What Ever Happened To "Roughing It"?

[LuvmyBonnet]

Reflecting back on this thread I feel the same oldgringo.
I am 63 years old and this world has beat the heck out of my mind and body.
Today I go to the woods to recover and I can think of no better way than to relax in my hammock with the tarp in porch mode.

What O&B said! I go to the woods to relax, unwind and appreciate nature. I do enjoy learning bushcraft but not looking to punish myself if I don't have to.

ps Nice pics O&B

[OneClick]

Life's rough. As days go by, I continue to look for ways to make things easier and more enjoyable.

[Military hiker]

Thx, Gringo... so, to toss in a hammock-ish comment....
My first [camping style] was one of these>>

Fi-dollah at the Army-Navy, back in the early sixties when you got old surplus army and navy stuff at an Army-Navy store.
Rubberized canvas top, about eleventy-seven hundred clews to untangle each time, gawd knows the weight, but awful fun when you're 12.
Rats got it one winter.

That was my first hammock as well!


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[MrJames]

Thx, Gringo... so, to toss in a hammock-ish comment....
My first [camping style] was one of these>>

Fi-dollah at the Army-Navy, back in the early sixties when you got old surplus army and navy stuff at an Army-Navy store.
Rubberized canvas top, about eleventy-seven hundred clews to untangle each time, gawd knows the weight, but awful fun when you're 12.
Rats got it one winter.

Brings back memories when I was an early teen. Ten dollars it cost me, in 1959. My last one was chewed up one night by a raccoon when I slept inside instead. I even hung one over a tiny creek once in the scouts near Old Rag mountain. Thanks for posting this.

[Flash Grundelore]

Mr.J~~ going back up in to the hollows behind Old Rag was one of my bud and my favorite overnights when we were at UVa back in the 60's-70's... even the old ground dwelling thang was OK by us if we were up in there along a stream.

[old creek]

Thx, Gringo... so, to toss in a hammock-ish comment....
My first [camping style] was one of these>>

Fi-dollah at the Army-Navy, back in the early sixties when you got old surplus army and navy stuff at an Army-Navy store.
Rubberized canvas top, about eleventy-seven hundred clews to untangle each time, gawd knows the weight, but awful fun when you're 12.
Rats got it one winter.

that is the first hammock I ever had, I was about 11 or 12 as well. never even tried to sleep in it. my brother and I had 2 shelter halves and a pole set and abandoned that as well. we and our friends opted to cowboy it under the stars with no sleeping bags just blankets slung long hunter style. my pack was a gas mask bag my dad used in his paratrooper days, food went in the mask side and my mayonnaise jar canteen went in the o2 pocket. we woke up in rain more than once but it was quickly forgotten as was cold. we were used to the heat because we didn't have ac yet and weren't yet spoiled by it. I generally don't camp through spring and summer but since I didn't get to camp during what passes for winter in florida I camped up until late june this year here at home and just got back from Tennessee and NC and am plenty jealous, I could camp year round up there I think.
as for lighter and more comfortable.... I think I would give up camping if I had to sleep on the ground like I grew up doing, into my 20's in fact. my bones wont stand for it anymore and even a hammock has to be just right for me to sleep well enough to get any rest. my last night in NC I set up a little off and woke up nearly as tired as I went to bed and I am even looking at some ground set ups in the quest for lighter and more comfortable sleep systems. old Arthur and other aches and pains dictate it for me to remain outdoors, I have subjected myself to great discomfort to stay engaged outdoors as most of us probably have but now it's time to enjoy the entire experience from dawn to dawn.

creek

[GreatBigDave]

I left roughing-it on the ground, in a t*nt.

I'm quite sure that I wouldn't be camping, hiking, and paddling in my fifties if I hadn't discovered hammockery. I do remember, and sometime still enjoy, the sense of achievement after enduring rough challenges but camping on the ground is a binary decision for me. I wouldn't be out there if I wasn't in the trees.

[HangingMike]

I don't quite get the whole roughing it bit to be honest. Why would I intentionally carry excess weight if I don't need to or deprive myself the most basic comforts a comfy place to sleep shelter from wind and rain and good food. I camp to unplug from the world relax and enjoy the peace. Not all of us are Gram weenies but almost everyone can agree a lighter pack makes for an easier day.

Also having and practicing skill sets for emergency situations I view as important but I can practice those while in comfort. I also don't have the money to afford the fancy fluff so I spend a lot of time in the DIY section despite the recommendations

Also roughing it and having to adapt to a situation is easier nowadays with the internet the learning curve is greatly changed with the vast access to mentors to open our eyes to the failures they have experienced first hand. DIY in the woods methods are everywhere and anyone who spends a few hours looking will learn numerous tricks or tips that will make it go from roughing it to smoothing it.

[Just Bill]

While we all have a bit of a learning curve, and likely some endless tinkering that occasionally throws us for a loop... as far as I was taught;
If you are roughing it you are on a wilderness survival trip, a speed hike, or you just plain messed up. Once you know what you're doing...


For those who paraphrased and would like the full version. Though Kephart drew heavily from Nessmuk (and the two are often mixed up)... this is his original quote:

With a large majority of prospective tourists and outers, "camping out" is a leading factor in the summer vacation. And during the long winter months they are prone to collect in little knots and talk much of camps, fishing, hunting, and "roughing it." The last phrase is very popular and always cropping out in the talks on matters pertaining to a vacation in the woods. I dislike the phrase. We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home; in towns and cities; in shops, offices, stores, banks—anywhere that we may be placed—with the necessity always present of being on time and up to our work; of providing for the dependent ones; of keeping up, catching up, or getting left. "Alas for the life-long battle, whose bravest slogan is bread."


As for the few fortunate ones who have no call to take a hand in any strife or struggle, who not only have all the time there is, but a great deal that they cannot dispose of with any satisfaction to themselves or anybody else—I am not writing for them; but only to those of the world's workers who go, or would like to go, every summer to the woods. And to these I would say, don't rough it; make it as smooth, as restful and pleasurable as you can.

[brianb]

I now do four types of camping.

1) Backpacking - My favorite. Low weight, tuned pack, and often covering some distance.

2) Bushcraft(ish) - Once every year or two I get the bug to go out with some intentional constraints placed on my gear. It's good fun, and get's it out of my system.

3) Overlanding - Recently I've discovered this community. 4x4 car camping. It's been fun getting to know this group and I've learned a lot.

4) 1950's Style Car Camping - I used to think this style of camping was "inferior" and not something that would be for me. Now the family is been coming out more and more on trips. We go backpacking sometimes, but car camping is quickly taking over. This has been harder than I expected because I have a backpackers mentality which doesn't always translate to a successful car camping experience, but I'm learning.

So if I think about roughing it and how I currently get out in the woods, backpacking and bushcraft feel like roughing it to me. I see roughing it as figuring out how to handle constraints, and hopefully handle them well. Even though most of the constraints I'm dealing with are self imposed: limited resources because I choose to carry a light weight pack, a tough trail, or some goofy bushcraft challenge I put on myself. During Spring and Fall, I'll often take less food for a weekend trip because I'm planning to fish during my downtime. No luck fishing, then an oatmeal pack for dinner. it adds to the fun.

As for the overlanding/car camping stuff that's just crazy. I've eaten better on some of those trips than sitting in a restaurant. I've been schooled on this type of camping, and it definitely has it's place and it's creating more family memories which is all the merit it needs in my mind.

It could just be that "Roughing it" has evolved. Later.