Advice for Women Travelers:
Camp however YOU want to!
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I'm traveling currently: @coyotebroad
I have had a couple of female friends say this after I post a camping
travelogue:
I could NEVER camp in a tent. I know you think I'm a
wimp for saying that,
but I just can't do the sleeping-on-the-ground thing.
I want to set the record straight: You do not
have to sleep on the ground if you camp.
I camp how I want to camp - and that's often sleeping on the ground
(well, on a little air mattress on the ground).
You camp how YOU want to camp. Take whatever you believe you need
to camp -- if you are car camping and want to take a 6 inch air mattress
and a cot, go for it! I don't judge! You aren't a wimp!
I love camping in a tent because it, and everything that goes in it, packs
so small, and as a result, I can camp in far more places than a trailer or
an RV can be parked. It also keeps things so simple - As I'm usually traveling
by motorcycle, I can't carry lots of other things for my trip, which
I'm always tempted to do when I get more room for such. Keeping it simple
allows me to focus on so many, many other things: where I am, what I'm
seeing, what I'm experiencing, etc. And, of course, it's the cheapest way to
travel, other than couch-surfing.
But camping in a tent, and sleeping on a backpacker air mattress rather
than, say, a cot or massive air mattress, has many draw backs: I'm
in my 40s, and my knees are super bad - getting up off the ground is a
challenge, and I have to get up off the ground after I put lay out the
bedding, whenever I need to pee, when I get up in the morning, after I get
dressed - that's at least five times a day. It's also so annoying to have to
pack everything up so precisely and carefully - I can't just fold some
things up and throw them in a box. Unpacking or packing in the rain is also
a horror. There are times when we just can't deal with it all, and we stay
in a hotel or cabin. And as I use a three-person tent, it's annoying to not
be able to stand up completely while dressing (but if you're car camping,
you can take a larger tent that's easy to stand up in).
There's also the issue of dogs and children: some refuse to sleep in a tent,
or cannot quiet down enough to sleep in such, because they can hear so much
outside. My first
two dogs hated sleeping in the tent (even though I made them famous
with my Camping with Your Dogs web page),
while my next two doggies adored it.
You do NOT have to be so basic as us when you camp. Even if you are on a
motorcycle, you can go with one of the many brands of little pop-up tent
camping trailers for motorcycles. I've seen them on Honda Gold Wings and
similar bikes. I saw one guy with one AND A GENERATOR.
If you car camp, you have even more options:
- Buy a big tent, big enough that you can stand up in it, and take cots
or even a large air mattress that will allow you to sleep well off the
ground. It's much easier to get out of such a bed than the ground. And
buy a double-burner camping stove and take a big cooler, so you can cook
way, way more than we can cook on our single burner backpacking stove
that has just two settings: high and off. Packing still
has to be relatively precise, but with a hard box in the back of your
car, you could fold your tent and put it in the box quickly, rather than
having to pack it precisely every time into its tight tent packaging.
- Pull a small pop up trailer / caravan. These can be pulled by even a
small car - no need for a four-wheel drive or an SUV. We're crazy about
the Aliner trailers (we not only
don't have the budget for a trailer, we don't have enough vacation to
enjoy it the way we want to - but if we had both, we'd love to have
one). There are TONS to choose from! And if you have trouble backing a
trailer into a spot, small pop up trailers can be unattached from your
car and rolled into the spot by a couple of people. Some come with a
small stove - or you can buy a double-burner camping stove (see above).
Some come with a bathroom, and some people go with a camper toilet -
either way, you have to empty your bathroom yourself, and so some people
choose to use such only in the case of absolute emergencies and,
instead, use the bathroom provided by the campsite.
- Buy a small camper trailer / caravan. Many of these can also be pulled
by a small car and, again, if you have trouble backing a trailer into a
spot, really small camper trailers can be unattached from your car and
rolled into a spot. You can get a vintage trailer that's been restored,
or restore it yourself, like a 1960s Aloha camper trailer. Or you can
buy a new trailer, like an R-Pod or a T@B. Same cooking and bathroom
stats as the previous item.
- Buy a truck camping shell. These are surprisingly roomy. Same cooking
and bathroom stats as above. Only downside: your camper always goes with
you!
- Build your own whatever! My husband
built our own small camper trailer / caravan.
And, of course, you can buy or rent a bigger camper trailer / caravan
(but you have to be able to easily back it into a spot) or a big RV, that
are basically homes on wheels, and never have to step foot into a pit
toilet or a shared shower, or have to be bothered by the rain.
You can also can book a primitive cabin or yurt - these are in many state
parks and some private campgrounds. They come with beds (but no bedding),
chairs, a table, heat and electricity, but no running water (you use the
shared bathroom facilities with other campers). You aren't allowed to cook
inside of them - some provide a little covered patio, some don't.
But you can't know what's right for you just by reading here. You need to
actually see your choices, first hand. Look for RV and camping shows in your
area. Really big RV and camping shows will have all - or almost all - of the
above on display, from a variety of dealers, allowing you to see first hand
if any of these options would be right for you. You can see inside yurts and
cabins online.
No matter what you go with, go with it and have a great time and, no, I will
NOT judge you. The only way I will judge you is if you don't respect quiet
hours, if you think running a generator for hours and hours is just dandy,
and if you complain the entire time about the horror of not sleeping in your
own bed or a hotel bed.
Also see:
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Quick Links
Index of resources for women travelers
(how to get started, health & safety considerations,
packing suggestions, transportation options, etc.
Advice for camping
with your dogs in the USA
Saving
Money with Park Passes in the USA
Advice for women motorcycle
riders and travelers
transire
benefaciendo: "to travel along while doing good." advice
for those wanting to make their travel more than sight-seeing
and shopping.
Suggestions
for Women Aid Workers where the culture is more
conservative/restrictive regarding women than most other
countries.
Where I've
been
A list of all of the states in the USA and all of the
countries I have lived in or traveled in, the farthest North
I've been by land, the nearest I've been to the equater,
various other stats.
This includes all of the places I have traveled to and through
via motorcycle.
Some
of
my favorite photos from my travels. Very hard to
pick favorites.
Advice
for Hotels, Hostels & Campgrounds in Transitional &
Developing Countries: the Qualities of Great, Cheap
Accommodations
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