Most Miserable Camping Trip

[larryours]

What's your most miserable camping trip ?

The one that is always present and stands out more than the rest is a camping/hunting trip that I took with a cousin of mine back around 37 years ago. He had just got back from a years tour of Viet-Nam, and we had made plans before he got home that we would go aweek camping & hunting when the fall squirrel /turkey season came . Back then our camping gear consisted of a heavy two man canvass tent, a couple canvass rucksacks, a coffee pot, a skillet & a 4 qt. pot, a couple metal pie pans for plates, a couple blankets and our .22 rifles. We had been dropped off at the bottom of Elkhorn Mt. in Hardy Co, east side, and hiked to just below Elkhorn fire tower where there was a small clearing and a small pond of fresh water. We set up camp there.

We enjoyed several days of hunting. We did alot of cooking and frying of squirrels and a few grouse. Our supplies consisted mostly of flour, lard, canned milk, potatoes, and a few cans of odds & ends and a few glass bottles of Pepsi( which are probaby still at the bottom of the pond).

Anyway, we had hunted a few days, this particular day, we had went out early hunting, we killed a few squirrels, came back to camp, cleaned up the squirrels and put them in the pot to cook, for frying later. Since we had got up early, we decided to take a nap before going back out for the evenings hunt. Sometime later I awoke, something didn't seem right, everything was extremely quite, I openned the flap of the tent, and there was about 5-6 inches of snow and it was really putting it down.

As I remember, we ate some canned pork and beans, for supper(inside the tent) since it was still snowing and the temperture was dropping fast. (An early freak snowstorm ) for this time of the year. We didn't have anyway to see what the temperture was but with just two blanket each woke up several times that night shaking(one of the loooooongest nights I ever spent, thought it would never break daylight) . Woke the next morning, ice crystals had formed on the roof of our tent from our breath, we had put on all the clothes we had with us, and were still cold, got up pushed back enough snow to build a fire, it had quit snowing, aound 12-15 inches. The sun came out and the trees looked like diamond studded, with all ice crystal and snow. We decided to get the h*@# out of Dodge, we broke camp, literally,
our tent was froze, we had to bend it like cardboard to fold it up and tie rope around to make a pack to carry out If it had been today, that canvass tent would have remained where it was. The coffee was froze solid in the coffee pot, we did manage to heat it and have a cup before leaving. The squirrels were froze solid in the pot, we just threw the pot squirrels and all in the rucksack : the pond was frozen over, our Pepsi's , are probably still theren ( We had about 6 miles to walk out, nothing but timber, did follow some fresh deer tracks on a deer trail.

Got to my uncles later that afternoon, everyone was worried, but they were glad to see we made it through the storm okay, we collasped by a wood stove and slept for about 4 hours. During that time our squirrels in the pot thawed out by the stove, and made a mess on the floor, but we were to tired to care. Just glad to get in out of the snow and by a warm fire . Don't ever want to spend a coooold night like that again, ONCE WAS ENOUGH ! Later we learned that the temperture had dropped something like 55 F to 0 F in about 12 hours, but was glad we came out of it okay

[Tater]

Well, my story's nowhere near as bad as that. My buddy and I were going up camping one last time before he transfered out over Veteran's Day weekend (4-day weekend). On the way up it started to snow; a little as first then harder until it was just short of a blizzard. We decided to press on and see what the road up the mountain was like. Once we turned off the highway we got about 1 1/2 miles before we had to pull over. Jeff's tires weren't all that great for snow so he was sliding pretty good. We found a spot on the side of the road to pull off and set up the tent. Twice during the night the tent collapsed--once on Jeff's side and once on mine. Because our sleeping bags were so thick we didn't realize what had happened until the moisture had soaked through the bag. After that there was no getting warm. We each got up and put on as many clothes as we could but still shivered the rest of the night. The next morning, while having some coffee, the tent collapsed again. We decided that there was no way we were going to get up the mountain to our spot and, if we did, we probably wouldn't be able to drive out and neither of us wanted to hike out that far. Like I said, not as bad, but definitely memorable.

[M.T. Pockets]

I've camped in lots of conditions, some that come to mind would be getting trapped in a blizzard in Manitoba on June 3-6. Another one involves a tornado near Mobridge, SD. The week I spent in Alaska during driving rainstorms ranks up there too, it blew and rained so hard we couldn't hear each other talk in the tent. I've camped in January near the Canadian border in -20 conditions. Other times I've had windstorms blow my tent down in 3 states and 2 provinces.

All that said, the very worst camping experience I can remember though was during a week of 100+ temperatures on the Missouri River north of Pierre, SD. Even swimming didn't help cool off.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

sure not the roughest but some of the most memorable times..back in days of old, 4 of us sleeping in a station wagon during deer season during a week when mother nature never let up the rain..cold, put on the cold wet clothes the next morning..brrr..
another was bear hunting from the back of a pickup for 3 days..and it got so cold along with about a foot + of new snow that we couldn't even boil water for coffee etc..it would only turn to slush...and that was with a gas cooker..brrr.....
washing in cold spring water during hunt season in winter...never did thaw out...brrr...
ice fishing years ago with the wind and snow sailing hats everywhere and drilling a hole in the lake only to find they drained the water for the run off and the water was about 3' below the ice...talk about walking softly..I don't fish this big lake anymore either in winter..they even found footprints leading to a hole just this year..with no happy ending to the story..I don't fish those flood control lakes anywhere..
lots of years...lots of stories..

[Blktail]

Went to the Chilcotin plateau a few years back. It was November, but unseasonably warm when we left. When we set up camp that night the temperature was falling fast. We had a wall tent fashioned from conduit, plywood and tarps with a woodstove inside. I slept on an air mattress at the far end of the tent from the stove near the door. Until I acclimatized, I had to sleep with a track suit on, toque on my head and in 2 sleeping bags with a down comforter. My insulated coffe mug with water froze every night and I had to break ther ice to get a drink if it was aftr 11 PM
All thqat with a woodstove going cherry red al night.

Best trip I ever had. I will take that any day over a typical Pacific Northwest ady consisting of rain, hail, snow, wind and sun, but mostly rain any day.

Ther is nothing worse than wet and cold!

[fabsroman]

I have nothing that bad. My worst experience was my first duck hunting trip out in the marsh. Went on this trip with a friend from law school and a couple of friends of his. Right after taking an exam in a night class we were taking, we headed to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The drive was a little over 2 hours and we got there a little before midnight. After talking with his two friends, we decided to spend the night in the marsh to make sure that we got the best hunting sites possible.

Well, this was the first time I went waterfowling, so I didn't have any of the proper gear. I was borrowing one of the guys hip boots and I didn't have any other waterproof gear. Needless to say, it started pouring. Luckily, it was only October and the temps weren't too cold, but I wasn't a happy guy, I can tell you that. I was soaked. The worst part is that we hunted the morning, and the guy I was partnered with wouldn't shoot ducks unless they were right in the decoys. Hence, we passed up plenty of shots that I could make. After the morning session, we went back to one of the guys places and put our clothes in the drier. Then we went back out for the afternoon hunt. That wasn't as bad because it wasn't raining as hard.

This story is why I love my Columbia parka and bibs, my waders, my boots, and all the other warm waterproof clothing I now own.

[Nulle]

Well I guess it was bow hunting for bear in Colorado in the 70's.
Small backpack tent and it started out real hot and by the end of the week we had been rained on sleet and covered with snow.
Looking back on it now it was quite and adventure but at the time it got down right scary.

[foster]

Back when I was young and poor, me and my regular deer hunting buddy decided that it was a mild enough autumn that we'd sleep in the back of the half-ton, under the cap. Heck, we had two air mattresses so no biggie, right?
WELL!
The weather and wind turned on us and next thing you know it is blowing and snowing and we were having quite a few wobbly pops so that meant lots of exits to go pee. Which of course let out all the warmth we had managed to build up inside the cap. Man we were miserable and the beers were no help, of course.
There was a camp up the road and we considered going in (it wasn't locked) but thought that wouldn't be very nice to go into someone's camp uninvited, so we stayed where we were. About midnight a truck showed up, shined a flashlight at us and kept going to the camp, then returned.
"Rough livin', boys," the big old guy from the truck said. "Why didn't you just go in the camp?"
"It ain't our camp," I said.
"Damn straight," he thundered. "It's my camp. And if'n I'd a' caught yas in it, I'd have skinned ya then and there. Come with me," he said.
We followed him to the camp where he lit the oil stove on, full boil, told us to make ourselves at home, and then left.
We revelled in the heat -- it was so GREAT! But then it started getting hot. Then we started sweating our ***** off. As God is my witness, we couldn't find anything to regulate the heat, and we didn't dare shut the stove off because we didn't know how to light it again! Never seen an oil stove in our lives.
I can still see us today, even though it was more than 30 years ago, standing buck naked in the doorway to that camp, legs spread, arms outstretched and gonads blowin' in the wind, the snow flying horizontal it was so windy, trying to cool off!
I've often wondered about that guy, and what he musta thought when he got back to the camp and discovered that six months worth of oil had all been burned in one night.
Sadly, the fella passed away not long ago.
His name was John Dunham. He was deputy chief of police in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, during his workin' days.
A fine fellow if ever there was one.
R.I.P. John.
Sorry about your oil.