5 ms·
What you’re describing sounds like normal camping, you hike for a few hours and pitch your tent somewhere. Isn’t the drive in picnic variety just an American ph
by Grustaf 4y ago
What you’re describing sounds like normal camping, you hike for a few hours and pitch your tent somewhere. Isn’t the drive in picnic variety just an American phenomenon?
- mellavora 4y agoTent? isn't that taking the easy route? What's wrong with a tarp or just sleeping under the stars?
- SiempreViernes 4y agoObviously rain is the big problem with not even having a tarp, and as tents are generally heavier than a tarp I'm not sure why that would count as the easy route.
- Grustaf 4y agoTents feel more like a house, you're sort of indoors. Plus it holds itself up, so easier to set up than a tarp, unless you just use the tarp as a blanket. I tried that, in the rain, not recommended at all.
- Grustaf 4y agoBivouacs/shelters are indeed quite popular, there are lots of permanent ones made of wood out here. Basically just a slanted roof. https://vindskyddskartan.se https://vindskyddskartan.se
- dmurray 4y agoNo. "Camp sites" where you drive in and stay in an allocated spot in your tent or vehicle are definitely common in Europe. They have washing facilities and often much more: playgrounds, restaurants, even water parks. Some people also hike and camp in the wilderness, but I'd bet it's a minority. I'd be fascinated to know where you live that "hike for a few hours and pitch your tent somewhere" is normalized and the very idea of a camp site sounds foreign.
- Grustaf 4y agoI mean sure, here in Sweden there are big camp sites that are essentially grass parking lots where people squeeze in their camper vans or sometimes even tents like sardines. They have amenities, maybe even a mini golf course!, but that's a completely different thing. Nobody would compare that to actual camping, and most people think it's crazy and make fun of it. But what shocked me in the US was that there are "nature" camp sites where you more or less drive up to a designated, single tent spot where you pitch your tent. It's baffling and seems to entirely defeat the purpose of camping in nature.
- dmurray 4y ago"Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded".
- Grustaf 4y agoHaha, yeah. Well they seem to enjoy the crowdedness, it's a weird subculture.
- tauroid 4y agoIn the UK at least (apart from Scotland), wild camping is only legal with permission from the landowner (even in national parks), so most people use campsites to avoid the possibility of being driven off by a ranger or angry farmer.
- archi42 4y agoSame in Germany; actual wild camping with a tent is not allowed. However, there is some provision to allow sleeping in the wild (sometimes called "biwakieren", using a bivouac or similar basic shelter; e.g. a tarp). When my SO and I did a multi-week cross-country trip we went for whatever designated camping sites was close by and pitched our tent there (except Berlin, there we went for a Airbnb). Though for us this mostly replaced switching hotels every other day. We then did local stuff around there, like canoeing, hikes, museums,... However, we did spent some nights in the wild, with camp beds (US: cots) placed next to the car. But when you don't know the general area, finding a good spot for that proved rather difficult. Entering forests with a car is usually verboten, and close to main roads there will at least be a lot of morning traffic; OTOH we had a pleasant conversation with some elder locals on a morning hike when we found a spot near a nice fishing pond in a small forest (yes, yes, driving there was erlaubt, not verboten). They only regretted not having some coffee for us :)
- laputan_machine 4y agoYou're using a tent? I only call it camping when you craft your own shelter from sticks and leaves, and only eat what you can find or hunt. What you're describing sounds like a modern 'soft' version.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]