I just did an overnight campout with my brother and father, and our kids came along. It's a 3 mile paddle-in site alongside a reservoir - very basic sites, not "car kamping" - you need a tent and water and all that, no real "facilities" at all.

In the evening a strong wind storm with rain blew through, and I was laying in the tent at 2:37 AM with my kids, listening to branches snapping and falling and the rain coming down, I was thinking, "OK, I don't like this anymore."

In the morning, we got a weather report via text message (yes, yes, I know...phones on a campsite...) that there were heavy thunderstorms coming in the afternoon and into the next evening - so we decided to cut the trip short and head back to my house before the storms came.

But as I paddled back, I began to wonder if I'd really just lost interest in camping entirely. Things I used to like to do - like collect firewood and set up a campsite and cook over fire and digging a latrine and trying not to get bugs and soot in my food and all that - they were just tedious. It just seemed like endless chores, not "getting in touch with the outdoor lifestyle"

I think what I want these days is less "camping" and more "base camp in the outdoors" - I used to mock people who hauled chuck boxes and field kitchens out into the woods, but I think that perhaps they are on to something. Maybe it's that middle ground between "solo backpacker" and "base camp" that's no fun for me.

Anyone else arrive at this point?