r/camping

We took a group of friends camping this weekend, some of them it was their first time and we all had a blast.

But there were three things that didn't sit well with me and I wanted to bring them up to this community to see if I'm off base with how I'm feeling. I don't think that I am, but I'm open to other perspectives.

The area we went camping up in Tahoe National Forest (dispersed camping) is pretty popular, there are two lakes: one large and a smaller one up the road. It's a good place for large and small groups, overlanders, hikers, families, etc. The big lake is always full, so we were aiming at a camping area on the far side of the smaller lake.

1. Lying to keep people away, hogging a large camping area, toilet setup in a tent spot: We get to the area where we usually camp at the smaller lake. This little land mass that juts out into the water (barely a peninsula) has 4 camping areas with a total of about 16 spots for tents. We get there are there's only 2 cars and 1 tent set up - the other car was a camping van. They had their kitchen set up in one camping area, their tent in the far end of the other camping area, the van in another camping area with his toilet chair set up in the middle of a tent spot at the 4th camping area, they also used the car to block the road access into two of the camping areas. 3 people in their group. I walk over to talk to one of the guys, he says they have more people coming. I ask how many more cars, he says 4 and that they're leaving in the morning. I said ok, we have 3 cars here right now, there are about 16 tent spaces in this area, how about you guys take these two areas (the prime waterfront areas) and we'll take the other two. They agreed and the camping van guy moves his toilet and van -I give him a beer and than him for moving. No other cars ever showed up, and the guy's girlfriend was walking by our area to interfere with two members of our group throwing a frisbee - making it obvious she was not happy we were there. This really didn't sit right with me when I realized they were just lying because they wanted to hog 16 camp sites for themselves. I have never experienced that level of territorialism from other campers or seen someone set up a toilet in an obvious tent site (that's disgusting).

2. People setting off fireworks during fire restrictions late at night with an active forest fire in Tahoe NF: There was another group a little farther away that was definitely partying at night - we could hear them across the lake. They weren't blasting music and I'm perfectly fine with people talking, laughing, having fun conversation with their friends even if they're a little loud. But at around 11:30p on Saturday someone set off some of the loud popping firecrackers. It didn't last long, but that stuff is already illegal in CA, there are fire restrictions in effect (signs everywhere) and there is an active wildfire on the other side of I-80 (Royal Fire). You have to be a special kind of stupid to do that stuff - I don't think I'm off base here but it kind of pissed me off.

3. Gun casings in camping area - unsafe firearm behavior: Shooting guns is allowed in National Forest areas, we sometimes bring our .22 to shoot cans for fun, but we set up a shooting area away from camp, any other camping areas, away from hiking or driving trails and usually against a dead tree/tree stump. I have never seen gun casings in this specific camping area in the years we've been using it because it's obvious that it is not a safe area to discharge a firearm. There were .45 shell casings near the water, so it looked like someone was just shooting out into the water. In CA you can't hunt with lead bullets, and I don't know if lead bullets are a concern if you are shooting into a lake that is part of the water supply that feeds down into the central valley - I'm open to any perspectives on this. But as I said before, lot of people camp, fish, kayak/paddle board, and swim this lake. It seems extremely irresponsible to be discharging a firearm in such close proximity to other campers when there is a field to shoot in 3 minutes down the road. These shells were not old either - maybe 2 weeks old is my guess. If I was camping in the area and heard someone popping off rounds near by, I'd be very concerned.

If you've read this far - thank you.

When I camp, I want to enjoy my time in nature and part of that can involve cooperating with neighbors and tolerating some noise - which I'm fine with. But I'll leave it to all of you to decide if I'm off base with my criticisms.

Enjoy the camping season and be safe!

I don't think YouTubers realize what they're doing. They post directions to a great spot that nobody knows about and then 20 groups show up every single weekend. These people are all trashing the spot. I think they're only doing it for clicks. I wish they would think about this before giving directions to these places.

I am going on a camping trip with my boyfriend and his friends. I've never been camping in any capacity. I am not an outdoor person. I'm a homebody, I love my bed, I love my AC, I love my bathroom and shower. I don't want this to sound like I'm high maintenance - I want to try new things and am open to the experience. I'm excited to go. My boyfriend is wonderful & his friends and their partners are lovely. I'm just nervous - I don't want to embarrass myself (or him). Any advice / recs would be amazing. I'm most concerned about going to the bathroom (I have a sensitive stomach) & food.

Note: its only 2 days and 1 night His friends camp decently often so Im sure they are prepared. But i want to be self sufficient

Hey all! My husband and I both love camping but since having kids we haven’t gone in years! We want to take our 3 kids camping for their first time in a couple weeks. Since we are really skeptical of the kids actually enjoying camping we aren’t looking to spend an arm and a leg on a tent right away. Do you guys have any suggestions for tents that would fit us all and our bags?

any suggested coffee bean storage container? to hold enough beans for 6 days.

car camp so i do bring my manual bur grinder with me....Honestly its not the taste so much as it is the process.

Hi there!

I have recently moved to beautiful Northwest Territories, Canada. I have a beautiful girlfriend and cat with me and we’re hoping to become more “outdoorsy” as part of this, I would like to learn survival and bushcraft while she’s more in to tent building and smores, I’m sure we can find a happy middle of me living in a hole I dug up while she’s cozy by the fire.

What are the essential equipment I should first invest in? Any specific brands?

What are your favourite camping snacks or activities?

I will soon have access to a quad and snowmobile so winter camping advice is appreciated as well!

Any great YouTubers you’d recommend?

Thank you all, please accept us.

Aspiring campers.

What do you guys think of this product? It's basically a sleeve for your sleeping pad with straps that help to fold it into a chair. In terms of weight it seems ideal. Supet light and easy to pack and you use you sleeping pad to sit on during the day so you double your use of it. However, is it annoying to set up? It's the'chair' actually comfortable? And don't you risk damaging the pad if you're using it on random surfaces and to sit around the fire at night?

I recently had to retire my 8 person tent and I'm looking for a replacement. It was a Coleman but I got it secondhand so I never knew the model and I can't seem to find any info on it. The defining feature was it was L-shaped and the wings of the L were sleeping areas. This worked perfectly for having two separate sleeping areas where you're not necessarily annoying the other couple when you get in or out of it. All the 8 person tents I see now are basically rectangles with a door in the middle which is less ideal. I found a discontinued Ozark trail tent that's similar but more pop-up sized than tent.

Any ideas?

So, here this may not be as weird but over time I found my self relying on many types of carabiners. From figure 9s to general purpose they are far to handy to not have. Is this just me or do any of you out there agree?

I am an experienced Adirondack backpacker -- both high peaks summits and non-peaks.

I'm probably approaching 100 freeze-dried Mountain House meals eaten, etc.

When I hike in, I like to try and bring more 'real' food on the first day. For example, it's easy to freeze some hotdogs, and bring them, some buns, and some kethcup packets. Then if you have a fire you can make a stick and you have a nice first day meal that isn't freeze-dried.

I used to pick up a sub or deli sandwich (but dry and add oil or condiments later), but I've done that enough where it's not really appetizing any more.

I can never count on having a pan or grill grate at the campsite or leanto. But I do know I can build a fire and I have a camp stove w/ pot.

What are some ideas of food I could eat on the first day?

I've been racking my brain, but all I can come up with is Mac-n-cheese which isn't that far away from being a dehydrated meal.

Hi. I need some advice. Im going with a group of about 14 to Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks this weekend and about 7 of us are heading up the mountain. What would be some advice for hiking that kind of mountain and what would be some main gear you think i should definitely have?