-hikes there.
Great shtit Gashouse.

the more traveling and exploring I do, the more additional places I want to go. Need a deeper visit to BWCA.

Freed Roger
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

I paddled from Illinois side of Mississippi below Chain of Rocks to the Arch, biked back.

lots of fun stuff out there locally, once you get the experience/logistics/safety base down.

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Popeye_Card
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Popeye_Card »

I have spent the majority of this year in Salt Lake City. I skied a lot, then hiked a lot when the snow melted, then rehydrated by drinking a lot of <5% beer.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Utah is very kick ass. For beer enthusiasts...well they try hard within the parameters they must deal with.

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cardinalkarp
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by cardinalkarp »

Popeye_Card wrote:
June 23 21, 2:27 pm
I have spent the majority of this year in Salt Lake City. I skied a lot, then hiked a lot when the snow melted, then rehydrated by drinking a lot of <5% beer.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Utah is very kick ass. For beer enthusiasts...well they try hard within the parameters they must deal with.
I have to agree w/ the Utah nod. Granted we were in southern Utah, but man, what a beautiful part of the country.

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lukethedrifter
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by lukethedrifter »

I’m at the Twins game on my way to kayaking the Apostle Islands.
I’ll get to the Boundary Waters one day

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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

lukethedrifter wrote:
July 24 21, 4:31 pm

I’ll get to the Boundary Waters one day
Let's go !

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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by Freed Roger »

Popeye_Card wrote:
June 23 21, 2:27 pm
I have spent the majority of this year in Salt Lake City. I skied a lot, then hiked a lot when the snow melted, then rehydrated by drinking a lot of <5% beer.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Utah is very kick ass. For beer enthusiasts...well they try hard within the parameters they must deal with.
Utah is amazing. In some ways the limititations imposed by the { ya know who controls the state with regards to these liquour rules and everything else ] make it more fun, and a challenge. Had to work my ass off to see Men's World Cup games in 2014 (Brazil hosted). Not a lot of 11 am bar options in Springdale UT. Some places didn't even have it on, because they want to turn tables, and the American SW is full of Euro tourists, especially Germans who want to watch soccer. Found a place where we met a waitress that would let me in to watch at 11 am. Good times.

IIRC, you can't just order a beer, without food. I loved the late night spirit of a place in Springdale that had 69 cent nachos that you could buy in order to drink.

Was in Moab 2 years ago this November. Loved that place. Did a 50k trail race with my brother and a friend that was a [expletive] but lots of fun. Stayed in a place that the John Candy character ala Planes Trains and Automobile would have hit. Went to Arches with by brother, hit alot of stops and plied thru a slot canyon on an extemporaneous hike. Another highlight was there happened to be some meteor shower event then - so I got my ass up at like 3:30 AM and went out in the boonies. Saw a few meteors, but it wasn't the show i expected. Since I was there, I just drove on to Dead Horse Gulch point before dawn and watched the sunrise with maybe 30 other people scattered at various spots to see the magic. Surreal.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by AWvsCBsteeeerike3 »

Took the kids out to lake ouachita and camped on an island. It was Littlest AW's first time camping, so we had to make sure to have the smores to keep her happy :)
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Little AW wanted ghost stories. Pro tip: Don't tell good ghost stories to little kids. They were freaked out the rest of the night. Ha.

Then it rained which actually worked out pretty well and helped keep them asleep.

I'm always amazed at how quiet it is when you get to the middle of nowhere, yet how loud the crickets are. There were also no less than a billion fireflies and mayflies around which was awesome. Of course, there were a million bluegill waiting to eat the mayflies as well. I have no doubt if we had thrown a line in with a little bluegill or hot dog or anything, probably, that we'd have caught a catfish. Though, we had no way to cook it and didn't really want to catch one. Next time we might come prepared to do that, though. Anyway, they had a great time. And are going to be ramping up the pressure on Mrs. AW to come with us next time. We'll see.

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cardinalkarp
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by cardinalkarp »

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:
August 16 21, 7:36 am
Took the kids out to lake ouachita and camped on an island. It was Littlest AW's first time camping, so we had to make sure to have the smores to keep her happy :)
[SHOW]
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Little AW wanted ghost stories. Pro tip: Don't tell good ghost stories to little kids. They were freaked out the rest of the night. Ha.

Then it rained which actually worked out pretty well and helped keep them asleep.

I'm always amazed at how quiet it is when you get to the middle of nowhere, yet how loud the crickets are. There were also no less than a billion fireflies and mayflies around which was awesome. Of course, there were a million bluegill waiting to eat the mayflies as well. I have no doubt if we had thrown a line in with a little bluegill or hot dog or anything, probably, that we'd have caught a catfish. Though, we had no way to cook it and didn't really want to catch one. Next time we might come prepared to do that, though. Anyway, they had a great time. And are going to be ramping up the pressure on Mrs. AW to come with us next time. We'll see.
That looks wonderful, nothing like camping w/o anyone else in sight.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3
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Re: Camping, backpacking, hiking, et al

Post by AWvsCBsteeeerike3 »

cardinalkarp wrote:
August 16 21, 9:07 am
AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:
August 16 21, 7:36 am
Took the kids out to lake ouachita and camped on an island. It was Littlest AW's first time camping, so we had to make sure to have the smores to keep her happy :)
[SHOW]
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Little AW wanted ghost stories. Pro tip: Don't tell good ghost stories to little kids. They were freaked out the rest of the night. Ha.

Then it rained which actually worked out pretty well and helped keep them asleep.

I'm always amazed at how quiet it is when you get to the middle of nowhere, yet how loud the crickets are. There were also no less than a billion fireflies and mayflies around which was awesome. Of course, there were a million bluegill waiting to eat the mayflies as well. I have no doubt if we had thrown a line in with a little bluegill or hot dog or anything, probably, that we'd have caught a catfish. Though, we had no way to cook it and didn't really want to catch one. Next time we might come prepared to do that, though. Anyway, they had a great time. And are going to be ramping up the pressure on Mrs. AW to come with us next time. We'll see.
That looks wonderful, nothing like camping w/o anyone else in sight.
Definitely. Think I've said it before, but Lake Ouachita is like a little slice of heaven on earth, to me. Highly recommend it to anyone if they're in the area. Hell, if anyone wants to go out, hit me up, I'm always looking for a reason to give a tour of the area.

I was reading through the thread and a lot of ultralight campers/talk. That's not us, ha. I had to take a suitcase just for our sleeping gear (mattress, pillows, blankets, tent, cover, inverter to blow up the mattress). Plus a cooler, dry clothes for the kids, etc. I was packing everything up to go and was like...sheesh, this is so much more complicated than just going to a hotel for a weekend. But, my kids aren't exactly old enough to be minimalist and at this point its all about making them happy.

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