"They pull their big camping trailer behind their truck...."

I go on one camping trip like that a year. Most of the members of my extended family won't do tents, let alone lean-to's or debris shelters, so for them it's either RV camping or no camping at all. I notice that the older one gets, the less one likes sleeping on the ground. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

That's why they make hammocks.
By the way... have you had a chance to get the Hennessy out yet this year, Frenchy???

Troy

"DW" means "Dear Wife"
"DH" means "Dear Husband" (or sometimes Damn Husband!)
"DD" is "Dear Daughter"

JIM, can you please add these to the acronym list?
-Blast

I figured the W and H part...and kind of guessed that the D might be variable <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The D is variable in my house too <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I seem to camp about once a month, usually leading a Boy Scout group. We camp year round, which gets a little chilly in winter here in New England, but, the colder it gets, the more the boys seem to enjoy it. (It is harder to recruit the adult leaders for the trips in winter though...)

We probably do about 50% camping with too much gear (back of the truck/van etc...) , and 50% hiking/backpacking or canoeing and camping on a river or lake. The amount of gear we bring on the backpacking trips is significantly reduced, but, we don't seem to miss it that much. The boys get to figure out what's really important when they have to hump it on their back for a few days.

Once a year, we teach "Wilderness Survival" merit badge. I really enjoy that weekend. One thing that we have them do is hike about 5 miles from the base camp, with just their day hiking essentials. They then have to build their own primative shelter, bedding, etc, and spend the night alone. It's funny how some boys can do it, and sleep like a log, and others will spend most of the night awake. For either scenario, they always come back really proud of what they did.

If you've never spent a night out, with nothing but what's in your pockets, you're missing a great experience.

I agree whole heartedly. People are far more creative than they think. When we are put into a position of doing with what you have on hand, it's pretty suprising how well you can do. it also lets you know what you really need and what you don't.

I take my kids bare camping quite often and they love it. I challenge them to come up with different ways to build shelters, make comfortable sleeping arrangements etc. It's pretty suprising what an un-biased mind will come up with to a particular problem.

Concider it done:
AMK: Adventure Medical Kits
ASP: Aviation Survival Pak
PSK: Personal Survival Kit
FSK: Fire Starting Kit
FAK: First Aid Kit
SAK: Swiss Army Knife
EDC=Every Day Carry
BOB=BugOut or BailOut Bag
RSK=Ritter Survival Knife
SAR=Search And Rescue
AIRSAVE - (USAF) (see also, PALS & MOLLE)
ALICE - All-Purpose Lightweight Carrying Equipment
AM - Amplitude Modulation
BOB - Bug out bag
BTW - By the Way
EAS - Emergency Alert System
EMP - Electro-Magnetic Pulse
Epirb: Electronic positioning indicating radio beacon
FM - Frequency Modulation
FRS - Family Radio Service
CB - Citizens Band
CHP - California highway patrol
CPR - Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
CRKT - Columbia River Knife and Tool
CW - Continuous Wave (synonymous with radio Morse Code)
DIY - Do it Yourself
EBR - Energy bar wrapper (??)
EDC - Everyday carry
ETS - Equipped to survive
FWIW - For What it’s worth.
GMRS - General Mobile Radio Service
GPS - Global Positioning Satellite
Ham - Amateur radio operator (not really an acronym)
HF - High Frequency
HTH - Hope this helps
IIRC - If I recall Correctly
IMHO - In my humble opinion (also; In my honest Opinion)
LBTOJ - Little brown truck of joy ( UPS)
LED - Light Emitting Diode
LTS - Long Term Survival
MLB - Major League Baseball
MOLLE - Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (USMC) (also PALS)
MRE - Meals Ready to Eat (Military Rations)
MURS - Multi-Use Radio Service
NHL - National Hockey League
N.O. - New Orleans
FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
SWAT: Special Weapons And Tactics
SF: Special Forces
NOAA - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
OTOH - On the Other Hand
PALS - Pocket Attachment Ladder System (US Army) (also MOLLE)
POV - Privately Owned Vehicle
PSP - Pocket Survival Pak
RSK - Ritter survival knife
RSKM2 – Ritter Survival Knife w/ M2 High Speed Steel
RTG’S - Radioisotope thermal electric generators
SAME - Specific Area Message Encoding (NOAA EAS feature)
SCUBA - Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
SAR - Search and rescue
SAS - Special air service
MMT: Mobile Medical Team

SRLB - Self Righting Life Boat
"DW" means "Dear Wife"
"DH" means "Dear Husband" (or sometimes Damn Husband!)
"DD" is "Dear Daughter"

I was about to make the same answer/post !! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I will try to spend a night or two in it at the end of the month, weather permitting.

>>I will try to spend a night or two in it at the end of the month, weather permitting

<img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />What does "weather permitting" mean? We're camping Friday - Sunday. It's supposed to rain all weekend, but, if I tried to cancel the trip, the boys in the troop would probably lash together a stocks to put me in or something...

Part of the fun is trying to have a good time, and make things comfortable even when the weather doesn't cooperate. We did cancel one trip this winter because they were forecasting blizzard conditions. It did get real windy and cold, although we only had minimal snowfall. Still, it was a judgement call on safety. And it was my call. I tend to be conservative on that so we don't end up as a case study on the ETS web site!

(Actually, most of the guys still wanted to go, but, I would have had to fight too many mom's <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

You mean OUTSIDE?! Oh, the horror, the Horror. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Now, if you're talking about inside, in front of the TV wired up for digital cable, with my ancient adopted chihuahua curled up next to me, contentedly snoring away, then the answer is yes. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig