Dumb things you have seen people do in camp

[iArvee]

It may not seem dumb, but I've seen a group of people playing video games. They got to the camp site around the same time as we did and had their camp set up a few minutes after we finished ours. They had their TV and console plugged in from the RV and played the whole day. They wasted a great sunny day by just playing video games.

 

[jbassett]

People leaving their food out overnight, then wake up and racoons have torn it up.

Oh wait...I was dumb a couple years ago when I left my waders out overnight and the racoons chewed a hole right through the crotch! I didn't find the hole until my waders filled up quickly the next morning! I guess I might have done the dumbest thing I've ever seen; nothing new there. Haha

 

[ChadTower]

In recent years the camping has been mostly state park campgrounds. We see a lot of people do inconsiderate or ignorant things but not often truly stupid.

One weekend we had a site that had a nice cleared, and elevated, view of the lake. People kept walking right through our site to take pictures of themselves in front of the lake while standing next to our tent. All... weekend... long.

Can't tell you how many people tie their dog to a tree at the edge of their site without noticing that it is also the edge of our site. It's great to spend all weekend with a hungry, bored, or territorial dog glaring at us. Or two dogs. I love having hungry dogs drooling at me while I'm making a lb of bacon for my family's breakfast. Or when the idiot gets up at 5am to walk their dog, it gets away, and runs circles around our tent.

Somehow I always end up with a site full of kids. I'm good with kids, long time youth coach, so it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that nobody knows where these kids are. I don't know what site they came from, if I can feed them when I feed my kids, when they are supposed to be back. My kids are used to being around fire and knives. Are these kids? I have no idea. Then the parents eventually come looking and give me dirty looks for being around their kid. Erm, sorry I was friendly and played tag football with your kid? Maybe you should have done some of that.

My absolute favorite, though, is the SUV full of fat people. The type that show up at 7am saturday morning because setting up in the dark is too hard. They yell all weekend because they are too lazy to move closer to each other when the want to speak. They fight all weekend because they are too lazy to do any of the work. The kids are obnoxious and complain all weekend about missing their shows. They are too lazy to go anywhere so they are at the site every hour screaming, complaining, and making the rest of us miserable.

 

[Pathfinder1]

I usually don't trek very far,
when all around me idiots are.


Hi...


Boy...now I'm REALLY glad that I don't frequent campgrounds...!! (where's Alan Funt when you really need him?)...!!

 

[kazkal]

i did alot of camping when i was younger(early to mid teens). At the campground we always went to, most of the people were there every year. This one year a new family was there(i think they were a little slow) , anyways they set up their tents, made a fire, etc etc. Sounds fine right? Did i mention the fire was about 4 feet from both the tents? Anybody see where this is going? Yep both tents, completly burnt. The reasoning? They used gas to start and control their fire.

I just kinda shake my head thinking about it now a days.

 

[Hikenhunter]

Camping in a state park one weekend, my buddy and I had just finished working 21 days straight, 12 hrs. each day and we really needed the break,so we set up camp Friday night and after breakfast Saturday morning, our wives went for a walk while we proceeded to tie our hammocks up and prepared to spent as much of the weekend as possible, in those hammocks. About 10:00 am this young couple pulls in a site near us with a carload of brand new camping gear. Everything in the boxes. They had bought one of those camping sets from Wally World that had a tent, 2 sleeping bags, a cook kit,and whatever else came in the box. On the box it said"Everything you need to start camping." After we watched them struggle with the tent for about 20 minutes I walked over and introduced myself and offeredto lend them a hand. I got them a peice of plastic to put under the tent and helped them set up the tent. They unrolled the sleeping bags but they had no pads to put underneath them. They got a battery operated lantern and some flashights with their kit but no batteries. They had no stove to cook on and it was obvious that they were going to have to buy more gear than they got in their camping kit. I helped them make a list of the items I thought they should have but didn't. They told me that they never went camping before in their lives and they assumed that everything they needed to go camping was in the box because it said so right on the box. I pointed out to them that it actually said "Everything you need to start camping." Well to make a long story shorter, they returned about 2 hrs. later with a bunch of stuff that we put on their list and my buddy , myself, and our wives kept checking in with them to see how things were going.They made it through the weekend and I figured all that stuff they bought was going to end up at a yard sale or thrift store or something because they really did not seem to be enjoying themselves. About three months later we were camping in the same spot one weekend and as we were eating Saturday breakfast we heard a woman saying "hi" and coming towards us.It was the young woman from three months previous and she was heading to her campsite and she reconized us and decided to stop to say hi.We asked her how the camping was going and she told us that after that first weekend her husband and her decided that they weren't campers and they were going to get rid of their gear and write camping off of their list of things to try.Then after giving it some more thought they decided that We all seemed so happy and relaxed while we were there, and they decided to try it again. Things went much smoother for them that second weekend so they made reservations for the next weekend. This was their 7th weekend in the past 12 and they were learning things as they went. It was stupid of them to come camping that first time and assume everything they needed would be in that box. I'm glad that we were there to help them out, otherwise they probably would have never known the joy of camping. On a side note I have bumped into them a few times since then. They now have two children and they go camping as much as possible.

 

[iArvee]

People leaving their food out overnight, then wake up and racoons have torn it up.

Oh wait...I was dumb a couple years ago when I left my waders out overnight and the racoons chewed a hole right through the crotch! I didn't find the hole until my waders filled up quickly the next morning! I guess I might have done the dumbest thing I've ever seen; nothing new there. Haha

I hate it when people leave their food/don't clean up after themselves.

Lol, hopefully I won't make that mistake!

 

[twinsmommy]

People leaving food out in the open, or their trash out. Not staking down their tents and wondering why it is upside down against the tree when the wind picks up ("now how the heck did the tent get way over there?" he asks)

 

[TroyS]

My absolute favorite, though, is the SUV full of fat people. The type that show up at 7am saturday morning because setting up in the dark is too hard. They yell all weekend because they are too lazy to move closer to each other when the want to speak. They fight all weekend because they are too lazy to do any of the work. The kids are obnoxious and complain all weekend about missing their shows. They are too lazy to go anywhere so they are at the site every hour screaming, complaining, and making the rest of us miserable.

That is definitely a classic, but I guess that partly explains their weight. :tinysmile_fatgrin_t But seriously, I can't understand why some people would even bother going camping if it's a chore or obligation that they have to do. You can't blame the kids, though. If their parents keep showing that they are not enjoying the camping trip, you also can't expect them to do the same.

 

[Esperahol]

Feeding the wildlife. Never, ever feed the wildlife. There are signs and everything!

 

[shaun]

One of the dumbest things I have seen is people leaving out food, at night, in grizzly bear country. How can you be so stupid? Come here bear, I have some tasty food for you. It is one of the most basic rules when in the wild.

 

[ppine]

Hikenhunter,
I liked your story. Willingness to help others shows cofindence and compassion. I think of fellow campers as being part of a fraternity. If some one acts up you can often reason with them.

 

[riza201saly]

hahaha funny i was enjoying reading your experience.. well i don't have any to share about camping because i don't have any experience of camping..

 

[Pathfinder1]

ChadTower;
In recent years the camping has been mostly state park campgrounds. We see a lot of people do inconsiderate or ignorant things but not often truly stupid.

One weekend we had a site that had a nice cleared, and elevated, view of the lake. People kept walking right through our site to take pictures of themselves in front of the lake while standing next to our tent. All... weekend... long.

Can't tell you how many people tie their dog to a tree at the edge of their site without noticing that it is also the edge of our site. It's great to spend all weekend with a hungry, bored, or territorial dog glaring at us. Or two dogs. I love having hungry dogs drooling at me while I'm making a lb of bacon for my family's breakfast. Or when the idiot gets up at 5am to walk their dog, it gets away, and runs circles around our tent.

Somehow I always end up with a site full of kids. I'm good with kids, long time youth coach, so it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that nobody knows where these kids are. I don't know what site they came from, if I can feed them when I feed my kids, when they are supposed to be back. My kids are used to being around fire and knives. Are these kids? I have no idea. Then the parents eventually come looking and give me dirty looks for being around their kid. Erm, sorry I was friendly and played tag football with your kid? Maybe you should have done some of that.

My absolute favorite, though, is the SUV full of fat people. The type that show up at 7am saturday morning because setting up in the dark is too hard. They yell all weekend because they are too lazy to move closer to each other when the want to speak. They fight all weekend because they are too lazy to do any of the work. The kids are obnoxious and complain all weekend about missing their shows. They are too lazy to go anywhere so they are at the site every hour screaming, complaining, and making the rest of us miserable.




Hi...


BEAR SPRAY...that's what's needed...BEARSPRAY...!! :tinysmile_twink_t2:

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


This was comical at the time..but could have ended in tragedy. Some of us who were at a State campground many years ago became friendly with their nearest camping neighbors. One of then had a bow and arrows, and others wanted to try their luck with it.

One fellow...who later turned into a good friend...decided to try his luck. Unfortunately, his try came soon after a few puffs on a fat one that someone offered...!!

A passerby, mostly hidden by trees, came around telling us and everyone else, that an arrow had skidded across the ground right in front of him where was walking. He was rather irate about it. And rightfully so.

No knowledge of the act was claimed by anyone present, and things eventually got calmer.

 

[ppine]

Bows deserve the same respect as firearms, especially around other people.

 

[dinosaur]

I agree heartily with ppine. Since this does not happen often it is a signature moment. I have three bows and each is a lethal device. My long bow I made myself and is named "Silent Death". Bows are not a joke and even a youth bow can kill a human.

 

[Cupcake77]

My biggest pet peeve is people who bring their small kids camping and promptly forget they have any. We pulled in to camp yesterday and almost hit 2 kids because 1 was sitting on the driveway drawing with chalk and farther down one ran into the roadway without even looking. Our friends driving behind us had a kid toss a ball under their car and try to come into the road after it. Where are their parents?

 

[ejdixon]

I love kids, but unruly kids that noisily roam around the campsite can be quite unnerving, especially with their parents acting oblivious to them.

 

[Newanderthal]

One saw some idiot get completely blitzed off of Captain Morgan and hunt down a blue crab with a blowgun and then cook it over a fire on the beach...

Oh wait... that looks a lot like me