The PA State Forest Campsite Map shows locations and additional details for designated campsites and allows you reserve online. https://maps.dcnr.pa.gov/bof/camping/
People sometimes ask what I like to do while camping⛺ Besides sitting by the fire and listening to the spring peepers and the birds,🐸 I also will often put on some music or a podcast, especially in the evening.
In the day time I like to cook – I actually like camp cooking better than at home as I’m not distracted by all the other things going on at home. 🍳I also spend a lot of time reading as camping often is a long distraction free time for me. Lately I’ve been spending more time writing, 📚as I’m trying to capture more of my thoughts and experiences in words.
Camping in the wilderness is a chance to get away from all the noise and problems that are inherent in living in the city.
I’ve been hoping for a nice weekend to get up into the wilderness before black fly season got underway, but every weekend this April since the Easter holiday has been worse — and each weekend seems to get cloudier, cooler and rainer. Two weekends ago, I could have gotten out of town, and it would have been fine, but the forecast was wet. Last weekend was okay, until Saturday night when it absolutely poured. And then this weekend’s forecast.
At some point my luck will change. Indeed, Mothers Day Weekend might be a good one, as my parents aren’t going to be in town, and maybe depending when they get the state budget done, I can take off that Friday with just credited time. Black flies, if I decide to go up north might be bad. But maybe I’ll do Schoharie, especially if I get my bike working, it could be a lot of fun to ride some of the roads out there.
When I camp, I always like to have a fresh supply of fish, meat, vegetables, milk and cheese. I’ve long used two coolers in the warmest part of summer, one for drinks like bee, and condiments that are less critical to stay cold, and one for milk and meat which must remain cold for the weekend but only will be opened occasionally over the trip.
This year, I am changing a few things….
Old Plastic Coffee Containers rather then Milk Jugs The coffee containers when snapped shut, generally do not leak water at all. They do “sweat” from the moisture being attracted to the cold, but they don’t leak or leave the bottom of the cooler swamped with water.
Salt-Water rather then Regular Water
Salt water freezes at a lower temperature then regular water. That means more energy is stored in the water, which means it will thaw out slower, drawing more energy out of the surrounding foods, keeping them cooler longer then they would otherwise be, ensuring that even on the hottest long-summer weekends, the coolers will remain cold.
AirBNB, Travel and Staying in Random People’s Homes. 🏡
Lately they’re has been a lot of promotion of an article about how to find secret cameras in AirBNB homes. I get it, you own a house and your renting it out, you might want to make sure nobody is destroying your property while your gone. But I think it’s generally just creepy to be staying in some random person’s home or even a hotel. While I sometimes stay in hotels or other people’s houses for work, it certainly would not be my choice if I could avoid it during travel.
I just much prefer to be camping in the wilderness then in any urban area. I like to be able to have fires, make as much noise as I want, stay up late. Chances are except for walking back in the woods and getting caught on some random hunters’ game camera, no one is going to be watching me, and I won’t be sitting on some person’s sofa with bed bugs or who know what ever else you might find in someone’s house. If I spill something in the wilderness, and I can’t fully clean it up, it doesn’t matter, as it will either rot or get eaten by the wildlife.
