View Full Version : Camp entertainments and diversions
What do you bring with you to pass the time in camp?
A deck of cards?
Hackey sack?
What do you bring with you to pass the time in camp?
A deck of cards?
Hackey sack?
I bring a pen and paper to write in a journal. I occasionally will carry a paperback book.
Tha Wookie
06-03-2004, 20:55
a journal, camera, and bowdrill. Don't have time for anything else after setting up the tarp and cooking
Dances with Mice
06-03-2004, 20:56
A pot. A stove. Food to cook. Sometimes even that's too much trouble.
A sleeping bag.
Maybe a book that I find in the morning still turned to the same page I opened it to on the night before.
What's this "time in camp" thing you're talking about?
I would assume that there would be some time to socialize with other hikers for an hour or two at the day. Am I wrong?
smokymtnsteve
06-03-2004, 21:27
some do , some don't..I assume you are speaking of the "end" of the day?
steve hiker
06-03-2004, 21:29
Read the shelter register. If I'm not at a shelter, listen to the animals and the wind in the trees.
some do , some don't..I assume you are speaking of the "end" of the day?
Yes, after dinner, but before bed time.
Sometimes folks will socialize. Like Dances With Mice said, depending on the day, you can be pretty tired. It also depends on the bugs, and the time of year. In March, you're looking at cold nights and 14 hours of darkness. That makes for a long night in the tent or shelter. In June you're looking at 15 hours of daylight.
At the right time of year, and in the right place (Maine), you can swim in the ponds. That makes sleeping alot more comfortable after a hot sweaty day.
The Old Fhart
06-03-2004, 22:09
Dances with Mice-"A pot. A stove. Food to cook.
Sometimes even that's too much trouble.
A sleeping bag. Maybe a book............."
Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough,
A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse--and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness--
And Wilderness is Paradise enow.
---Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
Both the above are pretty close. Get to camp, set up tent, fix food and eat, talk with fellow hikers, read a little or write in journal, sleep. Repeat as necessary until you reach the end of the trail. At the same time simple and complicated-it depends on your outlook. Some of the more memorable moments are the ones that occur between reaching camp and falling to sleep. I have also had some quiet times that I have cherished as well and carrying your own shelter allows you to do either as the mood dictates. This takes care of the problem of snorers as a bonus!
SGT Rock
06-03-2004, 22:15
That is a very open question. Imagine someone from Afganistan asking what Americans do after dinner but before bed. I think we would laugh at the question since not all Americans are alike and we don't do the same thing every night.
Lets see...
Catch fireflies
Read the shelter journal
Drink tea
write in my journal
visit with people
look at the stars
mend gear
maybe read a book
roast marshmellows
play in with fire
watch mice
kill mice
drink bourbon
make stoves
etc....
Pencil Pusher
06-03-2004, 23:07
Indian Leg Wrestling
Thumb wars
Swapping good jokes
steve hiker
06-04-2004, 00:27
Roll one up. :sun
So no playing cards for Twinkies?
No whittling?
No communal lice picking? :D
Roll one up. :sun
Seriously Man, if Pot has become your identity and all that you seem capable of talking about, you need some assistance. Take that from someone who has been there & done that 20+ years ago.
The Appalachian Trail needs more open advocates for getting high just like it needs more ATV traffic. Not.
Pencil Pusher
06-04-2004, 04:00
They only do it because it's against the law and only mildly so at that. Frankly they should just legalize the crap and tax the hell out of it like tobacco. More jobs, more taxes, and more potheads. Keep the drug tests in effect for the employers that use them.
Dances with Mice
06-04-2004, 04:02
You might be surprised how much time and effort it takes to do what now seem like simple things. This always surprised my older scouts who would come to their first backpacking trip with all kinds of stuff to play with - frisbees, hacky sacks, cards, nerf footballs, etc.
For example, even if all you do when you get to camp is set up your sleeping area, change out of your hiking clothes, get water, do a quick wash up, cook supper, and build a little campfire for the evening, it all sounds so quick and simple. No problem at a State Park pull-in campsite.
But the water may be a good ways off from the tent site and needs to be hauled in. If you're near a heavily used shelter there might not be a stick of burnable wood within a 200 yard radius. Washing up means carrying some water and your toiletry items away from the spring and out into the bush a bit. Then you might need a second trip to the water source to get and treat your supply for the next day. And after a day on the trail, once you sit down for supper it might be surprisingly hard to stand back up. Stretching feels like a major exercise. That hacky sack and football don't look so appealing, playing cards by flashlight attracts bugs, and nobody wants to chase a frisbee after hiking all day.
All that being said, I've seen kids drag into camp complaining that they couldn't walk a single step further, they'd set up their tents and collapse. Getting them to get water and start supper was like pulling teeth. I'd ask who was going to go to the spring to get water and just hear crickets respond. Then right after supper the energy level starts to rise, conversation starts back up, jokes start being told, a hacky sack circle forms, and somebody starts finding and breaking up wood for a campfire. I would wonder what happened to the kids that couldn't move an hour before. So don't underestimate the resilience and recovery power of youth, but don't overestimate yours. A hacky sack doesn't weigh all that much and a deck of cards is cheap and can be trashed after a couple of days if they're not being used.
Streamweaver
06-04-2004, 04:32
You might be surprised how much time and effort it takes to do what now seem like simple things. This always surprised my older scouts who would come to their first backpacking trip with all kinds of stuff to play with - frisbees, hacky sacks, cards, nerf footballs, etc.
For example, even if all you do when you get to camp is set up your sleeping area, change out of your hiking clothes, get water, do a quick wash up, cook supper, and build a little campfire for the evening, it all sounds so quick and simple. No problem at a State Park pull-in campsite.
But the water may be a good ways off from the tent site and needs to be hauled in. If you're near a heavily used shelter there might not be a stick of burnable wood within a 200 yard radius. Washing up means carrying some water and your toiletry items away from the spring and out into the bush a bit. Then you might need a second trip to the water source to get and treat your supply for the next day. And after a day on the trail, once you sit down for supper it might be surprisingly hard to stand back up. Stretching feels like a major exercise. That hacky sack and football don't look so appealing, playing cards by flashlight attracts bugs, and nobody wants to chase a frisbee after hiking all day.
All that being said, I've seen kids drag into camp complaining that they couldn't walk a single step further, they'd set up their tents and collapse. Getting them to get water and start supper was like pulling teeth. I'd ask who was going to go to the spring to get water and just hear crickets respond. Then right after supper the energy level starts to rise, conversation starts back up, jokes start being told, a hacky sack circle forms, and somebody starts finding and breaking up wood for a campfire. I would wonder what happened to the kids that couldn't move an hour before. So don't underestimate the resilience and recovery power of youth, but don't overestimate yours. A hacky sack doesn't weigh all that much and a deck of cards is cheap and can be trashed after a couple of days if they're not being used.
I think thats exactly why people started finding all those alternate uses for things like frisbees etc!! LOL No energy left to play with but at least they wont feel so foolish carrying all that way. I myself usually bring a book and a small radio ,especially on winter trips. Also I have been known to carve a small fishing plug or two out of wood . Streamweaver
What do you bring with you to pass the time in camp?
A deck of cards?Hackey sack?
i usually just write in the ol' journal....eat my grub..talk to the fellow shelter mates...& CRASH! :D
i had brought (in years past) a pocket size New Testament & a pocket size A.A. "big book"...but found i was too tired @ the end of the day to crack open either & the weight was more than i had imagined.
Lone Wolf
06-04-2004, 05:58
Crossword puzzles, a novel and scotch or moonshine.
Alligator
06-04-2004, 07:01
If hiking with a buddy, we always play cards and drink whiskey. Cribbage, Pinochle, sometimes two-handed Spades. Once in a while chess. When alone, I'll bring a book.
Seriously Man, if Pot has become your identity and all that you seem capable of talking about, you need some assistance. Take that from someone who has been there & done that 20+ years ago.
The Appalachian Trail needs more open advocates for getting high just like it needs more ATV traffic. Not.
I'd say the same thing for drinking too, except that getting drunk is acceptable by law. I had problems with both in my youth and looking back on it now, the pot wasn't nearly as destructive to me and those around me as the alcohol was. I'd much rather walk up to a shelter full of stoned potheads than walk up on one full of drunken rowdies. But that's just me....
As for things to do in the evening, a deck of cards or a good book are about all I'd have time for, if that. Most times, just reading the shelter journal and writing mine kept me busy enough.
They only do it because it's against the law and only mildly so at that. Frankly they should just legalize the crap and tax the hell out of it like tobacco. More jobs, more taxes, and more potheads. Keep the drug tests in effect for the employers that use them.
Frankly, on a personal level, I don't care what anybody smokes, drinks, who they vote for, and who they sleep with. What irks me is those that want to wave a flag and advocate publicly getting stoned or drunk along the trail. It does a disservice to the hiking community as a whole.
That is my point.
peter_pan
06-04-2004, 08:04
Relax in my hammock....5 seconds....fall asleep early....sleep great ( no snorers, no hard floor, no mice, no late arrivers, no trapesers going to and from the john/trees) get up early.....coffee/constitution....hit the trail first....see all the morning wildlife...the perfect ending....the perfect beginning.....
PS... packs with out cards, games , books, etc are lighter and make the the next days hike even more fun.
smokymtnsteve
06-04-2004, 08:11
Frankly, on a personal level, I don't care what anybody smokes, drinks, who they vote for, and who they sleep with. What irks me is those that want to wave a flag and advocate publicly getting stoned or drunk along the trail. It does a disservice to the hiking community as a whole.
That is my point.
disservice to the trail??? ...as a person who uses medical MJ and particiaptes in trail work such as the recent HARD CORE at kincora I fail to understand your point. I have been doing trail work since 1976. It is totally barbaric for a government to make illegal MEDICAL MJ. Marijuana isn't hurting anyone..PROHIBITION is.
as far as alcohol along the trail ..I don't ever drink alcohol, want no part of it. personally cnsider it a very dangerous substance. but even with that I understand that some folks like a little sip around the fire at night. even ole JOHHNY APPLESEED was a drinker.
Hammock Hanger
06-04-2004, 08:36
No communal lice picking? :DThere were times when there was communal "tick" picking.... Sue/HH
PS: Seeings that this post as usual has taken a different twist... let me say I just read about an incident that took place at the Partnership Shleter on 5/25, where there was some pot smoking and drinking. By the end of the night the police and federal authorities were out at the shelter and a hiker was arrested.
It's a shame this type stuff has to happen on the trail. It really does give hikers a bad rep. There are only a small amount of incidents like this but those are the incidents that get talked about and cause area's to shut us out.
We are a small community and and even little incidents hurt us. As said by others I don't really care what sort of diversions a person chooses for themselves, but when it effects my community because they can't handle their pleasure responsibly it does bother me. Enough said.
Sue/HH
Alligator
06-04-2004, 09:14
Once in a blue moon a little hangman. :welcome
smokymtnsteve
06-04-2004, 09:59
so do tell us Sue ...just exactly what did this "hiker" do (alcohol and pot)... having spent time at the partnership shelter a lot of drinking goes on there ..the pizza delivery person will even make a 'beer run" for you...the night I was there this season there was a lot of beer..and loud talking late at night....
myself and a friend had smoked a joint (neithier of us consume alcohol)and kept ourselves upstairs in the loft reading little Edward abbey and John Steinbeck wishing that the loud drinkers downstairs would quite down..so where\who is the problem?
Lone Wolf
06-04-2004, 10:02
So smokyweedsteve. What is your ailment that you must smoke "medical dope"?
smokymtnsteve
06-04-2004, 10:07
Lone Wolf I am not even going to respond to such a post...there is a lot of scientific info on MJ use...people use it for a lot of Medical reasons...do some research yourself.
Lone Wolf
06-04-2004, 10:18
Buncha BS. Stoners are always coming up with ways to rationalizing thier habit. :)
smokymtnsteve
06-04-2004, 10:22
I'm a patriot, and a real conservative, Lone Wolf..I believe in Freedom...Freedom for everyone as long as they are not infringing on others..why the father of our country ole Goerge Washington himself was a Hemp grower. LET FREEDOM REIGN!
steve hiker
06-04-2004, 11:08
I'm more scarda bears than pot. :bse
smokymtnsteve
06-04-2004, 11:13
I'm more scared of NAZIs...people who want to bother non-violent peaceful people...then bears
So the consensus is that a deck of cards may be useful.
Dances with Mice
06-04-2004, 12:49
So the consensus is that a deck of cards may be useful.
They're lighter than dominoes.
smokymtnsteve
06-04-2004, 13:53
I would suggest a book...some good reading to better the mind...and make good use of your time.
also wildflower,tree,wildlife identification guides are nice....along with a star chart ..info about astronomical events.
Hammock Hanger
06-04-2004, 15:23
so do tell us Sue ...just exactly what did this "hiker" do (alcohol and pot)... having spent time at the partnership shelter a lot of drinking goes on there ..the pizza delivery person will even make a 'beer run" for you...the night I was there this season there was a lot of beer..and loud talking late at night....
myself and a friend had smoked a joint (neithier of us consume alcohol)and kept ourselves upstairs in the loft reading little Edward abbey and John Steinbeck wishing that the loud drinkers downstairs would quite down..so where\who is the problem?From what I READ (as I was not there...) there was pot, Bourbon and there was a hint of possible mushrooms...
Hey when I was staying at the Partnership I believe I had a beer... The thing is be responsible... Sue/HH
SGT Rock
06-04-2004, 15:29
Being responsible seems to be the rule in just about everything. Burying poop, takeing care of water, grafiti in shelters, drink adult beverages, etc.
Pencil Pusher
06-04-2004, 15:39
Frankly, on a personal level, I don't care what anybody smokes, drinks, who they vote for, and who they sleep with. What irks me is those that want to wave a flag and advocate publicly getting stoned or drunk along the trail. It does a disservice to the hiking community as a whole.
That is my point.
I can understand that, it's a good point and goes inline with what others are saying about behaving responsibly while partaking in such activities.
steve hiker
06-04-2004, 18:41
Don't fret about trifles people, life is too short. Hike, toke, and be happy. :sun
I have a "Nine Men's Morris" board (15th century Pub game) printed on my sleeping pad havn't had the chance to use it yet. I carry a flute, rarely play it.
Usually, get into camp, set up stuff, cook, eat chat for a few minutes, go to sleep.
Not much energy left to do anything else.
Doctari.
Pencil Pusher
06-05-2004, 04:16
I would be one scared and superstitious hombre if someone broke out one of those weegy (sp?) board games and started playing.
a journal, camera, and bowdrill....
Bowdrill? I had to look that one up. Nothing in dictionary.com, nothing in my old paperback Webster's. Google says it's a primitive fire starting device.
Do you carry one just for fun, or is it your only ignition source?
Anybody carry a harmonica?
steve hiker
06-05-2004, 13:54
I carry a baby piano.
Anybody carry a harmonica?
My buddy "Hurricane Harps" brought along his harmonica when he joined me from Mt. Washington to Gorham druing my hike. It was alot of fun to listen & watch him play.
Jack D, some smoke, and a grundig radio
I carry a mini sized deck of cards. Weighs in at 2 oz. with limitless hours of entertainment. Can always play solitaire if no-one else wants to play. Also write a journal for every hike (however, just bought a mp3 player and I am now voice recording as I go). I also carve unidentifyable objects and try not to cut off my fingers.
Regarding the OT rant that has taken over this thread........ One of the joys I derive from the trail is the sense of freedom it provides. I believe everyone should do what ever they choose as long as it does not interfere with other hikers. Therefore my view is - Keep it legal, Keep it quiet, OR KEEP IT PRIVATE!
smokymtnsteve
06-06-2004, 11:01
Med MJ is LEGAL within the state law of Maine.
maybe Ms Rosa Parks should have just kept quiet and obeyed the unjust law..look at all the unrest her action (or inaction by not giving up her seat) caused.
THE WORDS OF EDWARD ABBEY
"Liberty cannot be guaranteed by law. Nor by any thing else except the resolution of free citizens to defend their liberties."
THANKS BE TO ABBEY
grrickar
06-06-2004, 13:06
Since in many cases you will be away from civilization, take the time to check out the sights in the night sky as another poster suggested. Chances are you will see more 'shooting stars' (meteors), satellites gliding overhead (and if you are lucky the very bright ISS), and more stars that you will ever see. I live in the country somewhat (mostly farms) but thanks to light pollution for all the businesses nearby my views are worsening every day. With even low power binoculars you can see faint details on Jupiter, colors on Mars, and the rings of Saturn. I have two telescopes and some cheapo Bushnell 10x50 binos, and I was amazed I could see the rings with only 10x magnification (binos). If you are carrying binos or a monocular give it a shot.
Chances are this time of year anything ready bright and steady (not twinkling) will be a planet. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all on parade during the night. The moon is gerat too, because the details are being revealed as the moon goes through its phases towards full.
Besides cards, there are 'board games' such as chess and checkers that I have seen where the 'board' is a cloth mat and the pieces are small. If you have a travelling companion that might not be a bad idea. The weight wouldn't be much more than a deck of cards, and you could split the weight between packs if there are two of you.
On the topic of drugs/alcohol on the trail. I agree with the fact that everyone should be responsible, and if someone is going to drink or smoke pot they should be mindful that not everyone does and respect that.
Smoking anything is a touchy subject with me. If you want to smoke poison ivy, feel free to do so, but I should not have to inhale it. If you are in a shelter I feel like any smoking should be outside regardless of what it is.
I'm actually a conservative, and I do not support legalization of drugs, but one point I would make about medical MJ. My sister passed away in 2001 after fighting breast cancer for almost three years. She underwent chemo, a tram-flap surgery (a radical mastectomy where they even had to remove some ribs the cancer was attached to) and several months of recovery where she was very sick.
Medical MJ was about the only thing that kept her appetite up. Keep in mind that she was on other drugs like morphine for pain, so people (mostly) who are prescribed medical MJ by a doctor SHOULD be taking it, and have valid reasons to. If a person with terminal cancer wanted to abuse something morphine is certainly a more potent drug. I would not pass judgement on anyone taking medical MJ.
smokymtnsteve
06-06-2004, 13:22
Smoking anything is a touchy subject with me. If you want to smoke poison ivy, feel free to do so, but I should not have to inhale it. If you are in a shelter I feel like any smoking should be outside regardless of what it is.
.
and I agree.
as a real conservative I believe in FREEDOM and not infringing on other folks lives and rights.