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June 19, 2014
Poultney, VT
Why do you camp?
That question arose yesterday when talking to a friend and fellow VW owner as we were discussing Solar Panels. He had thought the panel I was modifying was for my Bus. I began to explain that the panels for the bus are larger and charge a bank of deep cycle batteries to power up and recharge your electronic devices such as Laptops, Smartphones etc. That is when he asked me; Don’t you go camping to get away from that?
The rather obvious question hit me funny. Why do we camp?
I had to think about it for a minute and I never got a real good answer from within so I began to look at what we do when we camp.
We pack up as much as we can carry
- We bring every convenience we can pack
- We go to places that have lots of people
So if this is true, and its true for most of us who camp, then we are not camping to:
- Rough it
- Unplug
- Get away from people

So why are we camping? Perhaps it’s for a different experience, different people, different place to wake up. Yes, the more I think about it…its to be Different. It’s why we take vacations, travel, hike, camp have vacation homes. We simply want a different feeling for a limited time. True, some of us (me) crave this difference is such a way that traveling becomes our normal and staying put in one place becomes our vacation, but the majority of people need the stability and normality of a steady place, job or routine to exist and when that gets too much, they pack up as much as they can and go camping, traveling, vacationing or “go on a holiday” as the Europeans say.
So tell me in the comments below…
Why do you camp?

I camped with my boys when they were small & I am my daughter now. It teaches them about nature and gives quality family bonding time. Time to unhook from daily life and connect with inner peace….