Items for next year

Let's start the list. I first recommend these:

http://www.greatbigstuff.com/shotgunshells.html

Add yours in the comments.

Someone else is going to have to go to the mountains and boom on shrooms with her

Devendra Barhart and Natalie Portman are broken up, much to the delight of countless nerdlinger fanboys who fantasize like they have a shot with her. (WIMB)

Never Forget...

Go see Bleorg Blog!!!...

Hey everybody, I've created yet another blog, just like this one but for all of our friends, except that it has nothing to do with camping.

Bleorg Blog!!!

I think that we can transfer all of our non camping shenanigans to a more public forum, and leave all of our camping shenanigans here.

Let me know if I've left anyone off of the invite list. My gmail addressbook is so out of date I don't know if everyone's getting an invite. If you want to add people I don't know, thats welcome too.

Just check, check-check it.

Greater camping through socialism...

We, as a group, have demonstrated a great wealth of generosity for our fellow campers throughout our decade of camping excellence. We have steadily grown the camping trip in duration, style, and luxury; we have managed to bring new activities to the fold with the passing of each year. We are, if nothing else, evidence of our generation's meteoric rise from dirt-poor dorm kids to struggling 30-somethings. We have spent the last half of the first third of our lives at a near constant party, forcing our conscienes under the water in the vain attempt to keep alive desperate dreams of stardom, wealth and a plethera and variety of young and willing sexual partners to rival the brain-washed sex-slaves of the Pharaoh. We have spent the last years pounding our minds with enough booze and pharmaceuticals to convince us that it is only a matter of time before George Lucas reaches down with his mighty hand to scoop us up out of our vapid lives and to place us on the pedistals we so richly deserve!

No more! Peering past round the corner of idyllic young-adulthood into a crushingly empty vacuum of our unfulfilled middle-ages, bereft of social acclaim and the looming, ever looming realization that all things must die, we have seen the face of god.

And it is nothing more than a souvenir from Planet Hollywood.

...eh, I think I got off message. What was I talking about?

Oh, yeah. I was thinking it might be easier for everyone if we started a savings account to fund the camping trip. Here's the idea: We open a joint bank account, the kind that has a very small minimum and produces almost no interest. We name Tommy the executer. Everybody cuts a check, at their own convenience, for a previously agreed to amount (I suggest $150 or more), and mails it to Tommy before next June. We use that $1200 or whatever to fund next years' trip. Whatever's left over stays in the account, and we do the same next year. A few years down the road, when we've saved up a chunk, we can use it to make the camping trip a really special event, maybe rent a boat or drive to Montana or whatever.

Ideas? Feedback?

Mila deposits

Online Spank Banking

McCain's Stimulous Package...

see Sarah Palin pictures

After 3 and a half days in the woods...

there's only one thing left

...an image was somehow burned on the wall

Now, motherfuckers, now!!

Get there, yo!

FYI.

You should scratch "shampoo" from the list of sundries and to about one quarter of the sundry list add the parenthetical ("fucking covered with shampoo.") Obviously, I had some problems with repacking that I'll need to work to fix.

Also, I had a thought. Anyone have a small broom or small rake they can fit? Insides of tents get dirty and the underside of tents are oft filled with rocks.

See you all in the brush soon.

camping lists...

Your personal checklist: (Stuff you need to bring, no matter who you think that you are or why you are special and unique)


clothes:
[ ]socks,
[ ]undie-roos,
[ ]shorts,
[ ]shirts,
[ ]jeans,
[ ]sweatshirt and/or jacket,
[ ]hat,
[ ]shoes,
[ ]sandals,
[ ]swim trunks,
[ ]belt

sleeping stuff:
[ ]sleeping bag,
[ ]pillow,
[ ]air or foam mat

medication: [ ] any that apply

[ ] Towel: see Douglas Adams

Sundries and good f*ckin inquipment:


[ ]deodorant, [ ]smokes, [ ]flashlight, [ ]chair,
[ ]knife, [ ]camera, [ ]sunglasses (that's the law 'round here, you gots to wear your sunglasses so people know you're cool), [ ]tooth brush, [ ]tooth paste, [ ]ca$hi$h.



If your name is:
PaulH, bring
[ ]Scrabble and
[ ]Connect four;
Nathan, bring
[ ]Bocce and
[ ]keg tub;
Trevor, bring
[ ]accoustic guitar;
Kevin, bring
[ ]crazy camping cooking pots;
Steve,
[ ]another cooler would be nice;
Curtis, bring
[ ]cooler, [ ]fish,
[ ]fishing rod
[ ]keg tap;
PaulB, bring
[ ]auxilliary tent,
[ ]whatever you can fit in the lez-mobile;
Tommy, bring
[ ]horseshoes,
[ ]hilbilly golf,
[ ]football,
[ ]pokerchips

As for the shopping lists, here is a rough idea--
Stuff we need FO SHO (non-food): [ ]firewood and ice will mostly be gotten up there
[ ]First Aid Kit [ ]Paper Towel [ ]TP [ ]Wipes (for your tushy and pus) [ ] Paper Plates [ ]Plastic utencils [ ]Solo Cups
[ ] garbage bags [ ]batteries needed (PaulB please advise)
[ ] fuel canisters [ ]Whiffle bat and some balls [ ]mixing bowl(s?)
[ ]disposable bowls

Kevin's No Surprise MENU:
Thursday night: fish (from Curtis) and snacks (Smores, granola, OCPs, cookies)
Friday Breakfast: Batter blaster pancakes (if available) or regular pancakes possibly
Friday Lunch: Sloppy jims
Friday Dinner: Steaks (or other fine meat) and Hobo Packs
Saturday Breakfast: Bissa Omlets and Bacon
Saturday Lunch: hot dogs and PB&J
Saturday Dinner: No Meat Chili
Sunday Breakfast: No meat sausage and eggs and cheeze on toast, and whatever is left over. Of course, hot dogs are available at any time.

Food and Drink list:
[ ] auxilliary beer [ ]Soda aka mixers [ ] Water [ ]Gator-ade
[ ]granola [ ]hershey bars [ ] marsh mallow [ ]graham crackers
[ ] Oatmeal Creme Pies [ ]other little debbie snacks [ ] No MEAT
[ ]bacon [ ]cheese [ ]bread [ ]buns [ ]hot dogs [ ] ketchup
[ ] Mustard [ ] A-1 sauce [ ] eggs or big ass egg-beater carton
[ ]pancake (blaster or ingredients) [ ] syrup [ ] butter or margarine [ ]potatoes [ ]onions [ ] garlic [ ]Steak or good meat [ ] canned diced tomatoes [ ]beans [ ]tomato paste [ ]more chili powder [ ] Cayenne pepper [ ]peppers (bell, hot, chili) [ ]celery [ ]No-meat sausage
[ ]Coffee [ ]Creamer [ ] Milk

Big thanks to Kevin for help and guidance in constructing these lists of food and Inquipment. and remember, he ain't cleanin no fish

less than a week away...

Alright then, happy scrappy hero campers, we are probably the most organized that we have ever been. Curtis has done some networking and secured a keg. the weather report is for sun and mid seventies. Only a few things still need to happen before we head up north.
-kev is going to do up the menu followed by me doing up the shopping lists.
-trevor needs to let someone know when he thinks he will get to the sites.
-paul, paul, and nathan need to finalize their meeting up plans.
-i should probably find all the confirmation info and put up directions and a map.
-one of the pauls should have "the handle talk" with kevin.
-everyone should spend this weekend eating badly and drinking heavily as preparation
the order is: engage the silent drive!

Keg is ordered

I have ordered the Keg from a store that is not to far off our way to the campsite. I will pick it up on our way there.

Interim Report: UPDATED!

K-Rock coming at you live with no Jive from your nation's capitol. I am coming up with a prospective menu, which I hope to have online by tomorrow afternoon. I appreciate the inquipment inventory on the site: I think it will be helpful not just this year but in years to come. I also have my two nesting camp pots which will have the dust brushed off them and brought to the wilderness once again. I'll take a photo and have those added to the mix.

One question for the group: how would people feel about pancakes for breakfast? Specifically pancakes I get to make using this:



Here's a relevant link.

I would like to use it for the following reasons: It's organic, which fits in with our camping ethos of respect for the land, mixed with our ethos of laziness and it finally gives us something concrete to ask for when someone says "can you get your hand off of your batter blaster?" or "great, you squirted your batter blaster all over my face, AGAIN!" All good things in my book.

What we got.

I've spent the last several hours cataloging and photographing the bulk of the camping equipment (ie. what I have.) As soon as I can find a way to make it work, I'll add my photos to Tommy's visual inventory at the right. Until then, here are two lists--one for shit that is static the other for shit that ebbs and flows.

Notable things missing? Plates, bowls, garbage bags, toilet paper, and any type of firstaid whatsoever. We should get that.

In keg beer and f**king you where you breathe,

P2

inquipment.

8+ sets of silverware
can opener
2 egg holders (large eggs only)
7 skewers
super skewer
stockpot
cast iron skillet
small nonstick skillet
coffee maker
cutting board
coleman "tailgater" table
chefs knife
serrated steak knife
plastic spatula
metal spatula
plastic cooking spoon
2 oven mitts
2 lanterns
2 stove burners (only 1 seems to work)
campsoap
4 sponges
camp shower
insufficient fishing gear
6 misc. flashlights
2 stove lighters
3 hatchets
2 mallets
hand shovel
collapsible camp shovel (NEW!)
sharpening stone
sharpening stick
misc. rope/string
tarp
survival manual
4 work gloves
coozies
2 frisbees
toilet seat
5 purple PJG coffee mugs

sundries.

2 firestarting sticks
3 citronella can candles (half-used)
6 ponchos
duct tape
medical tape
2 decks of cards
hand sanitizer
aloe gel (full bottle)
suave shampoo (full bottle)
sunblock SPF 35 (half-bottle)
ibuprofen (2 fullish bottles)
multivitamins (??)
several philip j. greco patented light-up pens/fish lures
foil (1/2 roll only)
lysol
some white kitchen bags
sugar packets
splenda packets
nasal strips
D Batteries (8)
solo cups (16)
paper towel (1roll)
nutella (still good)
PB (still good)
strawberry jelly (unopened - still good)
black pepper
salt
garlic powder
chili powder
honey
cooking spray
cigarette roller

Getting Down to the Frayed Wire...

here's whats up. It looks like thursday of camping week will see the end of Kenobi and will also see the end of the rebellion. By which I mean Kevin and I (Chewbacca and Han) will be taking the Falcon (Elderly Ford Escort - Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs) up to the River (Dagobah) very early on Thursday. If everyone and everything fits, PaulB, PaulH, and Nathan (Boba Fett, C-3PO, Princess Leia) will be leaving the Livonia or A2 area (Tatooine or Cloud City) around 11 or noon. Meanwhile, Curtis (Lando Calrissian) will be leaving Lansing (Ice planet Hoth) also around noon. If all goes to plan (move along a trench toward an exhaust port) these two vehicles will rendevous in or around Flint (Mos Eisley) buy some stuff and then caravan up to the river (Dahgobah). Sometime on Thurdsday afternon or evening or friday Trevor (Jabba) will head up north as well. Lets all hope the old man got that tractor beam out of commission or that will be a real short trip. Sometime on Friday, Steve (Yoda) will come up and Saturday, John (Wicket) will join the rest.
Now we have to figre out who is going to bring what. Who is going to buy what,etc. Kevin will be providing a rough outline of the menu very soon and we will then assign responsibilities. now man your ships, and may the Force be with you.
NOTE: New Content. Just to the right is the NEW!! Online Visual inventory. We take some pics of our crap and briefly describe what it should mean to you.

Tommmmy seems irritable...

OK, ladies,

We are mere weeks away from collectively growing a pair and returning to the wilderness. Put away your pink parasols and David Beckham Brand facial moisturizing balm and get involved. We need to put the last details together - figure out who is coming up when and who needs a ride, who is bringing what, who needs what, when and who are doing the shopping, etc
Here is what you need to do:

RESPOND!!

email, phone, or comment to the blog

If you can get to the campsite on Thursday please let me know so we can decide where to meet up and try to save a little on gas. If you are not coming up on Thursday, you should also let me know. If you have a decent chair or two, you should bring them or make some other arrangements or you will end up sitting on one f the old cruddy ones with no armrests even if you are uncomfortable. So there.

My guess is that early Thursday, Kevin, PaulB, PaulH and Tommmmy will be getting to the site and setting up and getting tanked. Thursday evening Curtis will show. Friday after work, Nathan, Steve, John and Trevor will all arrive separately because they are not awesome. Tommy will abuse his whiffle bat privileges. Prove me wrong.

Sorry to interrupt serious conversation but in honor of Batman...

Let's get our arses in gear, gents

Choads.  There seems to be a lack of discussion outside of a few core people on the site.  We need to ramp it up.  Camping 2008 (or C-Day) is very fast approaching.  So fast, it can be measured in weeks or days, not months.  So what do we need to do?

- Inventory.  Sucks but we need to take care of it.  Harpoguy and Sixofrock have stepped forward to do the Lion's share, but we all have individual beeswax that must be accounted for.  Let's be organised and let's be smart.  Remember, the cabins have made us soft.  There's a lot of bullshit we forgot about dealing with.  

- Fleet name.  Both for the individual boats and for the fleet.  Pull some of that creativity that's just curdling in your asses out and let's do this right.  Otherwise we default to the S.S. Breakfast Pizza and the H.M.S. T-Nice's Bleached Anus.  And no one wants either of those.

- Odds n' Ends.  For instance, Harpoguy and I were talking tonight about the imminent lack of tables since we're going commando out there.  This is one example of something that must be thought of and dealt with.

- Individual efforts.  Bring something to the table for all of us.  We all will; we all do.  Let's keep it that way.

The last thing I want to say is, yes I wrote this late and Yes I've had some bourbon, but that's all good.  And do you know why?  Because camping is going to be awesome this year.  How awesome?  This awesome:

So the Colossus IV Class Rural Amphibious Assault Vehicle has been delivered. Way to go Amazon Free Shipping! Now our collective partial attentions should refocus onto other elements of proper camping preparedness. The two absolute necessities are shovel and keg. As you may recall, the Korean Conflict-era poop-scoopin' beauty is no longer viable. The handle snapped during a futile simulation of a certain unsavory act, the details of which I will not mention, but to say that I am assured Trevor has received medical treatment and is again "open for business." So, in short, we need a new camping shovel. Our triumphant return to tenting requires digging abilities. As to the keg, you know you want it. So someone needs to call around the East Tawas, Oscrotum area and find out where kegs are available, how much they cost,what kinds they have, what do they need to hold one, do they have taps, etc. If you have any brand/type preference, weigh in on this.
And Happy Independence Day!

Behold- the new Flagship...

Well, check it, you annual bastages. Here she is, the Coleman Colossus 4. She is the newest vessel in our camping fleet. Admittedly, we now have a grand total of two inflatable boats, making this the smallest fleet possible, but nonetheless, she will hold 2 of us and will be instumental in our reconoitering mission to see the island- the first step toward unprecidented camping isolation.
We will of course have at her stern, our decommissioned flagship, the good ship Navigator. We are now faced with the reverencial task of naming the 2 vessels of our armada. Will they be henceforth known as "The Grey Oktober" and "The S.S. Choad?" Or perhaps "The Michael Clark Dunkin" and "The Cousin Balki?" Or maybe "The Nutella Princess" and "H.M.S. Black Label?"

One more thing. It is nearly time to open the more specific planning discussions. I put up a real general list on the old site, to keep track of any solutions we might find. Here is the stuff that needs dealing with page.

New Coen Bros Film...

See if you can spot Sledge Hammer.

Can Kev be this awesome???...

Behold: BACONHENGE

Here is the recipe

Just because...

AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!......

an ill-considered response to Paul's question...

In conclusion, we are planning on camping August 14-17

That is Thursday through Sunday, So the implication is that we will initially convene on the immediately preceeding Wednesday evening.
Additionally, the date info is available in perpetuity for your perusal on the old website

So, now we can talk about camping specifics, like who's gonna clean the fish. Kevin?

Hey - hey, wait a gosh darn minute now...

I've been reading my own blog for a full 10 minutes now and I don't think anybody actually posted any final information on the camping trip. Seeing that I do not actually have that information at hand and I have no desire to read anything for longer than 10 minutes I'm going to have to ask somebody, anybody, just when are we camping?

Here is what you get if you search for 'gross' in google images.


Oh, how the hot have fallen. Remember when?



Other runner ups:





And I'll give a dollar to the first man who can not only figure out when we're actually camping but also find and post the one image result I was too embarrassed to use myself!

Mmmm Vending...

a new jedi in town...

economic stimulus check...

something for the curtis...

this is not in any way directly related to camping or even to beer, but it amused me

Paul B and John K Celebrate Birthdays...

Guess which is which
A
B
C
Answers: C

things kevin really wants...

1. Extreme camp cooker with oven.

2. More incredible camp cooker with cooler.

3. More birthday pie.

Hathaway has been working hard on this year's camping trip...

So the rest of you lazy asses had better get it in gear!

And for the record, this was taken at 2:30 in the pm. We all know he's generally up at the CRACK o' NOON EVERY DAY! So lets do our part, shall we?

Tommy's been working hard too, but I can't get into his house without waking the dogs... so... y'know. No photos.

On the Reservations...

It is done. The sites (yes, that's two of them) are ours. After significant discussion. reconnaissance and speculation, we have Cooke Dam Pond sites 26 and 27. We can arrive any time after noon, Thursday August 14 and must leave prior to noon on Sunday August 17.

Oh yeah. Now it is time to disclose your camping chair inventories and someone needs to buy another inflatable.... boat.

April Update...

I am calling the monument office today to confirm the excrimental situation. Also, I have communicated with trevor via text messaging, so there. We can not get site 19 but we are looking into sites 21,22,26,27, all for Aug 14-17.

More soon.

tommmmmmmy

Coming soon...

Why is this the most important image in The Camping Trip history?!?

BTW: Bitches not reporting to Their post on the Web
where is everybody? T? Nat Dub? Post-Crunch? Where are you guys?

this is like having a world-sweeping conversation with just 2 dudes. You start to question your sanity. Guys, log on, pipe up and chip in! We want to hear from you!

for now,
Konichiwa Bitches!
p

On Finances, Memory, and Poop...

We're thinking we'll book online through Lumberman's Monument this week. The sites still cost just 5 bucks a day (for up to 10 people and 3 tents) and there is a 9 dollar reservation fee. That means booking 3 nights will cost $24, or $2.65 a person if all nine of us go. Apparently, even in America it's still cheap to drive to the middle of the forest, sleep in the dirt, and shit in a hole in the ground. The idea has even been flown to book two sites, allowing us a little more privacy, though I guess that's never really been an issue before.

I want some opinions on this map though. We're pretty sure #27 is the Original Camping Site. But, if you look, site #19 on Gravel Point, I think is the prime site. The one with the awesome view of the lake on two sides and the giant open site (if I remember correctly the year we were there was the year Tommy drank nothing but Fruitopia and Kevin nearly killed Trevor. Fun times.)Also, gravel point is where I believe they have the actual, albeit rustic, outhouse structure whereas over by #27 is where there is a shitter in the middle of a ravine that Tommy found after Paul and I wiped our asses with leaves. However, I know that only matters to those of us whose bodies like to poop a lot. I also know all the sites kind of blend together there, but if anyone remembers any specifics as to the best site to get after the map jogs your memory, comment here.

Or, comment here anyway and stop being an asshole.

-Paul#2

On Nostalgia...

I have it admit, East Tawas scares me. Lately, I feel old and the lack of toilet, running water, electricity, and a functioning Burger King within 50 miles of where I lay my drunk ass to rest upon the cold unforgiving ground, is a scary prospect.

However, we haven't done it in awhile. Obviously, I believe the last three years have been cabin-ized and though I do like the idea of closing a door behind me when I go to bed and having recourse in the event of rain or random August frigidness, it's time to get real bitches. For nostalgia.

Seeing as how this is approximately the 10th fucking time in a row we've done this (and I think that's a real pat ourselves on the back kind of situation--how many other people do you know who have been going Camping with 6-9 men that they love in a hetero man-love kind of way for 10 years? I only know 5-8 of them) it's time we make sure we get it done old school at least one more time. Even if just to say we can. And, as Tommy pointed out, there is a real cathartic value in just going somewhere far away and being there. Lumberman's Monument it is.

After all, the experience we chase in Tawas is the one that brought simultaneous purchases of bounty hunter caps and a plethora of beer coozies. It's where Kev wandered off in a boat as hairy Elvis with a sunburnt belly, scaring the locals. And then barfed because of the sun, not the Captain Morgan. It's where I myself upchucked from a folding chair mid-sentence. It's where Trevor drew blood and then scampered into the wood barefoot. It's where two people fell into the water, one sober getting a cell phone signal, the other drunk attempting to piss. It's where Paul lost an eyeglass and Nathan had his emergency repaired. It's where that dude next to us slept under a table. It's where Curt snored and then a raccoon tried to have sex with him. It's where somebody pissed and then laid in it. Basically, good times.

Let's all get on board.

By the way, this was written by Paul and not Paul.

The Story Thus Far...

First some parlimentary notes: Please end all post titles with "..." It adds a nice atmosphere. Please capitalize all mention of proper nouns, most importantly 'The Camping Trip.' However, capitalization of the beginning of sentences is optional. For instance, this sentence is correct: "hey, did you hear the new news about The Camping Trip? Kevin is our Official Camping Trip Chaplain." See?

On to real news. As it stands today, myself, Paul H., Paul B., and Tommy have all agreed to Kevin's proposed new and improved 4 day Camping Trip weekend, slated for the last half of August in sunny East Tawas, on beautiful river Au Sable. The rest of the crew has yet to sign on. No hard plans are set yet.

The 4 day proposal was design to placate Kevin's very real and fair desire to have the camping trip moved south closer to his neck of the woods, perhaps in the fucking mountains or something. Dueling Banjos, anyone? While a trip of that scale will probably have to be put off for a year in which we decide to start planning earlier, Kevin was happy to yet again trek north given that he not "break his balls for no piddly-widdly 3 day bullshit weekend."

Cool.

And then there was light...

Hello and welcome to the one and only The Camping Trip Blog, the official home of correct Camping Trip Opinion. I am the founder and editor of the Camping Trip Blog, your host, Paul Hathaway.

This blog is an open forum for any member, past or future, of the Camping Trip, including all past participants, new candidates as well as everyone's family and/or loved ones, to speak honestly and truthfully about any of the Camping Trips, immediate, past or future, in terms both specific and general, so help you god.

Let the Jabber begin!!!