outdoor camping


When my teenage son and I were looking for something new to do while outdoor camping, we didn't think it would be this much of a blast. Outdoor camping has always been something that my son and I have always looked forward to. We go several times a year out into the wilderness with just a tent, and a few bits of camping gear. We will take some food, but most of the time we will go fishing or set small snares to live off the land. True outdoor camping.

One day, we started talking about doing something different in our outdoor camping. We both enjoy most of the things that we can do outside like rock climbing, kayaking, orienteering; anything would be good. While looking through some local online outdoor camping forums I saw a notice for what is called adventure camping. This is basically going out into the woods with several objectives to complete within a weekend. That sounded like a lot of fun.

I talked it over with my son that night and he was all for it. I went and sent an email to the director of the adventure camping weekend to let him know we wanted to sign up and get some more info. Within a few hours I received an application along with a list of the objectives. When they say adventure, they mean adventure! This was going to be fun. The biggest thing was that it was also extreme outdoor camping. We couldn't bring anything except for simple tools and a backpack.

One of the tools was a small saw. I didn't have one, nor did my son have one in his camping gear. Since the outdoor camping adventure was going to start in a couple weeks, I went online to check out my favorite outdoor website. I went to Route 66 Mega Mall, which is at www.route66megamall.com, and started looking for a small saw. They had a foldable saw that would be perfect for taking. The rules also stated that this would be acceptable. The Coleman 7'' Folding Saw would be needed to help make our own shelter (one of the objectives) and also cut firewood.

The weekend went great. We didn't win the overall points championship, but we came in fourth out of 40 different teams. The saw I bought from Route 66 Mega Mall came in very handy (we are going to buy another one), and we have already signed up for another outdoor camping adventure trip. This time it involves a lot of rock climbing and geocaching!