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Orginally posted by DiogenestheCynic

What happens in camping? How does it work? Where do you get the tents, sleeping gear and all? Buy? Rent? Food? Do you cook at site? Using what? Pots,pans? Are all these things available for hire near the camp sites? Any good website that gives all these details.
Will search for some now.

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To start off, Here's a brief primer.....

a) First we look for a good campground.
They are usually open from April to September. Some remain open till late November. July and August IMO are the best times to go camping. U wanna avoid those early mosquitoes and flies, and those late chilly nights. . Now, Some are private, some in provincial parks and some in national parks.
Some provide no facilities. Others provide some. Eg comfort stations, recreational areas, reception facilities, campsite activities...etc,etc...

If ur taking a RV, u would need a 30A or a 50A site. If ur taking just a tent, u dont need no electricity

Rates per site on an avg. range from 15 to 30$ per night.


b) Then we look at the campsite in that campground
Usually, u should reserve a campsite well in advance. U can also drop-in without any reservations to see if there are any vacant sites. Most campsites provide a map of their campsites on their websites, so u could choose the spot u want, and u can reserve it either online or by calling them.
Couple of things u may wanna keep in mind:
- Site quality
- Site privacy
- Proximity to water tap and washrroms
- % of Shade/Sun
- Kind of trees, ground quality ( sand/grass) , and ground level
- location : Facing lake/water, or wooded or open ground ( some people do like to camp in open grounds... i personally cant appreciate that taste
- etc,etc...


And, Now to answer ur questions :

Q> What happens in camping?
Ans> Sleep in ur tent, Get up late, Swim in a lake/river and/or take a shower. Cook ur own food on a propane stove, light up that barbecue, eat, drink, play games (cricket/cards/soccer/badminton,etc,etc...), tour the neighbourhood, try out other activities like boating/fishing, etc,etc..., go for a walk in the woods...... In the night, light up a bonfire. Enjoy those marshmallows with ur kids....try and sleep... usually my kids never sleep the first night... 2nd night they are too tired to mind those jungle noises.

Basically, U take it slow...& try and enjoy the woods...


Q>Where do you get the tents, sleeping gear and all? Buy? Rent? Food?
Ans> U buy ur own tent... avaialable in sizes of 2/4/6/8,etc...Keep an eye on those deals, and u can get a tent that sleeps 6 people anywhere between 70 to 150$. Its a good idea to buy a really big plastic tarpaulin to cover ur tent and the area around to avoid that rain. Or u borrow it from a friend who is not camping that weekend .
U usually prepare ur own food there. U could always go find a restaurant...


Q> Do you cook at site? Using what? Pots,pans? Are all these things available for hire near the camp sites?
Yes, if u can . U dont wanna keep running out with ur entire family for breakfast/lunch/dinners, do u? Eventually, U gotta buy a stove/propane tank/portable barbecue... Usually one is kinda enough between 3/4 families... Unless u really wanna do some simultaneous heavy cooking Havent seen people renting these stuff... It aint that costly...and u buy 'em only once, right


Generally, Common camping equipment includes :
- sleeping bag for warmth
- air mattress to cushion against sticks, small rocks, and other pointed objects (sleeping bag works fine for me
- portable stove/propane tank to prepare hot meals and/or drinks
- lantern, flashlight
- axe for cutting firewood (usually most campgrounds provide firewood right at the location,
Some dont let u bring in ur own firewood. Have u seen the asian long horned beetle warning signs around GTA? U cant take
firewood from GTA to most campgrounds )
- rope
- portable barbecue
- Kerosene/matches
- picnic chairs
- bug sprays, candles,etc,etc
- sunscreens
etc,etc...

Depends on ur comfort levels...Usually, i always forget something and always end up searching a canadian tire or a grocery store.

bison

As much as I'd love to go, camping this year is out of question for me for personal reasons.

In any case, if you guys need any help from me or GG for the organization part, do let us know.

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This is for BL and EVERYONE ...... From the way things are going .... I personnaly think a "PICNIC" would suit everyone more than the camping .... I anticipate that in a few more weeks more CD's would like to comitt ... which means organizing Camping for 100 odd people would be a pain in the ..... neck , and troublesome too , however a Picnic would be easier to handle..... A One day event instead of 2 or 3 days for the Camping.

The last thing we need is a badly planned occassion and an out of control situation ....

I would strongly suggest a Piccnic in the GTA with food and freshments organized by the " Organizing Desi's " ............. YOU'R INPUT PLEASE ..... all DESI'S