My brother was looking for firewood right next to us in a small pile of brush and found this abandoned geocache.

Shocked that it is still legible 16 years later..

AMA
1.Moon overlook, Utah
2.Deadhorse state park, Utah
3.Marble canyon, Arizona

Did a round trip from TX, into CO, over to UT, down to AZ, quick stop in NM, then back home. Obviously messing around with my new drone.

Lost track of the total mileage somewhere in the 3k range. Good mix of car and tent camping between BLM spots and a few state parks.

When it’s off season I store my camping clothes in a 27 gallon black tote with the yellow lid & another smaller clear plastic tote. I’ve tended to just bring that with me and put it in my car with me. But I’ve found that I’m not really loving that + I have a smaller SUV and it’s just taking up so much room..
what’s your most efficient way to pack/travel with your clothes? I’m pretty Type a and ADHD. I would love an efficient system. BUT I’m also a woman and dress on my mood. So I tend to bring them all so I can decided what to wear on the day.. I’m open to hear anything.
I should add that when I go camping it’s like 3 nights & 3 days max…

Hello, I am getting my first proper sleeping bag.
I’m trying to decide between the **NEMO Disco 15 and Disco 30** as my main 3-season sleeping bag and I’m starting to overthink it.
My use case:
Mostly **late spring, summer and early autumn**
Roughly **50/50 lowlands and mountains.**
Nights could range from around **0–5°C (32–41°F)**
**on colder mountain trips to 10–18°C (50–64°F )**
**in summer**

I am a mostly warm sleeper but i prefer to sleep with no additional layers.

**Would you keep the Disco 15 for the extra safety margin and vent it during summer, or swap it for the Disco 30 and layer up when temperatures get close to freezing?**
Especially interested in experiences from people who have actually used either Disco in **10–15°C / 50–60°F summer nights**. How effective are the Thermo Gills at making the 15 comfortable in warmer weather?

Spent the weekend at Park Creek in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The rainy weather likely played a big role in this, but there were many sites available. We checked out a few other campgrounds along the way out for future trips, and they all had quite a few FCFS sites available.

The Park Creek campground itself is a nice, spacious campground with plenty of (clean) outhouses, a boat ramp and a large dock.

Despite the rain it was a great weekend outdoors, with plenty of time to relax and great food, like our tailgate seafood paella.

Hi everyone, I’ve been dreaming of going on camping trips for a very long time I’ve been following a lot of bloggers and so on. And now I’ve finally started slowly gathering everything I need for it. Right now, I already have a 65-liter hiking backpack, a two-person tent, a sleeping bag, a knife, and mosquito repellent. My question for those in the know is: what else do I need for my very first overnight trip-something comfortable but not over the top-just to try getting out for 1–2 nights and figure out for myself how much this appeals to me? Thanks in advance.

Im looking at the kindercone 25 sleeping bag for my 2 year old and I’m curious if anyone has experience with how warm it is. Im hoping to use it for 3 season camping (including summer). I anticipate my son will use it on a hiccapop air mattress, which will have nearly 0 r value. I think it’ll be fine for fall/spring camping but worry it’ll be too hot for summer and sleepovers indoors. Should I get a 40 degree bag and line the mattress well/sleep in layers when camping cooler weather, or is this one plenty flexible enough? Thanks!

I have been talking back and forth with Chat GBT and for my yearly use it is telling me to get the gazelle t4 overland exp. They are having a sale right now where you can get it for $600 instead of $800, but still $600 is high in my opinion. I go camping in Daytona 2 times per year, then Tennessee once a year. In total about 20 days per year max. No snow, and no extreme conditions. I recently got a Ford Maverick and the bed of the truck is pretty small compared to my 01 B2500 I had before, so anything would help. I would love to go all out and convert an enclosed trailer, but I have been doing research and that is much more in depth than I realized. I am open to regular ground tents, or if there is any tents that hook to the bed of the truck as like a rooftop configuration I would be open to that as well.

Thank you in advance!

First trip out this particular way, went with a large group of friends. Beautiful lake, kinda crowded family campground but we made do. Lots of good food and fun boating and games etc. (I’m the boardgames collector/teacher, game pictured is Nana, highly recommend for a compact easy family game. Released as Trio in the US.)

So we went to Switzerland to the Eiger Nordwand and suddenly some really bad weather came up. We had to release all air from the tent as we could no longer hold it against the wind and it ripped loose from the ground hooks. Some of the fabric ripped apart which I fixed with adhesive tape but then some glued on hooks ripped of and here i don’t know how to fix it. Any ideas?

Going camping for the first time ever with a group of friends. However I’m a bigger guy about 6 foot 3, 260 lbs. I see REI is having a sale and a friend gave me a leftover gift card with about $80 on it, so I’d like to find a sleeping bag, pad, and tent for someone my size that’s camping in weather that will get as low as maybe 30 degrees specifically from REI. As a first time camper I’d also like lean towards more affordable products. Thank you in advance.

My partner and I do weekend car-camping trips a few times each season, usually with a two-burner propane stove and sometimes a fire ring. We want to make actual meals-eggs, sauteed vegetables, pasta, maybe fish, not just boil water. We have room in the car, so I’d rather buy cookware that heats evenly, survives regular use, and isn’t miserable to clean with limited water. A nesting set would be nice, but I don’t need every piece to fold into a magic lunchbox. Budget is around $70–$140.

I’m looking at the Stanley Adventure Camp Cook Set, GSI Pinnacle Camper, MSR Alpine StowAway, Primus CampFire, and Sea to Summit Detour. For people who cook regularly at camp: is stainless steel still the sensible choice, even if it weighs more, or is a good hard-anodized aluminum set less annoying in practice? And which set has handles and lids that still feel solid after a couple of seasons rather than turning into rattly nonsense?

My husband and I are planning to go on our second tent camping trip in the Shenandoah mountains this weekend, but the weather is going to be pretty warm and humid. Highs will be in the low 80s and lows in the 60s for the trip with some scattered rain and thunderstorms Saturday afternoon. Any tips or advice how to make the trip as comfortable and low stress as possible in this weather?

I’m thinking about buying the Igloo stackable cooler set that includes 55L, 27L and 11L coolers.
I would mainly use them for fishing, day trips and occasionally for longer road trips. The 55L would be useful for transporting meat, cheese and other food, while the 27L would probably be my main cooler for fishing.
Does anyone here own this set or any of these coolers individually?
I’m particularly interested in:
How well do they actually retain ice/cold temperatures?
How long can they keep food properly cold?
Is the build quality good?
Are the lids, hinges and handles durable?
Is the 55L practical to carry when full?
Is the 27L a good size for fishing?
Would you recommend this set for

We camped out at Hill Country State Natural Area in Texas last weekend. This park is beautiful and we got to see the remains of an old Texas ranch on our hike in and out. I've posted photos of this place before, but we were able to explore more of the park this time so I thought that I would share.

I’m going camping at a music festival this weekend, and it’ll most likely be raining. I have polyester single layer 5 man tent which should be fine for the rain. But my concern is the condensation .

I have this old canvas flysheet and I’m thinking about throwing that on top of the tent and stretching it out enough with some guy ropes so it doesn’t touch the walls of the inside tent. But it might touch the edges of the pole structure.

Is this a good idea? Or is it not worth the extra risks?

Any advice appreciated!!

Hi there, I have a reliable old Mountain Hardware Hammerhead 2 that I bought in 2003 and used regularly, but haven't used in about 7 or 8 years, and it hasn't been used in rain for longer than that. I put it up at home and it looks to be in reasonable shape, most of the seams look ok, but these sections look suspect. Clearly in a proper rainstorm water will leak through, but short of torrential rain i am tempted to give it a go. Does anyone with knowledge or familiarity with seams know if this is a foolish or reasonable call? Also how hard is it to reseal these? Is a 23 year old tent worth ditching for a newer one? many thanks for any advice.

Ive always been camping with my family with a tent but it wasnt anything special and we only went camping when we knew the weather was fine.

Now i want to take it to another level, and i want to buy a tent that i can use in any condition (during rainy days, winter cold etc). Unfortunately i dont know what aspects i should prioritize. I love tents with vestibules, but if it compromises the tent during windy days then i can give it up.

I would use it with 1-2 more ppl so a decent 3 man sized tent would be great. My budget is around 250$ (ik not much but thats the best i can do rn, i could save a bit more if it would matter).

Help me which tents i should check that are spatious and i can use it in the wilderness and in normal camping areas aswell.

When I started camping I used a single burner butane stove (as seen pictured). My big complaint was that when it’s windy it’s hard to cook (which is often where I am), and a single burner takes forever if you want more than a one pan meal (ie heating water and cooking something). I have tried jet boils, but honestly for a less secure set up it’s basically the same. I’m a car camper through and through, so size isn’t as much of an issue. I pretty much had decided to get a two burner stove, but reading through Gearlab for some recs, and I see they mention an induction cooker which made me pause. I’m wondering if maybe I should go crazy and get a rechargeable battery and something electric? Anyways, to make long story short I’m looking for people’s opinions who have tried different cooking methods and what they prefer :)

Hey all. I moved to CO a few months ago from Illinois, where I got really into primitive camping. As I've got acclimated to the landscape and lifestyle out here, I've stuck to established campgrounds. I think I'm ready to try and transition back to backcountry and primitive/dispersed camping. I've seen a lot of ads for OnX for dispersed camping, but I don't know which version to get.

In SoILL, I would tend to drive to an area and hike my way thru Ms. Shawnee to a spot I deemed fit (and in accordance with local advice and guidance, of course). Which version of OnX would be best for me? Or is there a different app that would be better? I currently use Avenza and I like it- good balance of accessibility and personal discovery.

I love camping and have been doing it my whole life, but my gear organization is a total mess. I tend to make illogical connections about what goes where, and my system is basically broken at this point.
It’s gotten worse lately because my girlfriend and I started doing more "luxury" car camping. I honestly love it, but now I have gear overflow, zero space, and packing is a nightmare.

The Setup & Constraints

I mostly bounce between three types of trips:

Luxury car camping: Big cooler, huge tent, Coleman 2-burner.
Hybrid backcountry: Small cooler, small tent, campfire cooking (my most common trip).
Backpacking: No cooler, small tent, mini stove.

We live in a 1-bedroom apartment in Syracuse, NY. We have a tiny storage closet downstairs, but because of the harsh winters, that’s mostly full of winter gear in the summer. I’ve given up about half of my own bedroom closet to fit three 18-gallon storage bins and one long bin along the bottom.

The Goal vs. Reality
My goal was to make modular "grab-and-go" boxes. I actually just built a camp kitchen box I really like, and I set up a top-shelf box for lighting (headlamps, lanterns, string lights) next to my backpacking stove and pots.

Here is where I’m stuck:
I can't do true grab-and-go because so much gear crosses over between all three types of trips (saws, ditty bags, sleeping bags). Right now, all that crossover stuff is just tossed loose in a big open-lid tote at the bottom of my closet.
I also have a "purgatory bin" of stuff I never use but feel weird throwing away (a machete, cheap hatchets, a sleeping pad I dislike).

My Questions for You

1. How do you organize crossover gear so it stays accessible without ruining the grab-and-go bin concept?
2. Give it to me straight—should I just donate or toss the bin of unused stuff?

We disperse car camp and sleep in the back of our truck. I have been having trouble sleeping and I want to upgrade my sleeping pad. My current one is for backpacking, but for car camping, I don't need to worry about weight. Any suggestions? It does need to be able to reasonably fold up, since we use our truck for other things. Thank you!

Beginner camper here (so far only on campgrounds). Last weekend I went camping and had to pee real bad in the middle of the night. I was at a campground with a toilet 10 mins walking distance from our site, but was too scared to walk there in the dark. I ended up peeing in a bush, squatting like some vulnerable molerat in pitch-black darkness, somewhere close to the tent.

There's no dangerous wildlife in my area but I heard rustling nearby and nearly had a half-naked heart attack. Looking back, I feel like this wasn't the best decision I could've made. Any tips (for people without appendages they can quickly whip out) for how I can deal with this better next time?

I planned this trip about a week out with some family. As the trip got closer the forecast got worse. When we left Saturday morning the forecast was severe thunderstorms for most of the afternoon We ended up using a bunch of tarps to keep the tents and fire pit dry. It turned out great. We caught over 20 trout between the three of us , two of us using spinners and one worms. We saw a moose on the way up mirror lake highway and had an amazing sunset view. The thundtorms and hail just made it exciting, man the thunder in the mountains hits different.

I've got a car-top tent, and my husband uses a CPAP. We've got the power situation figured out, and it's dead quiet so it doesn't keep me awake. But the moisture. It is intense. We're camping in Vermont in the fall, so there's cold nights (lower 50s into the 40s), and even when it's just me there's a little bit of moisture. But his CPAP goes through about a cup of water a night, and that water seems to go right to the inside of the tent.

I know you're not supposed to touch the inside of the tent while its wet, but I had to take a towel and dry off the places were it was dripping in the morning.

He can't skip the water or he'll wake up with a horrible cough and a sore throat. And in warmer weather we'd open a window, but when it's 47 overnight, that's a little too chilly for him.

How do other folks handle the additional humidity that causes condensation from CPAPs, especially in colder weather? Do the hanging moisture accumulators work? Or are those too long-term/slow?