I love camping, but I feel very lost and alone when I visit the camping topic, so are there any other minimalist campers out there?

[OverMyDeadBody]

I would like to start a minimalist camping thread, as I'm sure there are other MNers out there and it would be really great to share tips and experiences and stories.

Just to know that I am not alone and not a fraek for only having a tiny two person tent and taking everything we need to go camping in one rucksack on my back.

[zippitippitoes]

we are camping in portugal next week and taking stuff on the plane ...i had to really force myself to book hold baggage and not just do carry on lol

[OverMyDeadBody]

excellent!

will you be doing any climbing there? My climbing gear takes up the bulk of my luggage allowandce when I go abroad!

[OverMyDeadBody]

lol it really would have been minimalist with just carry on luggage!

[Spidermama]

I would rather take less stuff but DH loves making a proper homestead with all the cooking equipment and bits and pieces. Actually I find it slightly annoying because it means we have so much to carry and so much graft either end of the trip setting the whole thing up and dismantling it again.

However, if you don't take a cooker and plates and food etc, the holiday starts to cost more because you have to buy meals out so by the time you've done that you may as well fork out for Centreparks.

[zippitippitoes]

we are going to portugals highest mountain but i dont think we are climbing

we are doing some moun tain walking but hiring a car

we have decided to take not the very very tiny tent just the very small one

[zippitippitoes]

weare taking a stove

[zippitippitoes]

but no children

[OverMyDeadBody]

sounds good zippi. I'm sure the small tent will be cozy

Spidermama if I had a car I would take more, I know I would. We take a trangia so can still cook pretty much anything. MOstly we use it to make tea though and just eat bread and cheese and tomatoes during the day and then some pasta at night. It is minimalist food too.

[OverMyDeadBody]

lol at stove but no children

I go with DS. He has a rucksack too and has to carry his fair share

[OverMyDeadBody]

yes I much prefer the small sites sally, preferably just a farmer's field out in the middle of no-where.

Europe has lovely campsites though, in pine forests, I love them.

[Blandmum]

My brother does this sort of thing, he and his wife go and minmalist camp for a few days and then have a few days in 5 start hotel, then camp, move on another 5 star.

But their kids are grown up

[zippitippitoes]

campsites do seem a little thin on the ground i fancy that we may end up in a field..this is not my ideal these days as i do quite like toilets and showers

[zippitippitoes]

it is easier to be flexible when you dont have kids with you

tho mine were fondly reminiscing on sunday about the good old days when mum and dad used to drive through france

into campsites where they would scream with delight..look theres a big slide, wicked pool and shops

and we just drove straight back out

repeat until it got dark usually

[Blandmum]

lololol.

I saw the outside of loads of attractions as a kid, and then my dad would clock how much it cost to get in, so we'd go and have a cup of tea instead!

[OverMyDeadBody]

oh gosh yes I spent much of my childhood with my nose pressed to the window of the car gazing out at proper campsites and attractions and other touristy sites, but we'd always drive on to some remote place. I longed to be a proper tourist and be clean lol

[zippitippitoes]

and i followed in my parents footsteps of walking to the far end of the beach

[Mercy]

A friend of mine does minimalist camping (albeit with a car).

Washing in the river, chemical toilet in the stable, all food cooked from scratch etc.

Dh and I did i(pre-kids) for one weekend; camped on a farmer's field with no water or toilet facilities.

Post kids we don't go sites with entertainment laid on; a basic shop, toilets and showers is enough imo.

We visited one recently which had pay as you go wifi or something

[PeachyBAHons]

once upon a time i was, before 4 ds's! well into hiking and stuuf.

have you chatted to expat, she's a history of cimibing etc

[filthymindedvixen]

sigh, before children, dh and I used to go on mototrbike - panniers with sleepbags and mat, tent on back, cothes in ruckie on my back and that's it. Existed on beers, fags and pub bacon butties...now, we have to take everything...

[ThePettyandIllinformedGoat]

my days of shaking the ice off my small dome tent and sleepign and sittin gon stones are gone thank fuck. we now hyave a tent the size of a marquee and bring a kingsize blow up mattress and duvet. heavenly!

bring on the big water slide and camp shops that sell something more than metholated spirits and tin foil.

[zippitippitoes]

i have done the whole backpack and walk with it on your back everyday but not for a long time in fact decades

but i suspect that might come up in the not too distant future

i have big incentives to keep my exercise levels up

[ThePettyandIllinformedGoat]

pre dd i was wildly impressed by spanish campsites as they had beer dispensing machines.

[zippitippitoes]

oh i hvae never slept on a blow up bed i always sleep on the ground i dont mind that

and no pillows just clothes