Is Camping Worth It?

Discussions of the first camping trip of the year were being had by my friends as Victoria Day approached. It all sounded pretty exciting and I considered tagging along until I recalled a promise that I made myself awhile back: “No more camping trips for Victoria Day weekend.”

The reason behind this vow was, as you may guess, a bad camping experience. The entire trip wasn’t bad I suppose but one of the nights the temperature dropped to darn near polar and I thought I wouldn’t make it through the night. My jaw ached from the chattering of my teeth, I thought that I would never be able to straighten my hunchback of tightly clenched muscles from sleeping in the fetal position all night. I simply was not prepared for the cold, because the day had been sunny and warm. Driving the 4 hours back home to pick up an extra blanket or jacket was obviously not reasonable.

In my younger days I lived for camping. I enjoyed sleeping under the stars and never thought much about the bugs and the weather. Surviving on food that can be cooked on a stick, like marshmallows and hotdogs, and watching, smelling and listening to the roaring fire made the trip so enjoyable.

Nowadays, I don’t feel that blissful harmony anymore. All the packing then unpacking, prepwork and setting up camp is all SO much fuss, if I didn’t have kids I don’t think it would be worth it. You know though, we really don’t have to travel too far from home and sleep in a tent to hunt for frogs and catch butterflies. They must miss the tv at least as much as I do.

Camping is fun for about as long as it takes me to drink my first Mike’s Hard Lemonade after setting up the tent. Then, until my hubby lights the fire, it’s just extreme boredom. And don’t you dare mention fishing. Fishing has to be the most boring thing to do on the planet. After the second roasted hotdog on the first night I’ve just about had it. I stare into the flames dreading the next hike to the bathroom, trying desperately to remember what it was I did as a kid that made camping so fun?

And that’s on a good trip, WITHOUT the subzero slumber. So that trip was particularly unbearable. To top it off we packed up in the middle of a rainstorm that weekend.

Isn’t nature wonderful… “Behold nature, children!” I shouted as I wiped off my glasses under the tailgate of the van.So, did I go camping the holiday weekend? Nope. Do I plan to go this summer at all? Perhaps.

And of course that’s only if, when my husband asks me to go, he’s holding mummy sleeping bags under his left arm and a portable dvd player under the right. Or better yet, the keys to an RV.