Comment below if interested

“Semi-experienced camper looking for competent hiking companion.”

Probably not my best idea to search for a camping buddy on the internet, but then again you probably haven’t met the people I’ve been camping with for the last few years.

For example, I went camping with a good friend and halfway there his Jeep broke down. Not a big deal. It only took us four hours to fix it. And then we missed the ferry. And then we slept in the Jeep with a hoard of thirsty mosquitoes. And then we finally got to the island where we were camping, got our fishing gear together and didn’t catch anything. For the third year in a row! No fish. Spent a few nights in a sleeping bag half full of sand. Spent the days arguing about what constitutes a good fishing spot. That was nice, but not the best way to develop a lasting friendship. Especially when that person is your brother.

Another time, I went on a similar beach camping trip. This time the vehicle broke down on the island. Well, it didn’t break down but the 4wheel drive portion of the vehicle did. We couldn’t get it to move no matter how hard I pushed. We did find a strange old man with a Ford Bronco who somehow managed to drag us back to the ferry landing. Also, you might have noticed a strong absence of fish on this trip once again. This trip was with my other brother. So that’s two trips where I’ve lost two very close lifelong friends and still don’t even have a fish to show for my trouble.

Sneaking past a former friend

At this point I have completely run out of brothers to defriend. So I decided to try camping with a friend who was not my brother. This was a trip not intended for fishing. When we got there we realized that the creek we were camping was practically jumping with trout. I can literally see the fish, but I have no way to reel them in. So here we have a campsite overflowing with both fish and fishermen. An entire weekend consisting of questions like, “How many fish you catch?” Fishermen love to ask that. And after their befuddled stares when we told them we weren’t here to fish and would they please mind their own business, I went home. I vowed never to speak to this friend again.

I could tell more stories. And it would be sad to think on all of the friends I’ve lost over the years. But camping has martyred them one by one. I’ve considered never going camping again, but I’ve invested a couple hundred dollars in gear. I’ve also thought about taking people I hate with me so there would be nothing to lose, but then I might end up retaking some of the people that I broke up with previously and that seems awkward.

So if you want to go on a camping trip, let me know. Probably going to go around the end of May. Not super desperate. If no one good replies then I will just take my dog. Comment below if interested.

NSJ