Reading posts in this forum there seems to be a wide diversity in outdoor/survival experience. I'm just curious how many camp often and how many don't have the opportunity to get out.

We don't get out evey month but there are months we are gone every weekend

My take is the more you practice, the more comfortable you are when you need to make due.

Oooh, I want to see the replies to this thread.

Does camping in the back yard overnight count if your supper is cooked over an open fire? If so, about 3-4 times per year I think.

We go car camping about 2-3 times a year. Well, I expect that we'll go car camping 3 times this year. I am new to this stuff, and never went camping at all until recently. We usually camp for only one night.

DH is slowly trying to get me to go camping more often. He's learned that if he makes it extremely pleasant for me (re: he does all the work and we have *lots* of gear), I'm more likely to go camping. In return, I experience just how important it is to stay warm at night and have enough water, etc.

-Kuovonne

Like my DW said, we only go out camping a few times a year but I am working on getting her & DD out more. I do spend a lot of time hiking and canoeing without the family though. I get pretty cranky if I can't get out into the woods at least every other week.

The areas where I hike give me a lot of practice in wilderness survival skills. Dangers include poisonous snakes, feral pigs, wild dogs, quicksand, floods, meth labs, poachers, and abandoned oil wells. However, I rarely go alone, I let Kuovonne know when I'll be back, I'm a trained "First Responder" and carry a large 1st aid kit, I usually carry too many knives (SAK, Leatherman Wave, Mora, and a 6" kukri) and too much water. I also carry a cell phone, a large bamboo hiking staff, several different ways to start a fire, rope, a lightweight hammock, gps unit, three compasses, and a topo map of the area. Meanwhile my hiking buddy *might* have some water. He lost the knife I gave him within a week. He sees how much I bring and always says he'll start doing the same, but he never does.

While out there I practice identifying (and eating!) edible plants, stalking animals (except the pigs), experimenting with different clothing and gear, and building fires. At some point I'll pitch the hammock and spend an hour listening to the birds. This isn't camping, but it is getting out into the wilderness and it helps hone my skills and recharge my batteries. Plus, the more I learn and practice the easier it is to keep DW happy in the woods. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

-Blast

We're impeded by that unusually busy time of life when the kids are all just about ready to launch out, career re-start for wife, second career for me, etc. so it's only been averaging about 17 weekends and 1-2 weeks per year lately. I have no idea how many day trips, but that's down a lot as well. I look forward to a lot more time on the trail in 2-3 years. Before kids we were out most weekends and when the kids were younger, about every other weekend plus 3-4 weeks per year.

I don't go camping so much as I would prefer, but it's enough to keep my skills up-to-date.

The problem is that the general idea of camping in the Netherlands is standing on a grass field with big trailers and all the luxury you can think of. So there are not a lot of 'basic' campings where you can stay in a self-made shelter or practice your skills.

You must have a permit to camp, start a fire and fish in The
Netherlands, so that's also a problem.

Not often enough! I used to camp regularly when I was younger and had access to the deserts of the Southwest and the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. But in the Midwest you're typically next to a muddy river and it's just not the same. We do however take the Grandkids out for a backyard campfire quite often and will be setting up the tent for summer sleepouts.

You are absolutely correct. People will be much more comfortable with their kits if they use them occasionally for camping. Having spent 10 years as a surveyor in Northern Idaho, (and a lot of it with a camp on site) I look forward to the Grandkids getting older so I can teach them some fun skills.

how are you going to carry those large knifes to oversea destinations? Wouldn't US customs confiscate them? you would be naked by the of arrival at destination. All the gears will be gone including some the clothes.

Not often enough. Maybe 10 nights a year.

I go car-camping once or twice a year. This does not involve walking far from civilisation, more driving to a registered camp-site that at least has a shower-block, and getting the tent out of the boot. Cooking is limited to coffee, and noodles if I am feeling ambitious.

Picard120,

I live in Texas, there's no need to go anywhere else to camp/hike/canoe/mountain bike/rock climb/fish/hunt/etc. We have forests, mountains, canyons, swamps, lakes, rivers (calm and white water) and many places where the stars are so bright you can actually read by them at night. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That being said, when I do travel overseas I just bring the SAK (zipped-tied to a brace in my checked luggage). When I get to my destination I snip the ziptie with a fingernail clippers. If I'm outside the USA then I'm working which usually involves business suits and 5-star hotels. While there I don't get much time to spend in the woods. The SAK is enough for urban survival and usually doesn't raise any eyebrows. If I need a bigger knife I'll find one. Even places outside the USA have kitchens. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Oh, and as far as US Customs agents goes, they don't inspect luggage on the way out of the country. And I've found that they aren't to picky when I come home, either. They didn't bat an eye when I came back from China with a sword in my checked suitcase. They only confiscate stuff that is illegal to own in the USA like certian endangered animal skins or illegal pharmacuticals. They don't care about knives. Baggage handlers might steal them, but US Customs have no offical reason to take the knives.

-Blast