# Camping



## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Had a nice snow season this year, but that's all thawed now.
So since I have been working 12 hours a day forever, it is time to get out this weekend.
think I'll do some desert camping. Just go out in the middle of nowhere and set camp.
There's a lotta nowhere in Arizona.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Ralph, different terrain for me.

High country might be 6000ft, but winters cold as hell, ice 2-3' thick, last year an exception to the ice.

I keep equipment for hot (90 oF) summer and cold winters (-20 oF). Bug things for here, black flies and misquitoes, ticks making an inroad

Right now I'm looking at brook trout, morels, and leeks/ramps . Ramps are up, ice is gone, but a few weeks for morels
, 
I invested in good equipment years ago, most is still good to go. My all leather vasque and limmer boots, and most of old school north face stuff. 

Have newer water filters, but still use an old MSR too.

I like primitive camping where permited and won't hurt wilderness. Did that as a child when no $$$, but the best of times.

Have fun in the woods.

P.S. We were Boys in the woods, NOT Boys in the hood


----------



## rstanek (Nov 9, 2012)

Have fun, and be safe, take time to think about doing that for the long term and what it would take with what you have with you...


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Be safe Ralphie my boy, and have fun!


----------



## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

Have fun ,, look out for them rattlers .


----------



## txmarine6531 (Nov 18, 2015)

Have fun, I haven't camped like that in years.


----------



## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

Have fun,I plan on going camping in June. Mostly to test some new gear and get out of the city.


----------



## SittingElf (Feb 9, 2016)

My eight year old son wanted to go camping, so.......this was his plan!


----------



## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Sounds like a well deserved break Ralph. Enjoy and know that I am envious.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

have a lookie at Muzzleloader Magazine and the Forums - Traditional Muzzleloading Forum - Muzzleloader Flintlock Black Powder

Lots of info on living in the woods, good people, and no BS


----------



## TacticalCanuck (Aug 5, 2014)

Love camping, hiking and fishing. Good times.


----------



## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

building a cabin shelter


----------



## txmarine6531 (Nov 18, 2015)

SittingElf said:


> My eight year old son wanted to go camping, so.......this was his plan!
> 
> View attachment 15886


Me and my sisters camped in the backyard when we were little. It's fun.


----------



## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

There are a few spots in the Grahams where guys have started building themselves little huts in odd places. Most likely they were either impromptu shelters by survivalists, or hunting blinds. It's kinda cool since a few of them overlook popular trails but are almost invisible to the city folk. 

I have a survivalist friend who likes to stash gear at his favorite hunting sites. They are pretty remote and it is unlikely anyone would stumble across them (really remote). I always preferred to hang on to my gear because sometimes it may be years before I get back to that site. 

One time I built a camp site with a built-in fridge. Even encouraged the native foliage to grow up and over the site so within 6 months it was visible only when you were standing in the middle of the place.


----------



## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

So this weekend we did a short hike thru rough terrain with heavy packs. We stayed down in the desert this time, climbed up to the waterfall hoping to camp on water, but the water was nasty, but we brought enough because people who don't pack water int he desert tend to die.

Here is a quick look at my spice bag, a critical element for hunter-gatherers. Trail food is really blaaaaa so you wanna have a goodly supply of spices on hand. Garlic powder, pepper grinder, poultry seasoning, salt, and onion powder. Not shown is the sugar bottle















Here is a good picture of how I treat my sites when I am done. I am essentially trying to erase the site. After I break up the fire pit, I replace as much of the top cover as possible, scatter rocks randomly, and lay down a nice lattice of fire wood to inhibit erosion of the site. In 60 days there should be very little signs that anyone had ever camped there.


----------



## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

This is looking up the canyon we camped in. That's Rincon Peak some 6000 feet above us. It is a Class A hike. Today was just a Class C or D, nothing too killer.








This is my BOB. I carry the kitchen, I'm like a walking chuck wagon. You remember that guy who carried a dresser on his back in Blood of Heroes? That's me. Today is not so bad, only about an 80 lb pack. My compatriots got stuck with the water jugs. But they were only heavy going up. They carry consumables, but I carry a kitchen that weighs about as much going down as up. _Prolly why I tear up my feet so much._


----------



## Mosinator762x54r (Nov 4, 2015)

Excellent. Thanks for sharing. A lot of "campers" don't really take time or care to follow up and clear the site where they stopped to be sure it looks relatively untouched when they go. Sad but true.

My son and I backyard camped this weekend as we had a new tent to break in (It was awful MSR Fast Stash...run away from that piece of engineering garbage.) Looking to get out into nature in the next couple weeks. I have a six day week this week, but the week after a three day weekend so we'll be heading out into the back woods of Rhode Island to some private property owned by a relative for nature camping/hiking. Will post pictures and so on when we get done.



Ralph Rotten said:


> So this weekend we did a short hike thru rough terrain with heavy packs. We stayed down in the desert this time, climbed up to the waterfall hoping to camp on water, but the water was nasty, but we brought enough because people who don't pack water int he desert tend to die.
> 
> Here is a quick look at my spice bag, a critical element for hunter-gatherers. Trail food is really blaaaaa so you wanna have a goodly supply of spices on hand. Garlic powder, pepper grinder, poultry seasoning, salt, and onion powder. Not shown is the sugar bottle
> View attachment 15937
> ...


----------



## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

And this is a view down the canyon. Weather was perfect, 75F or so. 
I don;t even consider it hot until it hits 100
100-110 is very hot
>110 is F$!#ing hot
View attachment 15941


----------



## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

This is why we brought plenty of water even though we were sure that we'd be camping on water. This is a view of the regional Zika headquarters.
The water was flowing a bit, and could be filtered & treated to drink...but we had brought plenty.
Desert camping secret: Always carry at least a half day more water than what it takes to get to your next water hole.
View attachment 15942

In the desert, never count on water being there still, even if there are water reports.


----------

