In 1948 my parents took me to Rocky Mountain National Park where we camped in a canvas Baker tent. I was 1 year old. We used the Baker tent every vacation until 1955 when they bought a 14’ Mobile Scout trailer. We traveled Canada to Mexico in it until I went off to college in 1965. I went on a couple of 2-3 night backpack trips during my high school years using a homemade Trapper Nelson pack. After that I backpacked on some 75-80 trips 3-21 nights in the Texas/New Mexico deserts to the high altitudes of Colorado and Wyoming Carrying first a Kelly external frame pack, then a Lowe internal frame pack. I’ve solo backpacked in constant rains. Ran out of water and did without for two days In the Guadalupes. Waked up to 6” of fresh snow covering my bivi in the Pecks Wilderness of northern New Mexico. Spent the night in extreme winds at 14,000+ feet. Walked solo 56 miles in two days through the San Juan mountains of Colorado.
RVs, I owned at least 2 dozen pickup campers, travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers and now a small Sprinter motor home. None are “just right” for everything!
What ever you’re in/on it’s just great to be close to nature! I have been fortunate to have had a grand life in the outdoors!
Yes. A backpack and traveling on foot into the wilderness can't compete with creature comfort of city folk campers.
Your thread reminds me of the solo foray I took in 1980. In short it was a trip across the Appalachian Trail from North Carolina to Tennessee. I gave up C-rat's for civilian food. Started out from Boone, NC heading to Morristown, TN to my folks home after leaving the Army the first time.
The day I departed Boone I weighed my pack on the local bus depot scales, it weighs 80 pounds. It was a military issue large exterior frame ruck sack.
The day started out sunny, warm, and clear. By night fall the temps had dropped and it was snowing. When I made camp the snow was knee to waist deep. Having not found any of the cabins by nightfall, I made camp using a boulder to reflect the heat of the trench campfire into my lean-to.
The next day I was in Tennessee, followed a trail that crossed an old logging road, I chose to follow the logging road out of curiosity; it lead to a highway (guess I should have went right instead of left).
I had a choice to make: either continue my hike or accept the offer of a ride by a gentleman to Knoxville: I chose the ride, since I chose to follow the logging road ending up at a paved road, instead of ending further up along the trail.
Regrettably, I lost a couple rolls of film. However, I was able to get the other 110 film developed that showed my frozen Jean's from my knees down thawing over the trench fire, my feet being warmed against the boulder, and a selfie of me positioned comfortably in my lean-to. Sadly all the photos of this once in a lifetime trip have disappeared over the years, along with the beach camping/hang gliding trip and other personal pictures with members of my army unit.