what is "comfortable"

I spent some time this morning putting some of the camping gear into the truck, in preparation for my hopefully upcoming minivacation to Tincup Colorado this weekend.

For you backpackers out there that think loading up to go camping means throwing your backpack in the back seat, its not quite the same for us car campers, or truck campers as the case may be.

Since were not constrained by the size and weight of things that we can carry on our back, we tend to buy the biggest and heaviest camping gear we can find. So Gossamer high-tech fabrics, titanium, and 800 fill power Canadian goose down is not in our vocabulary. We tend to go for, canvas, iron, and surplus army blankets. And if my Serta Posturepedic mattress would fit in the truck I would carry that too.

You see, us truck camping geezers have long since proven our toughness, resiliency, and lack of common sense by backpacking and sleeping on the ground many many years ago before our brain cells had coalesced into anything capable of a cogent thought, and we have the nagging lower back pain to prove it. So now we do not have the need or the desire to "prove" ourselves to anyone, especially ourselves.

I can't count the times that I woke up wet, cold, and miserable, in a leaky tent on a flat air mattress in a $20 sleeping bag. But I do know I've done it enough to prove I'm impervious to pain, immune to the cold, and totally bereft of the ability to make a rational decision.

So now, even though I have to dump some of my brain cells out of my shoes at night, I have still retained enough sense to realize that enjoying the outdoors while camping requires being comfortable at night. And being comfortable means waking up warm, dry, and with your favorite slippers under your cot.

                                                                           theboondork

I have discovered the most efficient way of packing the truck with camping gear, and still have enough space on the passenger side to sleep if need be, is to stand up the tall items. So the tent, the folding chair, the cot, and my sleeping bag are now standing on end and held in place by couple of bungee cords.