An amazing view during the Jefferson State TearJerkers’ Mystic Mt. Shasta Gathering at Panther Meadows. The gathering took place at 10,000 feet elevation on the slopes of Mount Shasta in northern California. Thanks for the great photo Kay!
Showing posts with label mountains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mountains. Show all posts
Friday Teardrop Photo
An amazing view during the Jefferson State TearJerkers’ Mystic Mt. Shasta Gathering at Panther Meadows. The gathering took place at 10,000 feet elevation on the slopes of Mount Shasta in northern California. Thanks for the great photo Kay!
Friday Teardrop Photo
Using a teardrop trailer as a changing room at Travertine Hot Springs in California.
There have been several times when we have used our teardrop for a changing room. This is usually at hot springs, swimming pools, or parks with lakes or rivers that you can swim in. If we have the teardrop with us, it's so nice to just slip inside and change into or out of swimsuits or dry off with the towels we have in our "closet" and into dry clothes. The curtains on the window offer privacy and we try to keep the bed free of items so we can lie down if we need to.
It's so much easier than trying to wiggle into your suit or clothes in the back seat of a car.
Teardrop Hiking Survival Kit
Most of our teardropping trips are taken to locations where we can do some hiking. Hiking in the mountains in the summer and fall is personally one of my favorite things to do and we try to do at least one 10 mile hike on a trip. These longer hikes will usually take us into the back country and each time we go out I'm adamant about having a few survival items along just in case we end up in a sticky situation.
There are a lot of lists and videos on what survival gear to keep in your day/hiking pack, but this is personally what I like to bring along in the types of places we go hiking: mainly the mountains and high desert.
1. Matches, lighter AND a flint and steel
2. A good knife with a serrated blade
3. A small mirror for signalling
4. A whistle/compass/temperature gauge
This whistle combo saved me on one hike when we were lost with friends in a snowy forest. The melting snow had washed away the trail and we were having trouble finding the parking lot at the top of the trail. We split up into two groups and we each had a whistle or an air horn to signal the other group. I was just behind my partner when I stepped on a pile of snow that had melted underneath and fell into a crevasse up to my nose. He did not see me go down and I had to use the whistle to get his attention so he could help me out. I don't go hiking without it.
5. Warm hat, gloves and sweater
6. Emergency blanket and a piece of plastic or rain poncho
I saw a great episode of Dual Survival where outdoor expert Cody Lundin used an emergency blanket and a piece of plastic to make an ingenious emergency shelter.
7. Emergency rain poncho
8. At least 32 ounces of water, a water filter or some iodine tablets
9. Snacks, nuts, granola bars
10. Fire starting materials in a plastic bag: these could be tissues, Vaseline soaked cotton balls or even some tampons!
Photo: Hiking to Hidden Falls in the Grand Teton National Park
There are a lot of lists and videos on what survival gear to keep in your day/hiking pack, but this is personally what I like to bring along in the types of places we go hiking: mainly the mountains and high desert.
1. Matches, lighter AND a flint and steel
2. A good knife with a serrated blade
3. A small mirror for signalling
4. A whistle/compass/temperature gauge
This whistle combo saved me on one hike when we were lost with friends in a snowy forest. The melting snow had washed away the trail and we were having trouble finding the parking lot at the top of the trail. We split up into two groups and we each had a whistle or an air horn to signal the other group. I was just behind my partner when I stepped on a pile of snow that had melted underneath and fell into a crevasse up to my nose. He did not see me go down and I had to use the whistle to get his attention so he could help me out. I don't go hiking without it.
5. Warm hat, gloves and sweater
6. Emergency blanket and a piece of plastic or rain poncho
I saw a great episode of Dual Survival where outdoor expert Cody Lundin used an emergency blanket and a piece of plastic to make an ingenious emergency shelter.
7. Emergency rain poncho
8. At least 32 ounces of water, a water filter or some iodine tablets
9. Snacks, nuts, granola bars
10. Fire starting materials in a plastic bag: these could be tissues, Vaseline soaked cotton balls or even some tampons!
Photo: Hiking to Hidden Falls in the Grand Teton National Park
Teardrop Trailer vs. Tent Camping
I missed my Friday teardrop photo last week because I was out of town for the 4th of July weekend, not teardropping, but camping in a tent. Every few years, my husband and I will take a kayak camping trip to Lake Tahoe. We pack all our gear into our kayaks and paddle several miles to Emerald Bay where we camp in the local boat-in campground.
The trip was fun, but exhausting, and got me thinking about the difference between tent camping and teardrop camping. I've been asked several times why I don't just camp in a tent all the time, and while I like the relative simplicity of a tent, it can wear you down much quicker than camping in the comfort of a teardrop trailer. My husband and I have a great tent: a Mountain Hardware four-season tent with nifty storage pockets and that is nearly impervious to wind. However, I realized that it is harder for me to enjoy myself while tent camping for several reasons:
Accessibility
It is nice that you can camp nearly anywhere in a tent. I can't tow my teardrop down to a kayak/boat camp or set up in the middle of the woods where there are no roads. This is where a small tent comes in handy...but that's it...it's small. Getting in and out of our backpacking tent is not easy and I do it less than gracefully, usually catching my foot in the bottom flap and nearly falling on my face. It's hard on the back, too.
Dirt
Let's face it, tent camping is dirty. You are lying on the ground and all your gear usually ends up with a fine layer of dust on it. After every tent camping trip, we have to wash down all our gear with a hose when we get home. With the teardrop trailer, you are up off the ground and bedding tends to stay cleaner over a longer period of time. It's also easier to clean your kitchen items while teardrop camping since you can bring along some dishpans (which we could not even think about fitting into our kayaks).
Comfort
We do have a fairly comfortable air mattress in our tent, but it in no way compares with the comfort of the mattress in the teardrop trailer. I get much better sleep in the teardrop and I'm able to enjoy our day hiking or strenuous kayak trips on a full eight hours of sleep. During this particular trip in our tent, my husband and I jockeyed for space on the mattress and ended up fighting with our sleeping bags when the temperature fluctuated. In the teardrop we sleep like babies under the fleece sheets.
Ease
While it's more stressful to tow and park a teardrop trailer than set up a tent, it actually takes much longer for us to set up and break down a tent camp than to set up and break down a teardrop camp. Tent camping requires a lot of stuffing and shoving while the teardrop just requires some minor packing.
In the end, I can only tent camp for about two nights before I'm ready to quit. I really admire people who head out to tackle the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail with only a light pack and a small tent. It's something I dream of doing, but only get close enough to doing by watching YouTube videos. What's wonderful about teardrop camping is that after a long day of hiking mountains or kayaking lakes and rivers, you have a comfortable, warm bed to come back to. Also, there is no dehydrated food in sight.
The trip was fun, but exhausting, and got me thinking about the difference between tent camping and teardrop camping. I've been asked several times why I don't just camp in a tent all the time, and while I like the relative simplicity of a tent, it can wear you down much quicker than camping in the comfort of a teardrop trailer. My husband and I have a great tent: a Mountain Hardware four-season tent with nifty storage pockets and that is nearly impervious to wind. However, I realized that it is harder for me to enjoy myself while tent camping for several reasons:
Accessibility
It is nice that you can camp nearly anywhere in a tent. I can't tow my teardrop down to a kayak/boat camp or set up in the middle of the woods where there are no roads. This is where a small tent comes in handy...but that's it...it's small. Getting in and out of our backpacking tent is not easy and I do it less than gracefully, usually catching my foot in the bottom flap and nearly falling on my face. It's hard on the back, too.
Dirt
Let's face it, tent camping is dirty. You are lying on the ground and all your gear usually ends up with a fine layer of dust on it. After every tent camping trip, we have to wash down all our gear with a hose when we get home. With the teardrop trailer, you are up off the ground and bedding tends to stay cleaner over a longer period of time. It's also easier to clean your kitchen items while teardrop camping since you can bring along some dishpans (which we could not even think about fitting into our kayaks).
Comfort
We do have a fairly comfortable air mattress in our tent, but it in no way compares with the comfort of the mattress in the teardrop trailer. I get much better sleep in the teardrop and I'm able to enjoy our day hiking or strenuous kayak trips on a full eight hours of sleep. During this particular trip in our tent, my husband and I jockeyed for space on the mattress and ended up fighting with our sleeping bags when the temperature fluctuated. In the teardrop we sleep like babies under the fleece sheets.
Ease
While it's more stressful to tow and park a teardrop trailer than set up a tent, it actually takes much longer for us to set up and break down a tent camp than to set up and break down a teardrop camp. Tent camping requires a lot of stuffing and shoving while the teardrop just requires some minor packing.
In the end, I can only tent camp for about two nights before I'm ready to quit. I really admire people who head out to tackle the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail with only a light pack and a small tent. It's something I dream of doing, but only get close enough to doing by watching YouTube videos. What's wonderful about teardrop camping is that after a long day of hiking mountains or kayaking lakes and rivers, you have a comfortable, warm bed to come back to. Also, there is no dehydrated food in sight.
Friday Teardrop Photo
Taken at the Gathering at the 'Glyphs near Austin, Nevada.
The campground is the beautiful (and free) Hickison Petroglyphs State Park.
How do you stay warm in a teardrop trailer?
Unfortunately, we live in the mountains where we are not able to do a lot of winter camping. We would love to, but many campgrounds and BLM areas are usually covered in snow. So we have to save our camping fun for the summer and fall months. In addition, camping in the mountains can be cool or cold even during the warmer times of year so we sometimes wear long johns, hats and other warm clothing items when we go to sleep in the teardrop.
Fortunately, a teardrop sleeping area is so small that usually just body heat will warm the space up in a short amount of time. If you don't like getting into a cold bed there are other ways to stay warm while teardrop camping. If you are lucky enough to have a battery installed in your teardrop, or if you are hooked up to power there are a few heating options. On cooler nights we will use a 12-volt electric car blanket just to warm up the bed. These cost about $30 and don't drain your battery. They will heat up for about 20 minutes before shutting off.
If it's really cold, we will plug in small 12-volt ceramic heater that warms up the sleeping space. This heater with a fan will drain your battery much faster and you'll notice that any lights you have on will dim while this thing is running. You only need to run it for about 10 minutes to warm up a teardrop bed area. We have also used our friends' propane heater for heat. The Mr. Heater Little Buddy can be placed on a shelf or stable area of a teardrop bed to heat up the space. Don't keep it on all night since a propane heater will deplete the oxygen in a small space very quickly.
Another way to keep warm is with a good, old-fashioned hot water bottle. A teardropping friend of mine has several in her bed: one for her back and one for her feet. She says they are still warm by morning.
One time while camping in 20 degree temps with some fellow teardroppers, we were so cold that we heated up foil-wrapped river rocks in the campfire and then placed them in our beds to warm them up. The hot rocks proceeded to melt my friend's sleeping bag.
This is not a recommended method of staying warm in a teardrop trailer.
Fortunately, a teardrop sleeping area is so small that usually just body heat will warm the space up in a short amount of time. If you don't like getting into a cold bed there are other ways to stay warm while teardrop camping. If you are lucky enough to have a battery installed in your teardrop, or if you are hooked up to power there are a few heating options. On cooler nights we will use a 12-volt electric car blanket just to warm up the bed. These cost about $30 and don't drain your battery. They will heat up for about 20 minutes before shutting off.
Another way to keep warm is with a good, old-fashioned hot water bottle. A teardropping friend of mine has several in her bed: one for her back and one for her feet. She says they are still warm by morning.
One time while camping in 20 degree temps with some fellow teardroppers, we were so cold that we heated up foil-wrapped river rocks in the campfire and then placed them in our beds to warm them up. The hot rocks proceeded to melt my friend's sleeping bag.
This is not a recommended method of staying warm in a teardrop trailer.
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