I consider myself capable of roughing it, but recently I had to ask myself when is ok to call a camping trip over early?
Camping in wet weather can be awesome with the right gear. I think there is something special about the smell and exposure to the elements. Most sensible people stay away, and I consider that another benefit! Sadly, we live in scary COVID times and when the restrictions on regional travel lifted in Western Australia everyone decided to head out on the same weekend.
Where I went
I was no different, with big plans to head out as quickly as possible on Friday afternoon to get to Big Brooke Arboretum in time to get a choice site of the very limited options. I’ve camped here before and its a great spot with some lovely walks around the damn. But it takes 4 hours to get there from Perth and my partner and I were left with no choice but to choose the last camp-site available and set up in the dark.
What went wrong?
The rain down here is often heavy but spotty, so if you are patient you can set up in a break and I’ve camped down here in the rain before without an dramas. So why the problem this weekend?
1. New Gazebo
2. Leaking ute camping
3. Broken bottle of baileys
We’ve now used water-proofer on the new canvas. And I’m starting to suss out options for a new vehicle that’s a bit more water-tight (the Troopy is very tempting but expensive!). But more importantly, the alcohol is now stored in a its own box
When I called it
So back to the original question of the post, I knew it was time to call the camping trip over when;
a.) The bedding got wet
b.) There was no way to dry the bedding
I think its also worth asking if you are still having fun! Hopefully the next trip is going to be much better!