Barrie Mann
Special to the Sun

In a couple of weeks Linda and I, with our two small poodles, will climb into the cab of our pick up truck. Attached to the truck will be a 33 foot 5th Wheel camping trailer and we will be starting an extended camping trip. While we have been preparing for this excursion I have been remembering past camping trips that made the nuances of how to manage a successful camping trip a valuable learning experience.

I remember my first camping trip as an adult. It occurred on Labor Day weekend in 1967. A friend and I decided to go camping with our wives and kids. We were living in Renton, Washington, which back then was a small suburb of Seattle. My friend and I had arrived with our respective families in Renton in July of that year from England and this was our first chance to get out and really enjoy the country around us. So we decided a camping trip was the way to go. There were two problems facing us. One, we had no camping equipment. Two, neither one of us had any camping experience. But we decided that the two problems could be overcome. After all, we’d just moved families thousands of miles to a new country, and what could be harder than that? We could rent the equipment we needed and just how hard could it be to set up a couple of tents and cook meals on a camp stove? So we moved forward with our plan. We found a rental store and rented tents, sleeping bags, a camp stove and lantern, then loaded the gear into a large station wagon along with wives and kids and after stopping for groceries, headed for the Cascade Mountains and a campground. Well, of course we miscalculated how long it would take to get to our destination and arrived at the campground well after dark. That’s when the fun started. We had not tried to set up the tents we rented and found that no instructions existed in the box they came in. Also, as it was a primitive campground there were no lights by which to see, so we worked under the headlights from the car and struggled to get the first tent erected. Off course, the kids were hungry and tired and letting us know in no uncertain terms just how unhappy they were. In addition, our wives were reminding us just how stupid we were to embark on this venture without first checking to see how things worked. Finally, after a couple of hours of frustration and a few choice words, the tents were up. We put sleeping bags in and got the kids to bed.

As we settled ourselves at the picnic table, our only seating, we attempted to light the lantern which was a Coleman that required a wick. We tied on a wick, filled the lantern with fuel and attempted to light it. Off course it didn’t work. After many tries we finally gave up and turned in for the night. That night we learned that you should always clear the area that you put your tent on. Rocks, and pine cones make for uncomfortable sleeping as does the hard ground. Needless to say, no one slept very well.

The next morning we were up and looking forward to our first cooked breakfast of eggs and bacon. Once again we couldn’t get the Coleman stove to work. We were about to give up when another camper came over and showed us how it was done. He sheepishly confessed that he and several others had witnessed our efforts the night before, in fact we had unknowingly been the entertainment for the evening, and, being the Good Samaritan he was, decided this morning that we could use some help. Well, once we had been shown how the stove and lantern worked, we were able to settle down and get the kids fed and the camp organized. With our new friends being very helpful, we moved our tents to smoother ground and were advised to purchase air mattresses for more restful sleep.

Later that day we found an area that had charcoal Bar-B-Cue grills. We stopped to cook a meal and use the restrooms to clean the kids and ourselves from some of the accumulated dirt we had on us. While our wives and kids were cleaning up I started cooking some steak, a few minutes later my friend casually mentions “Hey Barrie, there’s a bear behind you”. I naturally thought he was kidding me but turned around to check. Sure enough a Black Bear was sniffing the air and heading for my steak. I decided then and there that the bear could have as much of the steak as it wanted. We moved away from the grill and watched as the bear calmly took the steak, sat down and promptly devoured our meal. Fortunately someone had seen the bear and called the Ranger who came and tranquilized the animal and told us they would release it several miles from the capture point. After our bear experience, we were much more careful and aware of our surroundings on this trip.

Since that time I’ve camped in many different places and have witnessed new campers going through the same painful experiences as I did. After a few minutes of watching I will offer help and usually it is gratefully received.

These days my camping experience is very different. I tow a large, fully contained apartment on wheels. I plug it into power; have water and sewer hookups and generally cable TV. Yes that’s my camping style these days. One of my sons recently summed it up for me. He said, “You must be getting old and going soft Dad”. I responded that he was correct on both accounts. I don’t apologize for that, as I believe that in the camping world I’ve earned my stripes. I guess my latest trip will show just how much I’ve learned, or not. Yep, camping isn’t what it used to be. But I like the way that I camp today.

AND SO DOES MY WIFE!!!