Always loved tenting best: back when our National & Provincial park campgrounds were free and most used tents; before the advent of large, overly bright propane lamps, "boom boxes" and while campgrounds were still patrolled & all-night partygoers were chucked out. Also camped in spots we just felt like camping in. I camped and canoed a lot in the Lakehead/Thunderbay area while living there on and off. Moved to Edmonton (hippy party time :lol
, then we lived in Jasper National Park for a couple of years and spent many wonderful times camping there; tented/camped from Edmonton to BC when we moved here - lovely, memorable trip. Lots of camping around BC of course.
One of the many outstanding memories: driving the then six hour drive from Port Alberni to Tofino/Ucluelet on the only road, a potholed, washboarded gravel forestry road that went over the very top of hair-raising "Switchback Mountain": rusting car parts & wrecked cars & even travel trailers strewn down the stomach churningly steep mountainside, single lane only so backing up to permit someone to get by was frequent. The logging trucks travelled at full speed & didn't slow down or back up for anything, you just drove for the side of the road in that instance & hoped your car didn't slide off the road and keep on sliding. Mile upon mile as far as the eye could see of clear-cutting, which was dismal. But also some beautiful spots to stop for a breather beside the emerald green, crystal clear Kennedy River and listen to the water and the wind. And such a reward when arriving! The stunning beauty of that west coast of the sixties is a very precious memory. We had Long Beach totally to ourselves, as well as the only provincial campground - all nine spaces!
Our car was an open/rag top four seater '62 Datsun "Fairlady" sportscar - the perfect camping car :smile:, especially when a bunch of inquisitive bears decided to get in it! Which happened often in Jasper, elk & moose seemed to find our car overly interesting also. However our Samoyed usually kept them at bay, bears seem to get spooked by white, sort of 'wolfish' appearing dogs. Our tent was a Swiss 'two man' - one of the early outside frame type (no poles inside the tent), tricky on rainy days for my over 6' tall husband as it was only 4' high at the peak and 7' long (I've lost my metric converter again...), the dog used 50% of the sleeping space by morning.
Shower & toilet facilites were rare, you bathed in lakes, rivers, the ocean. Outhouse type toilets, BYO TP or Eaton's catalogue. No inside cooking or cookhouses, the cast-iron skillet or cast-iron stew pot on the open fire was it and, oh my!, did that taste good! Lighting was a flashlight, candle in a jam-jar and campfire light, all of which would inevitably quit on leaving the toilet for your trek back in the dark. :albino: :sad6:
First night on arrival from our very first wowser ferry crossing at Port Alberni camp-ground was interesting. We arrived after dark in the rain (Port Alberni rain, whew!), having been entranced for too long by Cathdral Grove & marvelling at the rain forest "Leopard" or giant green slugs we kept tripping over. So we pitched as fast as we could in the first site we could find in the light of our headlights (constantly whispering apologies to the other campers for disturbing them). Had the best, longest and softest sleep ever although we had to keep mumbling at our dog for unusual whinging. Finally awoke to people hollering, "Are you alright in there?" and mutters of, "They're dead, gotta be.". On reluctantly forcing eyes open and attempting to sit up, we realized we were floating in a lake filled tent! Our air mattress was floating on top of a foot or more of water, we had camped in a large hollow in the campsite. Our emergence was greeted with applause and much friendly ribbing. :smile:
We graduated to a VW minimally camperised van when the sprogs came along and to a permanently parked full facilities holiday trailer at a gated & patrolled (two young daughters who needed to be free to roam around and explore on their own), riding, swimming, sports, hiking, etc., recreational resort in the mountains when they got to the "None of my friends are going with
their parents!" age of disdain, a stage which we enjoyed too actually. Ah! The peace! :lol: But tenting is, IMO, the only way to really get as close as we humans can to the wonders out there - being a Brit/Welsh, mosquitoes, deer flies, black flies find my blodd irresistable & I, of course, lack the anti-bodies to their bite so am very allergic. Sleeping out in the open is not an option sadly.
Too many camping stories to tell really. BTW, I don't think this is off-topic, at least I hope not. IMO relevant and an interesting read:
Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/technology/16brain.html?src=busln
" . . It was a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.
Cellphones do not work here, e-mail is inaccessible and laptops have been left behind. It is a trip into the heart of silence — increasingly rare now that people can get online even in far-flung vacation spots. . . ."
