Inspired by a friends current vacation

This entire post reads "I don't know how to camp/go backpacking.

Get yourself a travel air mattress or sleeping pad, probably a better sleeping bag. Solves the lack of sleep and sore back.

Get a proper tent that's water proof and learn how to set it up properly so water doesn't pool under it. Make sure the vents have good mosquito netting to keep bugs our, and never have the entry unzipped a second longer than it takes to get in and out of.

For the mice, don't have food in unsealed containers and if you're in bear country you should be hanging a bear bag at least 100 feet (30m~ ) from you campsite, make sure cook wear and utensils are all properly cleaned too. Some newer tents even have a pouch built in near the door to seal a bag into, minimizing the chance of something deciding to make it a new home.

All this.

I went camping in MN when it was 27 degrees F overnight a month ago. Slept like a baby. Nice and cozy. It was really nice. Camping is great if you do it right.

I hated camping as a child because I had no say in where, when, or for how long. As an adult I'm not camping alone as a woman. My husband would just die in the wilderness, it's not kind to a guy with cerebral palsy.

I enjoy it even when it's not wilderness camping-- drive up to a site with a level of facilities you're comfortable with (toilet, sinks, etc), have a little bbq, do some stargazing, sleep with some nature sounds, drive home. I know those kinds of places aren't near everyone but camping doesn't have to be bushwhacking or backpacking.
- It was lots of tents and pain until my mother said absolutely not and then it was a lot of KOA sites. That was fine! I wouldn't mind like...being in a remote cabin.
  
  I want indoor plumbing. We worked hard to invent that as humans, I respect it.

There's two types of camping: (1) outdoor camping, which is the shitty one ; and (2) indoor, which has pillow forts.

You wouldn't have made it though the paleolithic era bro. You don't have the survival instincts ᵃⁿᵈ ᵃˡˢᵒ ᶦᵗ ˡᵃˢᵗᵉᵈ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ³ ᵐᶦˡˡᶦᵒⁿ ʸᵉᵃʳˢ ᵒʳ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁿᵒᵇᵒᵈʸ ʰᵃˢ ᵉᵛᵉʳ ˡᶦᵛᵉᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ˡᵒⁿᵍ ˢᵒ ᶠᵃʳ

At least your friends weren't trampled by a moose.

Jon, Arbuckle?

Go to bed earlier

Never leave your tent open longer than the time necessary to get in or out of it.

Store your equipment in sealed containers when not in use (make sure to wash and dry it first!)

Self-inflating sleeping pad + better tent location solves the painful and damp sleeping conditions.

You can have an equally bad time staying at a hotel, if you do it wrong too.

So many fragile campers in the comments. It's ok if people don't like your hobby. They might not find it worth the time, money, and effort to "get good". You don't have to defend the things you like from people who aren't into it.

Not when everything OP mentioned is lack of skills. One thing is to not like camping other is doing it completely wrong..
Where are these comments?
- Yeah, that's a good faith question. Blocking you.
I would normally agree with you on the “get good” sentiment being obnoxious to deal with but…. nature doesn’t fuck around. People who go into the wilderness unprepared can and do die.

It’s not just bears and starvation that can kill you. You can get sick, get infections, get poisoned, get frostbite, hypothermia, heat stroke, and many other afflictions that will either ruin your trip, ruin your life, or kill you if you’re unlucky enough. Even just something as simple as scraping your knee on a rock can give you a staph infection that costs you your leg, a risk that can be averted just by wearing a pair of jeans when walking in the woods.

But besides all that: camping is way more enjoyable when you do some basic research, make a plan, and do the basic preparations you need for the plan to be successful. If you’re not willing to do that then you probably shouldn’t go camping in the first place!

This is a very inefficient method of telling everyone that you don't know how to camp for shit.

Yeah, you should definitely have a massive hangover in the morning, too
- I don't understand drunk hangovers.
  
  Drink water. Then you don't have hangovers. That's it.
People that don't enjoy sounding might not want to do it for reasons other than lack of skill. Same with camping.

I wouldn't want to camp either if I was the kind of person who doesn't plan ahead and also crumbles at the slightest inconveinience, I don't want people like that camping with me either so go ahead and stay home please and thank you.

Yeah, I have a wonderful time camping, but it’s because I’m experienced enough to know what to pack. If it’s cold, a small cot (to get you off of the cold hard ground) and foam sleeping pad (to insulate your underside) will do wonders. Or if it’s hot, just string a bug net over a hammock, and you’ll sleep cool and breezy.

Also, don’t underestimate the value of a good solid meal. Some of my best meals have been made in the middle of fucking nowhere, with nothing but a Dutch oven, my pocket knife, and a campfire. It’s hard to feel upset about camping when you’re noshing on the best bowl of soup you’ve ever had.
You sound like enjoyable company.
- You know who isn't enjoyable company? The fucking idiot who made the original post.
Ok I will thanks

all of that and yet somehow i feel better than ever

Skill issue

I say the same thing when people say they don't enjoy taxidermy because of the dead animal aspect.

Air mattress and a good sleeping bag.
Use a candle and a spray. You also shouldn't get bites inside your tent.
Fucking how? Also, if your backpack has food, it should either be in your car, suspended in the air between trees or in a locker provided by the campground.
See 1.
Tarps exist for several reasons, putting them above your tent and your eating area is one of them.

That's a lot of work when you can just stay home.
Do you use the candle and spray as a flamethrower
- Only for the big mosquitos
Or a cot. I'm a huge cot fan.
- Not liking camping without a cot or a backpacking hammock is like saying you don't like swimming because your jeans get too heavy.

I used to hate camping for this reason.

Then I learned how to set up a hammock. It's (roughly) the same amount of effort to set up, but I actually sleep better than in a bed.

I use a portable cot with a mattress pad, it's quite comfy =)
- I love my backpacking cot, sets up in like 2 minutes and I'm off the ground and can lay comfortably anywhere, I like to lay by the fire before bed at night, it's perfect.
Tangentially related: setting up hammocks in my living room was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s so comfortable.
Switching to hammocking made a huge difference for me!

Eventually I did the AT and hammocked almost every night. Only drawback was leaving my pack outside overnight and picking off the spiders and insects in the am.
- You mean picking the spiders from you or from your backpack?
  
  I case of the former, there are mosquito nets for hammocks. I use them when I go wild camping with my hammock almost every time.
  
  I'm case of the later, maybe putting on the rain protection might help, as you can pull it off and give it a good shaking in the morning.
It's pretty much the only way I get a decent nights sleep while camping, even with a great air mistress my back gets sore
- Yeah, but air mistresses give really good blow jobs! I'll let myself out...

Tell your friend to gitgud

I hate camping too lol, but I like staying in nature in a little cabin or lodge haha

This is why you day hike and sleep in a hotel.

I fucking hate camping so much

I like to set my tent up in the lowest elevation spot I can find too.

I live in the PNW, it’s like nature conjures up rain clouds to place directly over any campsite. People here act like the rain makes it better and will tell you to bring your own blue skies, a blue tarp to hang over all your stuff

I detest camping. I've camped in a number of places and it has never been good. I don't care if it's the rolling Mongolian steppe greeting me in the morning, it's still horrible.

I like floors.

Which is why I upgraded to an RV/Camper. The smallest, lightest I can find.

I don't mind being outside, cooking, eating, everything else. But I want a floor and a bed for sleeping, along with kind-of-solid walls.
- That sounds about where I'm at. I'm happy to spend all day outside and I prefer to be barefoot in general. But I want a bit of floor for sleeping on. Far too many nights spent in perpetually soggy tents!

Was your tent just a sheet over a single string?

If you’re in a hammock, a tarp overhead (and maybe a bug net around the hammock) is often all you need. You’re off the ground, so you don’t need to worry about water runoff. And sleeping in the open means there’s always a breeze to keep you cool, even on a warm rainy night. All the tarp does is keep the wet from hitting you in the face, and gravity keeps it off of everywhere else.

i stopped going camping when i moved away from home. good riddance.

Homelessness, but fun.

Stealth camping is a real thing, where people try to scout spots to stay overnight without getting caught.

But unless it’s coming from a specific part of France, it’s just sparkling homelessness. It’s really just a bunch of rich dudes who like to cosplay as homeless.
Stealth camping is just recreational homelessness

Jon suchs at camping LOL

Camping is a blast. Pair it with fishing for a really good time