Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I just have to add my "scarriest" backpacking story: I've hiked over 3,000 miles with a pack on my back, and a couple of extra thousand with llamas carrying my equipment. But my scariest moment was on my first major trip into the high country of New Mexico. My wife and I had just bedded down on our first night near timberline. We were both exhausted and fell quickly to sleep. But in the middle of the night, SOMETHING (and I'll never know for certain what it was) stuck it's nose under my side of the tent and lifted me up and threw me across the tent. You talk about raising your adrenalin!!!!! I wasn't sure I wanted to go back to sleep, but finally figured it was just a curious deer or elk and drifted off to na-na-land. WHEW!

That's pretty funny!

I've had a black bear put his nose under the tent and make loud snarfing noises during the night, but fortuately it didn't throw me across the tent. I just unzipped the door and yelled at it and it ran off. I might have thought twice about doing that if it were in an area populated by grizzly bears.

Q

Q wrote:That's pretty funny!

I've had a black bear put his nose under the tent and make loud snarfing noises during the night, but fortuately it didn't throw me across the tent. I just unzipped the door and yelled at it and it ran off. I might have thought twice about doing that if it were in an area populated by grizzly bears.

Q

Yup, the black bears will run away and/or climb a tree and the grizzlies look at you.

A couple of years ago I was replacing a telephone line into a cabin and I decided to start at the road at the top of the hill and work my way down to the cabin and where my truck was. I had already gone up one pole and was getting ready to climb the next one when I heard something behind me. It was a grizzly about 50 feet away. I cursed quite a bit and climbed the pole as fast as I could hoping that if the bear was going to try to push the pole over that it wouldn't break! As I was at the top of the pole shaking like a leaf and watching this bear sniffing around I thought I would see what would happen when I tugged up on the telephone wire when he sniffed it. He stood up on his hind legs, and boy, was he big!! After he settled down he wondered around for a while sniffin' and pee'n and then meandered up the hill, onto the road and slowly made his way until I couldn't see him any more. I was up there for about 1/2 an hour by the time the bear had wandered off and I was satisfied that it was safe enough to come down. I had rubber legs by then, but I quickly finished up so I could get out of there. I later found out that he had a regular trail that he went along looking for food. It was the one and only time that I have ever encountered a grizzly and his claws were lonnnnnnnng.

Another bear adventure for you...

When I was sixteen, I hitchhiked from Minneapolis up to the end of the Gunflint Trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I was traveling light with just a backpack, sleeping bag, and a few items of clothing. I had made arrangements for a rental canoe and gear with one of the outfitters but had arrived too late so he was closed for the day. I hiked over to a nearby campsite and threw my bag out for the night. About four in the morning I was awakened by something scratchy against my cheek. As I slowly came out of a deep sleep I found myself staring into the eyes of a black bear who was contentedly licking my face--probably for the salt of perspiration.

Needless to say I was just a bit distressed about this. After a moment of reflection I let out a forest-shattering scream. The bear bolted for the woods and I shot out of the bag and retreated in the opposite direction. It might be a toss-up as to which of us was most freaked out but we never did get together again to discuss it over a cup of coffee.

Everything depends on what you're used to. Seeing my first and only wild bear in Alberta gave me a shock and I was always a little worried about noises in the woods when skiing trails in Nova Scotia - there not being any bears in Nova Scotia doesn't make snow falling off trees sound any less like a bear, in my experience.

But then you guys would probably sympathise with my friend Bob's girlfriend who got very upset when she woke up to find animal tracks all round their tent (the tent that Bob had told her not to leave in the night) - they were in Bob's homeland of Kenya and the tracks were from lions!

Andrew

mikeschn wrote:...you have to pick a sunny site...

In Oregon?

Down here in Savannah, the local Boy Scout camp is camp blue heron, and the camp master, a man named Mister Steve, invented a story of the ARMIGATOR..it's half armidillo and half alligator, and it wanders around camp after lights out...seems to keep the cub scouts in their tents at night.

Mightydog wrote:

mikeschn wrote:...you have to pick a sunny site...

In Oregon?

We have sun in July and August. Most of it anyway.

this kind of camping is really where my primary interest lies. I like to get AWAY and there's ample opportunity here in Utah. I have mostly backpacked and river tripped in the past, and most vehicular camping my friends and I do is literally throwing our packs into the back of the pickup and going- and I will still chose to do that in the future- but for the family...well, the wife wants the security and comfort of hard walls and a real bed. I don't have much desire to take a teardrop "Off Road" per se, but I do like to be able to get well off the beaten track, and many roads in Utah and the surrounding mountain states are gravel, rutted, two track etc. and I like the idea of a teardrop as small enough to realistically utilize these thoroughfares , while still avoiding most of the crowds and traffic...I will try to add stuff to this thread as I think I have a pretty good idea of my local area, and there are PLENTY of places within a 300 mile radius of Salt Lake that are both "dispersed", and literally "dry"...! more to come- unless it relates to fishing spots - you'll have to pry that information from my cold dead corpse...

Are there any back woods "dry" camping areas 1/2 near LA?

I have about 13 acres of recreational land in an area of prime hunting about 5 miles from my house. It is surrounded with hundreds and hundreds of acres ..also prime hunting..all hilly, eastern woodlands & waterways on which I have permission to hunt.
That is where I lost my first teardrop !...LOL

Last year my Marine Grandson, returned home on leave from his first Iraqi deployment. He and his wife used my camper there (no facilities).

They enjoyed themselves so much..they now own the teardrop (see my album).

I needed a good excuse to build another one and incorporate some new ideas anyway...LOL

When he gets home from his present deployment (2nd) he wants me to accompany them with my new camper and spend some days there...

For the folks that have bought "Free Camping"...have you checked into either "Happy Camper" or "Passport America" ?

For about $45 per year, you have access to nearly 1400 campgrounds (Passport America) nationwide at half the usual rate...many falling under the $12 previously mentioned....

I have done a lot of backwoods camping. I am looking forward to getting my tear built so I don't have to haul my travel trailer into the woods. It's great for the commercial campgrounds, or long stays, but it is lacking in spontaneous outback ability..

We camp out in the middle of the Pigeon River State Forest in Michigan every deer hunting season. My family has been camping there every year since my father was a toddler (I'm 43 now). There is just something special about being out away from everyone and everything.

As for those night time sounds, did you know the hair on the back of your neck will stand up just like a dogs does, when a coyote howls real close to you??

The first time I was in the woods and heard a peacock cry I just about peed my pants. I thought I was alone enjoying the serenity and all of a sudden... Aaaaahhhhhhhhh! I thought just heard someone murdered!

For anyone who hasn't heard a peacock, they sound just like a woman's scream.

Yes, the hair did stand up on the back of my neck.

To say nothing of a sudden departure of a covey of quail..when least expexted ! ...LOL