While hunting (camping with guns) one time I found that...

Canola oil is NOT a substitute for margarine or butter for boxed mac and cheese. Many Little Debbie (TM) cakes were consumed afterwards to get rid of the after-taste.

and

MRE applesauce, hot sauce, and Ramen (TM) noodles do NOT make a good, or even lousy, "sweet and sour" meal.

Anyone else?

I found out while camping once; that a big rock does not substitute for a mallet when driving in a tent peg, it makes you do the "crouch-hop" while holding on to your throbbing thumb and swearing!

Mike

... or that the size and quantity of knots in wood being split is inversly proportional to the size of the axe.

I just read about the "crouch-hop" last night....

My all-time favorite though is the "Full-Bore Linear Panic" with "Modified Stationary Panic" a close second......

That walking halfway up a mountain, in New Hampshire, near the end of November, and realizing that I did not want to continue drinking beer because I might need to wake up and pee in the middle of a snowstorm, did not make for a fun weekend. I had to wake up anyway but just kneeled at the tent opening.

Not my idea of fun. Put me on a boat in warm weather, and my attitude changes.

I found out that if the group of wild pigs in front of you don't run when you yell it's because another group of pigs is sneaking up behind you.

-Blast

"The Purist" and a "Dog for all Seasons" are towards the top of my list.

Really just about any McManus is worth a read. He who has never done the "Crouch-Hop" has never lived.

<<That walking halfway up a mountain, in New Hampshire, near the end of November, and realizing that I did not want to continue drinking beer because I might need to wake up and pee in the middle of a snowstorm, did not make for a fun weekend. I had to wake up anyway but just kneeled at the tent opening. >>

That drink and camping DO NOT mix. Unless you are on a campsite slipping and breaking a leg can be fatal.
The Sock

I found that MRE chicken ala king (aka "chicken rodney king") glows pretty florescent colors under red-filtered light.

Also, the bits of chicken in a cup-o-soup have the same taste and texture as the moth that was attracted to your flashlight and fell into your soup.

It was at a campsite with my friends from college, not far from a highway and nearby ski area. However, we could not do much drinking for fear of the cold and because we had to carry all the beer in.

I think I just learned I am not a big fan of going camping, esp. in winter. If you want me to rough it, put me on a stripped out boat. I will happily agree to sleep in a pipe berth, so long as it is without a large drip above it. Roughing it on land for me is a limited time matter, limited to hours. I'll spend all day in the woods, build a fire, cook on it, but when it is time to sleep I want a bed.