Camping

We have all seen great lists of camping essentials, but in our opinion there are five items you absolutely should not do without.

Your camping trip sometimes may end up being a total write-off for the simplest reason. That's because we don't get to do it very often. The average camper may get to spend 15 or 20 days per year sleeping out in the great outdoors. Judging by the many accessories in today's RV's, roughing it may not mean the same as it did years ago.

As a couple who have had a great many nights under the stars we have compiled a short list of five items we would not leave home without. Your list may differ from ours but that's human nature.

Our five most important camping items.

A large tarpaulin with plenty of rope. We camped on the west coast of British Columbia, as well as many years on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. In these two areas it rains plenty. On the east coast we simply put up with the rain. On those days we put up with it or went home. The ground would get wet. Everyone was bored while trapped inside the tent. Not until we camped in British Columbia did we learn what to do. Our first spring weekend trip took us to a beautiful BC Provincial park. The couple next door to our site had a huge tarpaulin set up and lashed to the trees. Two extension poles raised the center up high. It covered the entire site. It rained that night. Next morning they had a campfire going and ate breakfast under the tarp. Their site was perfectly dry. Definite high on our list of camping essentials.

An axe, a hatchet and a small bucksaw. Very important tools. You purchase a bundle of firewood. It's either too large to burn, or too small and burns quickly. You may need to find a dead tree, a piece of driftwood or a large chunk someone else had and couldn't cut up. The axe will split large pieces. The hatchet cuts the larger pieces down to size. The saw can be used to salvage long pieces. My saw was a Sandvik saw with a 12 inch blade. It had very sharp large teeth that cut through small logs easily. It never dulled.

Fire sticks and fire paste. Both are very effective but one or the other will do. Excellent camping essentials. If you want to be able to start a campfire every single time, these products will do the job. We have never had a failure. They are very inexpensive. A package of 12 sticks will last the entire summer. Prepare the fire with tiers of kindling and a few pieces of larger wood. Cut a one inch piece of fire stick. Slip it under the kindling and light it. It will burn until the fire is blazing.

Propane camp stove with an eight pound tank. Two or three burner. Both are excellent. We wore out two, white gas stoves over the years. The kind you pump up to use. The fuel is simply called Camp-stove fuel. They were a bother. They could be dangerous. The propane stove is much superior product. We suggest the eight pound tank as it is very cheap to fill at the local service station, will last hundreds of hours, and is easy on the landfill. Carry a one pound canister just in case you run out with the eight pound tank.

Last but not least. Check your equipment. One year we opened up our large tent during our first trip of the year only to discover the entire upper corner had been torn up and used as nesting material by squirrels during the winter. That trip was ruined. Check your stove, gas container, lamps, flashlights, tents and RV's. Leave nothing unchecked and you will enjoy a great camping season with your camping essentials.

This is not a how to cook article.

It's not an instruction manual on how to fry the perfect bacon strip, or how to flip an egg. Not even a guide to cook up a perfect plate full of food.

Camping breakfast. Start the day off right with a great one and you will be a star for the rest of the vacation. After all, it's the service that makes camping so fantastic.

Instead, I give to you a recipe on how to give your wife a little time off in the campground. Presenting her and the family with your best breakfast served with all of those little things your family will remember for a lifetime.

The food is secondary. It's all in the presentation.

Six basics are important. The food is secondary. It's all in the presentation.

• Be the Man. You must be up out of bed first. This is very important. You want to spoil the family. This is the one opportunity to show your true colors. You are waited on all of the year. Your family will love you for it so get ready to reap the rewards.
• Make a campfire. Apart from the great food you are going to prepare and all of the service you will soon perform, the campfire is very important. It will crackle and smoke as it gets up to steam. That is what makes camping fun. Years from now that smell will be the first thing gathered from the memory bank when the word camping is spoken.
• Cook outside. You are Camping. Don't prepare the breakfast inside the RV. What fun is that? Since you got out of bed first, let the others take their time. As soon as the aroma of your culinary delights will hit their noses, they will come alive and you will be their hero.
• Make the coffee or tea first. Is there anything that smells so good as fresh coffee or tea first thing in the morning? The aroma will permeate throughout the tent or RV. In no time, without prompting, people will want some and get up.
• Cook up the best breakfast you know how. Keep everything hot. Warm up the plates either on the other burner of the stove or near the campfire. We use paper plates when we camp. Makes clean-up a lot easier.
• Now serve the great camping breakfast outside, if the weather is good for it, or bring in doors if necessary. This is what camping is all about. The family will love you for it.

There you have it. I have always tried to be the chief cook and bottle washer on our family camping trips. After all, my wife is forever cooking and cleaning for me and the rest of the family for the entire year. I always felt the least I could do for the few times we go camping would be to be proactive.

I will be the knight in shining armor who my wife thought she married. Perhaps you will be too.

Duffy lake is that sapphire blue lake you will drive by as you travel between Whistler and Lillooet, but if you are smart you will take the time to stop and enjoy this most beautiful little gemstone set amid the majestic mountains.

To reach the lake you will head north on highway 99 from Whistler. In less than half an hour you will pass through Pemberton and soon Mount Currie first nations reserve. Just past the church you will turn right on the Duffy Lake road. Soon the highway turns away from Lillooet Lake and begins a few switchbacks as the road climbs upwards for a few kilometers. You will pass Joffre Lake Recreation area on your right.

Shortly you will enter a beautiful valley which opens out to reveal Duffy Lake on your left. The lake itself is very deep and as you drive along the lakeside you will soon see Matier glacier which up to now has been behind you sitting up there cheek to cheek with Joffre Mountain.

Duffy lake has two very small camping areas. If you are tenting you might find a small, hidden area about halfway down the lakeside. You need to watch for the little roadway from an area high above the lake. A creek crosses under the highway. We couldn't even find a sign our last time there. We actually found it while in our kayak doing a little fishing. The mouth of the creek was quite active with trout. We pulled in to find a nice little campsite. Someone must have had a 4X4 camper and navigated the steep trail to reach the spot. We walked up the trail a little ways and it would be perfectly suitable for someone to drive along the trail and park about one hundred feet above the lake if driving a car or van. From there you could carry your tent and gear down.

At the north end of the lake is an old BC Forestry site with a few campsites, tables and an outdoor toilet. Lake access here is easy for kayaks and canoes. Cayoosh Creek begins it's boisterous run to the Fraser river at Lillooet here where the many old logs lie dormant at the end of the lake.

Another area we found suitable for camping was at the south end of the lake. There is a Department of Highways Maintenance compound located near the creek that crosses the highway south of the lake. You want to avoid trespassing on their property but there are other areas that would be suitable for camping.

North of Duffy lake a short distance there are many good campsites near Cayoosh Creek. If you don't mind being lulled to sleep by rushing water, this will be the ideal place to stop. Unless you are at the designated camping sites you will not have the luxury of pit toilets.

If you are lucky enough to be on Duffy in a canoe or kayak when the wind is dead calm you are in for the thrill of a lifetime. Paddle along and bask in the beauty of the Matier glacier reflecting in the mirror like waters. There is nothing like the beauty of it anywhere else. Fishing is good, especially off the creeks where they enter the lake.

This beautiful drive from Whistler to Cache Creek was not possible a few short years ago, unless you had a 4x4. Now it is used more and more as a wonderful way to travel from the Prince George or Kamloops corridor as it eliminates driving to Vancouver in order to reach Whistler.

You Can Save Big With Used Camping Gear

Taking your family on a camping trip has become increasingly more popular over the years. It's a great way to spend quality time with your entire family and at the same time, share the kinds of challenges with your loved ones that no ordinary resort-hotel vacation can offer.

However, without the proper quality camping equipment, the camping vacation that you and your family have been looking forward to can be a disaster. Spending time in the outdoors requires equipment that you must be able to count on in almost any type of environment or unexpected weather event.

Of course, our family budgets do not always allow us to get the kind of quality gear to assure the safety our families need to be comfortable and enjoy a camping trip. If that is the situation that you find yourself in, you should turn your attention to the huge savings that you can find when you are able to purchase used camping gear.

Where To Find Great Used Gear

Perhaps the best place to grab some terrific bargains are yard, garage and tag sales. Of course, many times, what you'll find will be worn and damaged, and of course, should not even be considered. However, almost as often, you may find quality equipment that is in excellent condition. Since it's being sold at tag or yard sale, it's obvious that the family has no need for the gear, putting you in a powerful bargaining position. More often then not, the space that the camping gear takes up is far more valuable to the family then the gear itself. Generally speaking there are two reasons that you will find great gear at such an event.

The first reason is truly a case of one families mistake, being your families good fortune. Every year, many families decide that a camping trip would make for a great family vacation. But, the reality for that family turned out to be far from what they envisioned. Not every family is suited to this type of vacation and the gear they purchased is truly close to new. If you are fortunate enough to come across this type of situation, you'll be able to save yourself hundreds of dollars.

The second most common reason is somewhat the opposite. Camping is usually something enjoyed by young families. Often times, when a family sees that they will most likely not be camping anymore, they decide to sell their used gear. Of course, in this case the gear is much older and more worn then the previous example. However, if the family had been avid campers over the years, they probably invested in high quality gear designed to last for many years.

Buying What You Need

Just because something is a bargain, it can still be a waste of money if it's something that you don't really need. You may find great buys on fishing gear, but if you're planning camping trips in State Parks where there are no bodies of water, there is no need to buy this gear. Don't let sellers bully you into selling their gear as a package deal.

The Advantages And Pitfalls

Regardless of the reasons, you should take great care inspecting the condition of the gear. Look for quality name brand gear. If you're buying used equipment to save money, you should not risk off brand products that if used will most likely lead to problems. There is another reason people sell their camping gear. That reason being that it lacks the quality they had hoped for. Be careful, don't let their problem become yours. A good rule of thumb is to never buy a piece of used camping gear unless it's a well known brand name.

Thoughts about camping vary from person to person as camping is not everyone's idea of a fun time. However, a family camping trip can be an unforgettable vacation if you are willing to try it. Yes, the family will be living in close quarter during the entire trip but it is far different than living closely at home.

There are many sizes and styles of tents available, from single room tents to multi-room tents. Some can sleep anywhere from six to eight people while others can only comfortably sleep one or two. Multi-room style tents have dividers providing some amount of privacy, which some family members may very much appreciate. Peace and quiet is often a challenge to find when living so closely. Two smaller tents rather than one large tent may even be the best choice in tents, allowing family members to have separate sleeping quarters.

Being prepared is an important part of a successful and enjoyable camping trip. Camping can be a great time, but it can also have its stressful moments especially after a long trip to the campground. During a family camping trip, it is probably okay to relax a little compared to structure maintained at home. For instance, letting the kids stay up later may work well during this special time. You can stay up later singing by the campfire or roasting marshmallows.

One of the benefits of family camping trips is the fresh air you and your family will get. Take advantage of this time and plan activities and day trips such as light hiking, cycling and exploring the area. Pack up the family backpacks and head out as a family for some fresh air, exercise and time together. You may find some interesting sites along the way to add to the general camping experience.

Regardless of the sleeping arrangements you choose, a family camping vacation can surely be an experience everyone will remember. Be sure to bring your camera or camcorder to capture all the memories and, of course, do not forget extra film, batteries or your digital memory cards. Whether you are in the Alps, the mountains of Bavaria, or the Grand Canyon, be sure to keep your valuables safe and locked away in our car when not in use.

If your children are old enough to venture out on their own, be sure you have some way to contact them. Walkie-talkies or mobile phones are the best way to keep in touch and is essential for purposes of any emergency that may occur.

Simply put, family camping trips should be an enjoyable, fun and stress-free time for the entire family. A little privacy, freedom and activities of interest can definitely help make this a vacation to remember!