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Old 07-15-2019, 10:38 PM
Excitable Boy Excitable Boy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WWDHD? View Post
It's stories like this and the OP's that are the reasons why camping in tents out in the middle of nowhere as anything other than a last resort has never appealed to me. I want some solid walls around me when I'm sleeping.
I started camping in tents in the middle of nowhere like Porcupine Flats in Yosemite and places like it that were less well known with my family as a kid. It made for some memorable times. It was great to learn how to make a fire, build a tent and sleep in it, how to improve on those basics. It was always a grand adventure and a way to experience the great outdoors in an up front and personal way that you will never get camping in a Lodge. We brought up our Son to enjoy the outdoors the same way. The strangest camp visitor I remember as a kid was a 7' tall bear, and while he tore up our neighbor's camp as they hadn't practiced bear country camp discipline, but he left us alone.

Camping as a younger adult on my own with a couple friends, I do recall some unexpected/unwelcome visitors coming into our camp and causing a ruckus. I do recall that I took comfort in having my GP100 close at hand, but out of sight. Thankfully, the situation never escalated.

Tent camping as a younger person was always fun and had a sense of adventure and it was an awesome way to connect with Nature. These days, I'm tired of packing the truck, erecting and taking down the campsite and dealing with the after effects of unpacking a truckload of gear and sleeping on the ground. I'm starting to think that the Wawona Inn at Yosemite is the perfect blend of roughing it (no TV) and being in the woods.

I know we raised our Son to camp and be security conscious, but after he returns from his 5th deployment in the desert in a few weeks, I'm thinking he may be done with sleeping in tents as well. My grandsons may never learn how to camp the way we did and the attendant dangers that come with sleeping in a forest with cloth walls around you and the precautions you need to take in those situations.

Being out in the wilderness means being aware of your surroundings and prepared being prepared.

I'm glad the OP turned out OK. There was certainly plenty of chances for it to have gone wrong.
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