What is Kamping?

Kamping is packing what you are going to need for a predetermined amount of time in the woods, enjoying the perceived solitude and the silence while you are there, and returning home having eaten almost everything you packed, yet are not hungry and used everything you brought.

In his younger days, the Kamp Nazi participated in minimalist Kamping, and only brought what was completely necessary since he carried it on his back when it wasn't being used. Age takes a lot of things away from you including your ability to sleep on the ground and wake up refreshed in the morning, with legs ready to put many ore miles on that day.

Now days, the Kamp Nazi still plans by what he is going to need, and keeps the equipment to a minimum. Though he is better prepared to respond to emergent situations, he also is able to pack a few luxuries like a self inflating air mattress, a few oddball open fire cooking utensils and a set of clothes suitable for nearly every weather condition possible for the time of year he will be kamping.

What Kamping is not, is packing up 4 kids, their bikes, their rollerblades, video-games, walk-mans/ipods, TV/DVD player, radio, every conceivable inflatable piece of crap Wal-mart sells along with the absurdly loud electric pump to inflate them all, to a small patch of dirt, in a campground that has a lake. Kamping is not packing a 84 quart cooler full of beer, sitting around drinking it then stumbling over to the Kamp Nazi's kampsite to jaw jack about whatever it is that is on your intoxicated mind at the moment.

Kamping is not getting a few hours of peace from your children by unleashing them on the campground to ride their bikes anywhere that the handlebars will fit while you sit and listen to what ever game you missed by taking this trip with your 48 cans of beer.

Kamping is not bringing the indoors in the outdoors. It's about removing yourself from the indoors and civilization. A night under the stars. A meal prepared over an open fire that takes 4 times as long to prepare than at home, but it doesn't matter, because you don't have anything better to do at the moment. You are hungry, so you make something to eat.

Kamping is sitting and staring into the fire with nobody saying anything, with the moon rising over the trees in a midnight blue sky.

A campground is not a cheap motel for your family to run amok in during your stay.