Do you have any camping trips planned for this year?

I hope so. More than likely I’ll just be biking on my local trail but last year I went up north camping and got to ride some fun trails.

I take the usual shit like a sleeping bag, pillow, ect. My parents pack the food and stuff.

If the campgrounds has bike trails like the one I went to (it was a state park) I bring that too!

I would love to go on my own. Looking up at the stars makes me feel very calm. We aren’t alone…

I do love the outdoors a lot. What do you bring with you?

I’d love to go once and turn my phone off the whole time

I’ve been wanting to go on a camping trip with my husband and dog. We did a practice trip last fall, and it went well. I think we’re ready for a little more excitement!

The idea is to wait until the weather is a bit warmer and the virus stats are looking better. We wouldn’t be interacting with anyone really, but right now hospitals are so taxed that it just feels wrong and risky to go on any sort of trip.

We’d like to bike along a nearby river, up to its source in the hills. That would be about ten hours of riding at a leisurely pace, and I think we’d split it up into three or four days for the dog’s sake (he can definitely handle a 2–3 hour run). The first day’s stretch might not be super fun, but it gets beautiful once you pass the city area. Lots and lots of mossy fir trees, little streams, pastures, villages that look like all inhabitans are named either “Hänsel” or “Gretel”.

We’ll try to camp away from official campsites. It’s illegal to just set up camp in Germany, annoyingly, but there are some designated areas where you can do it. Maybe we’ll interrupt the trip with a couple nights at some AirBnB, since we’ll probably be gone for a week in total. Depending on the pandemic status, we might not.

We don’t have any fancy gear at this point. We’ll take our trailer to pack the tent, Thermarests, and two sleeping bags. Dog food and human snacks, lots of books, clothes and a few games. Lights and a first-aid-kit. We don’t have a camping stove, but might get one. Or we’ll just rely on cold food and campfires.

As an alternative, if we get a rainy summer and Covid magically disappears by then, we might explore Eastern Germany in a horse-drawn caravan. You can rent them there for a week or two, and I’ve done that once before. It’s really fun. They give you a list of approved campsites, but you’re still on your own most nights. The caravan has basic beds and a stove. The horses are super chill, so it’s doable even if you’re not an expert. It is so much fun to trot along country roads with your own horse. That trip was one of the most memorable ones I ever went on.

What about your trips? What have you planned?

A group of my friends goes fishing in Colorado almost every September. If I can afford the time off I will be inclined to go, especially if I am vaccinated.

We pick a river, pick a site for car camping, and used that as a base for fishing for two or three days. We skipped 2020. We haven’t discussed 2021 yet, we will have to see how the Covid situation looks. Usually, we buy airline tickets around June.

I don’t have anything planned right now. I have been camping and backpacking before, although most recently I’ve been more into day hikes than staying overnight in the woods. The last time I went camping was when my best friend and I backpacked through Yosemite in 2017. I also went hiking on the Tahoe Rim Trail a couple years later. I will plan on mountain biking around Tahoe this summer like I always do, but I don’t know that I’ll actually go camping. It would be great if I had the opportunity, but I’d have to find someone who wants to do it with me.

Soon as we get the house sold we’ll be permanently camping. And I’ll be crying.

May be in 2022. That is what I am thinking.