Another Article From A Travel To...
Camping - Get Remote and Get Comfortable
by Samantha Jaden
All Camping - http://acamping.com/
Camping is a very subjective term. Some people use 'camping' when they mean driving the camper-trailer to a park, connecting to the electricity and turning on the TV. Other people use 'camping' when they mean hiking for miles with a backpack, carrying just enough gear to rough it and sleep under the stars. Somewhere between those extremes is 'car camping.' Which means packing the car full of gear and driving to a nice campground, pitching a tent, and cooking on the open fire. Burned hot dogs and mosquito bites are all part of the experience, but the car is at hand to beat a hasty retreat if the weather turns rotten or the neighbors get way too loud.
Because of those neighbors, I sometimes wish for more of a get-away. Although people surely camp for a variety of reasons, one if the most common must be communion with nature. This is not an easy feeling to experience in a campground packed with a few hundred other families. You end up being at very close range with more strangers than you would ever tolerate at home. That's expected in a campground, but you can find ways to increase your chances of camping solitude.
For starters, if you do prefer to stay in campgrounds and to have your car handy, try staying in the more primitive grounds. The ones with outhouses instead of bath-houses and no electricity are a lot less populated, not surprisingly. Also, they generally don't use the reservation system, so part of the adventure is to show up and see what's available.
Now, if you are willing to camp outside designated camping grounds, you can do this in most U.S. National Forests. This way, you can still car-camp, and have a bit of privacy. Make it part of the camping trip experience to use forest service maps and locate your excellent spot. Once you've found it, you can return many times, so it's worth investing the time to search for just the right place. Leave the area like it was when you found it. Pack out your trash, have no fire when prohibited, etc. Aside from being the right thing to do, when you leave the place like it was when you found it, other people might never notice it, and it will be waiting for you next time.
My favorite way to get to remote places is to canoe camp. I can still have plenty of stuff with me, and it's a lot less work than backpacking. You can canoe camp a couple of ways, depending on the water conditions. Sometimes, you can simply paddle across a lake to the shore opposite the area's designated campground. Another way is to shuttle for a river run, which requires at least one companion. Park one car at the pull-out. Drive the other car, loaded with gear and the canoe to the put-in. Run the river and camp along the way. To have this method work and be safely accomplished clearly requires some planning, good maps, and probably a bit of pre-event scouting. Again, part of the adventure.
You know, once you identify a place to have these kinds of camping trips, where part of the trip is to scout and try out the various possibilities, campgrounds never have quite the same cachet. You've carved out your own little niche (figuratively speaking, of course), and if you take good care in how you use it, the spot will remain your own private camping ground.
Samantha Jaden writes on topics related to camping. Her articles are published in The News at All Camping the single on-line resource for a world of news about camping. Be sure to refer to all Samantha's articles at www.acamping.com