View Full Version : Camping in luxury?
greenmtnboy
06-27-2017, 17:38
NY Times article on camping in an upscale way. To me it looks like the yuppification of the outdoors which traditionalists would reject as just plain stupid and pretentious. Hiking and camping should be spartan and test our mettle and character in good ways not seek to bring our spoiled habits into the great outdoors.
greenmtnboy
06-27-2017, 17:38
Oops forgot to link it: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/dining/camping-food-cooking-technology.html?=undefined&target=comments&hp=undefined&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&modref=HPCommentsRefer&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
. Hiking and camping should be spartan and test our mettle and character in good ways not seek to bring our spoiled habits into the great outdoors.
Sez who? If you want to be Spartan go ahead, if you want to carry luxury items, your choice. I hike for fun, I get enough character testing at work.
cmoulder
06-27-2017, 18:02
Tiptoe beat you to it (https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/125464-nytimes-Upscale-Food-and-Gear-Bring-Campsite-Cooking-Out-of-the-Wild) by 33 minutes, lol. :D
Don't worry, these folks won't be getting very far into the woods and you might score some gourmet vittles not far from a road crossing.
Heliotrope
06-27-2017, 18:30
Tiptoe beat you to it (https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/125464-nytimes-Upscale-Food-and-Gear-Bring-Campsite-Cooking-Out-of-the-Wild) by 33 minutes, lol. :D
Don't worry, these folks won't be getting very far into the woods and you might score some gourmet vittles not far from a road crossing.
Hahaha! So true.
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Slo-go'en
06-27-2017, 19:40
Tiptoe beat you to it (https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/125464-nytimes-Upscale-Food-and-Gear-Bring-Campsite-Cooking-Out-of-the-Wild) by 33 minutes, lol. :D
Don't worry, these folks won't be getting very far into the woods and you might score some gourmet vittles not far from a road crossing.
I scored a gourmet lunch near the summit of Mt Graylock on one of my LASHer hikes thanks to couple of nice ladies out for the day.
The more crap that goes into the woods, onto the river, to the top of the mountain, etc the more crap that humans will leave there.
Hey, I need a generator for my "portable rotating pedestal fan", beer and steak cooler, to inflate my inflatable mattress, to energize electronics, etc. Gotta watch that game and the Bitchlerotte.
Humans can't even responsibly hygienically discard their own excrement without thinking just dropping a rock or pile of leaves on a large TP flower does the job. Go ahead debate that when wandering around atop Mt Whitney. Mt Elbert, or observing at a front country CG a family of four allowing Fido to romp and defecate in the swimming and/or drinking water.
I also have an RV. I was thinking about this concept a while back..."what is camping?".
The RV is great family time, sometimes I get outdoors and "away from it all" with it....but that aint camping to me. But to some people, they call it camping. To others it's fancy living.
To me real camping is getting into the outdoors. It can be had from going to say a state park campground and camping near the tailgate of my truck..... but mostly that aint it for me. But to some people, that's camping
To me camping is backpacking down a trail a ways. Or paddling a canoe or kayak to some island or sandbar. Dispersed camping mostly fits it for me.... but that is not without a certain civilization still.
Anyway, When I was thinking about it.....it dawned on me that the definition is very relative. There is some element of roughing it required. Simplifying down from what your "normal" is.....
It would also include some element of nature and outdoors..... but backpacking with hundreds of dollars worth of fancy stoves, flashlights, and other equipment.....travelling down an improved and marked trail, complete with shelters, water sources and sometimes even facilities.....
to some folks THAT is fancy living. There are folks in this world who live by torchlight and sleep in lean-to shelters. They don't have canister stoves, water filters, bug netting..... Are they camping?
MuddyWaters
06-27-2017, 21:45
In the words of John Pinette:
"If Lewis and Clark had seen a Hilton, they wouldnt have camped"
hikehunter
06-28-2017, 01:30
I belive it is best for newbies stay at a state park or a KOA for the first few times to see if it is what they really think it truely is to be out back....
rocketsocks
06-28-2017, 01:52
In the words of John Pinette:
"If Lewis and Clark had seen a Hilton, they wouldnt have camped"An Indian casino.
MuddyWaters
06-28-2017, 07:24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttTmincYe9M
greenmtnboy
06-28-2017, 08:05
When I was in boy scouts there were campers with their gas tent warmers, who lived high on the hog at mealtime, had the best gear, etc.. For the serious campers basic nutritious food was good enough.
LittleRock
06-28-2017, 08:07
NY Times article on camping in an upscale way. To me it looks like the yuppification of the outdoors which traditionalists would reject as just plain stupid and pretentious. Hiking and camping should be spartan and test our mettle and character in good ways not seek to bring our spoiled habits into the great outdoors.
To each his own. One nice thing about those people is they often bring more food than they can eat, and are only too happy to give away their extras. :-)
Just Bill
06-28-2017, 08:45
Reminds me of boundary waters trips... or car camping trips with buddies... or a romantic dinner by the campfire with my wife.
Not every trip is a LD backpacking trip if you enjoy the outdoors.
And personally- the more people with money who visit the outdoors - the more bodies to vote for it and the more money to protect it.
I was expecting much worse before reading the article (like the folks who call this "camping": https://autocamp.com/gallery/). I love to rip on well to do yuppies taking a stab at roughing it, I just do, but I don't see any foul here. Just a bunch of folks getting creative in order to eat well in the woods. Aren't we all to some degree?
Harrison Bergeron
06-28-2017, 19:40
Reminds me of boundary waters trips... or car camping trips with buddies... or a romantic dinner by the campfire with my wife.
Not every trip is a LD backpacking trip if you enjoy the outdoors.
And personally- the more people with money who visit the outdoors - the more bodies to vote for it and the more money to protect it.
Yeah! What he said!
The only part of that article that bothered me was the words "NY Times".
My gear is minimal because my back is weak, not because I like short rations, dirty underwear, and a hard bed. In Texas, I'd hike with an air conditioner if they didn't weigh 100 pounds!
They are car camping. Why wouldn't you bring whatever you want?
MuddyWaters
06-28-2017, 20:08
When we started car camping with tiger cubs and cub scouts, people hauled trailers of stuff.
Generators, full size gas barbecue grills from home, space heaters, air conditioners, satellite dish, big screen projector TV to watch ball games, big white tents to lounge under. They werent camping, as much as tailgating ( which is what they was used to). Everyone slept on inflatable bed, not a camping mattress, a full size air mattress. Huge tents . Astroturf . Lounge chairs.
One guy brought fogger and would spray the whole area for bugs. These people literally would have to take day off of work to pack for one day, two nights of camping.
One time, a dad took off and brought his tractor and bushhog to the scout ranch to mow the area we were going to camp at as well. And treat fire ant mounds.
Then we always had a little project to do to fix something at the ranch so we all brung our tools too.
But we ate well. Boy, we ate well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttTmincYe9M
Of course Pinette didn't want to leave the Winnebago because that's where the microwave and fridge were. Walk? Walk 2 miles? John Pinette could barely get to the stage without keeling over. See how he's always out of breathe? I remember when he died a few yrs back of liver and heart disease. A pulmonary embolism, usually caused by a blood clot, eventually did him in. Hmm, bet it had nothing to do with his diet or weight. Made us all laugh when he was here though.
Yeah! What he said!
The only part of that article that bothered me was the words "NY Times".
My gear is minimal because my back is weak, not because I like short rations, dirty underwear, and a hard bed. In Texas, I'd hike with an air conditioner if they didn't weigh 100 pounds!
NYT is dying on the vine, no one reads it but old hippies and snowflakes. The facts are that many areas are being run over, but, especially in the West, there's lots and lots of areas difficult to access.
MuddyWaters
06-28-2017, 20:55
Of course Pinette didn't want to leave the Winnebago because that's where the microwave and fridge were. Walk? Walk 2 miles? John Pinette could barely get to the stage without keeling over. See how he's always out of breathe? I remember when he died a few yrs back of liver and heart disease. A pulmonary embolism, usually caused by a blood clot, eventually did him in. Hmm, bet it had nothing to do with his diet or weight. Made us all laugh when he was here though.
John made his career off of one act for the most part.
But when he was younger, he was so gifted. The mannerisms, expressions, etc.
And he really enjoyed the routine and being on stage.
when he got a few years older he yelled a lot, didnt seem happy on stage
he recited his previous act, but without the mannerisms that made it so damn funny originally.
He was one of the great comics, clean material. Just a hilarious delivery.
95% of comics today arent even funny. They are just vulgar jerks.
Traffic Jam
06-29-2017, 09:49
There's a time and place for everything and RV'ing/glamping is just one more way to enjoy the outdoors, especially for people who aren't into sleeping on the ground. It's a good way to introduce younguns to camping or to spend time with a significant other who doesn't backpack.
Personally, I really want one of those tear drop campers so I'll have more options for spontaneous traveling.
perdidochas
06-29-2017, 10:35
NY Times article on camping in an upscale way. To me it looks like the yuppification of the outdoors which traditionalists would reject as just plain stupid and pretentious. Hiking and camping should be spartan and test our mettle and character in good ways not seek to bring our spoiled habits into the great outdoors.
Camp your own camp. If they want to camp in luxury so be it. If you want to camp in a spartan style, so be it. Camping is not a moral test. It's just sleeping outdoors.
perdidochas
06-29-2017, 10:38
The more crap that goes into the woods, onto the river, to the top of the mountain, etc the more crap that humans will leave there.
Hey, I need a generator for my "portable rotating pedestal fan", beer and steak cooler, to inflate my inflatable mattress, to energize electronics, etc. Gotta watch that game and the Bitchlerotte.
You didn't read the article, did you..... The article was about cooking gourmet foods, not about luxury comfort items like mattresses, etc.
Traffic Jam
06-29-2017, 10:52
You didn't read the article, did you..... The article was about cooking gourmet foods, not about luxury comfort items like mattresses, etc.
Ha! Gotcha. ;)
This article has it right. Cooking at a campground over a fire is top shelf living. Even hotdogs, which I don't eat at home, taste great over a fire. It's not like you're in the backcountry. Live it up and eat great. My wife even has a battery operated sink for clean up.
To both of you I did read the article through before making my comment about "stuff" - gear - brought into the woods. Although you are right Perdidochas the article wasn't specifically about or mentioned inflatable mattresses it was about bringing upscale - "comfort" - food(and "luxury comfort" gear) into the woods. Let's remind ourselves of the title of the piece Upscale Food and Gear Bring Campsite Cooking Out of the Wild. I think it stands to reason if one is going to bring upscale Foodie gear into the woods like coolers, which I mentioned in my post and was mentioned in the piece, there's an above average likelihood other upscale "stuff" - creature comfort gear - is not far behind being included.
Read the article. It mentions $300 Hyper- cold coolers, $60 double walled Ti cups, making beer on trail(now that's an idea :), wonder where the left over bi-products will be discarded?), French presses, paper towel holders, and a camp stove fed with twigs that converts heat to electricity that charges electronics. See the flimsy trail chairs in the photo? To think this mindset of having these creature comforts and abilities isn't going to result to some extent in more discarded "stuff" being left in the outdoors is naïve. This is what I was getting at. How many times have some of us witnessed discarded broken collapsible camp chairs and coolers in the outdoors including at campgrounds and along river banks. I've observed metal foils, tins, food remains, copious amounts of coffee grinds, and even more than a few broken French presses thrown about many a campsite and into campfire rings more times than I can recall. This isn't just along the AT either. This is in NP's, SP's, Nat. Forests, etc.
There's a huge mis-perception - some(me - a FOODIE off and on trail) would say a shopping - " you need stuff", gear - agenda asserting more stuff is needed - being pushed in the article when it comes to having great food in the outdoors whether it be front OR back country. What's being pushed is that a Foodie needs the same food and gear as bought and used off trail as they need on trail to have GREAT trail food. This is a mis-perception. What a Foodie needs is to think differently on trail to have GREAT food. The article promotes comfort luxury gear or in other words prepare your Foodie meals similarly as you did at home using the same "made for the outdoors luxury" gear; this new fangled luxury Yuppie gear will solve that for you; you don't have to do anything differently just buy this. BS!
It's also a misconception that going UL or considering what wt and "stuff" is hauled into the outdoors(or from the car) - "being an oz counter" - means you can't have GREAT QUALITY FOOD on trail being pushed, that you have to give up good food if you go into the outdoors, even back country, that you need all this " bought stuff." I call BS...AS A UL FOODIE!!
Routinely I carry food as presented in the article onto hikes, not just front country hikes either, that overall meets a UL or lite wt backpacking philosophy by resupplying more often allowing to carry FRESH food items, knowing what to responsibly forage for in season(fresh foraged berries, green onions, ginger, greens, fruit, tubers, fresh fish, mushrooms, etc), being apprised of current H20 conditions that I'm not carrying too much water wt off setting the fresh food wt, dehydrating my own foods or buying SOME to mix into meals, easily growing my own trail sprouts, etc. these are just a few of the things one might consider to have DELISH trail food!
"The classic hard-core ultralight backpacker may chop off the handle of a spoon to save a few grams, or eat instant coffee instead of wasting time and fuel boiling water. But for others who carry supper on their backs, food quality outweighs ounce-counting.
“I see a lot of hikers who are very reluctant to give up good food as they go into the outdoors,” Ms. Aksamit said.
The writer should have done more research! It's an article that I would expect in the likes of the NY Times, Outside mag, etc. with their readership.
StubbleJumper
06-29-2017, 18:37
Luxury camping? To me, luxury camping requires a day of challenging hiking, with outstanding vistas. Add to this, a dry-ish night in my tent, with 5-10 mph wind to keep the condensation down. The pure silence of the backcountry, accompanied by the knowledge that the nearest person to you is likely miles away is amazing.
Who needs gourmet food?
The article promotes not just gourmet food but a larger picture, it promotes a way, a lifestyle, a culture, a picture based on materialism, over indulgent U.S. consumption, the all too common U.S. cultural phenomenon of shopping, more is always more, more is always better, buy, buy, buy, you need this gadget or that piece of "gear" - stuff - to be happy, and that money throw at a goal is the only way to achieve that goal...as a Foodie...to get delicious high quality food in the outdoors. How shallow and how common. How damn misleading.
Who did this writer consult in researching this piece?...the companies selling this stuff, selling this paradigm? Did someone at the NYTs get a free $300 cooler, outdoor paper towel holder, matching appropriate Ti salt & pepper shakers, gourmet outdoor spice rack, or yr's supply of gourmet vacuum sealed backpacker steaks to write the piece from this perspective?
Easy enough to have high quality trail food even in the back country that's still sensitive to wt without the need to do it as depicted. Add the words gourmet to food or delicious healthy eating on trail and this is what you get from the NYT.
Luxury comfort gear = $300 quilt, $300 dollar backpack, and a $300 tent.
cmoulder
06-30-2017, 07:56
Luxury comfort gear = $300 quilt, $300 dollar backpack, and a $300 tent.
How did you determine that?
Traveler
06-30-2017, 09:00
I'm not sure getting worked up over something like menu selections other people may want to tote along with them is all that constructive. If one hauls Mountain House meals into the woods and another carries a more expensive gourmet meal, its a distinction without a difference.
I'm not sure getting worked up over something like menu selections other people may want to tote along with them is all that constructive. If one hauls Mountain House meals into the woods and another carries a more expensive gourmet meal, its a distinction without a difference.
You're missing the entire point of the article. It isn't just about menu selection! If that's all the article was about knock yourself out eating what you want.
Traveler
07-02-2017, 07:57
You're missing the entire point of the article. It isn't just about menu selection! If that's all the article was about knock yourself out eating what you want.
Getting upset over what others consider camping because its not necessarily something another believes is camping is an issue of preference. Purists will always have a differing point of view than the occasional recreationist (not sure thats a word but may be now), to you the type of camping that requires expenditure of money is "shallow and common" to others it may be something new and fun. RV "camping" areas exist in National Parks to accommodate those who find that type of camping enjoyable, then there are back country LNT camping areas for those who find that type of camping more to their liking.
In my view I think theres room for both, in fact, the "shallow and common" camping types don't venture far into the back country, leaving more open trail for me when I get to go into it. How others opt to spend their money is their business. While I can understand and respect your point of view and agree with it for the most part, there is another equally valid point of view from the other side of "shallow and common" and points in-between.
Recreationalists was the word that was meant to be typed. That is a word. :D
The shallow and common adjectives were attached to a larger picture than what one brings camping! Read post #32 again. I don't know what or whom you're labeling as a purist or how you're defining a purist but since I think you are referring to myself heck I too require expenditure of money camping. I do buy things. And, yes I do RV and car camp on occasion too.
It's my rant for the week not aimed personally at you Traveler. Maybe, I should have went to law school. ;)
Frederic
07-07-2017, 02:46
When I saw the name of the thead I thought it was gonna be much worse :)
Just a picnic in the woods :sun
Novelectro
07-08-2017, 09:49
So much butthurt in this thread.
Who cares if people want to bring a bunch of food/gear with them and go cat camping? You all sound like a bunch of people whining about "these kids' rock music is poisoning my ears. They don't know what real music is."
You should be happy that people even want to go to the woods these days.
BuckeyeBill
07-08-2017, 16:23
We may be old but we had the best bands and concerts.
So much butthurt in this thread.
Who cares if people want to bring a bunch of food/gear with them and go cat camping? You all sound like a bunch of people whining about "these kids' rock music is poisoning my ears. They don't know what real music is."
You should be happy that people even want to go to the woods these days.
not butt hurt as much as:
if it is not the way I do it, then it is wrong
when called out for being unreasonable, it is time to get defensive
cmoulder
07-09-2017, 06:39
if it is not the way I do it, then it is wrong
Great line coined by somebody on BPL in reference to FKT critics' complaints, but applies to similar situations
"Enjoying the wilderness incorrectly" :)
Really? That's what you're taking from this when one is willing to question or consider we have options? Let's all do what we want sticking our heads into the sand ignoring behaviors have consequences until it's personally visited upon us? There are no other options to getting what we need or desire or achieving what the article is proposing? Now, who's being the naysayer? Now, who's being rigid? :confused:
Similar to many attitudes when one questions the negative consequences of U.S. culture...don't like it...leave. The last retort of a limited mind.
walkinmyshoes
07-31-2018, 09:37
It's shouldn't be a luxury, I totally agree, but you should have some stuff that improves your comfort. For example, I bought Yeti Cooler (https://under-the-open-sky.com/best-wheeled-coolers/) and it helps me a lot.