Thursday 26 March 2015

Camping






The man from the city read a book on camping.  It told him what he would need; tent, stove, USB solar charger (to make sure your phone was charged - mustn't forget your phone), pots and pans, spork, boil in the bag meals, energy bars, water bottle, sleeping bag, canvas trousers that zip off at the knees, a shirt, a waterproof jacket and a fleece, hat, walking stick (come in a range of colours), hiking boots, thick socks, compass, first aid kit, torch, whistle... the list went on and on.  He considered it carefully and went to the camping shop where he bought the best quality two-man tent (this one wouldn't even get blown away in a hurricane! the salesman claimed), clothes and a gas stove, cooking pots (specifically for the gas stove), eating utensils and a selection of silver foil vacuum packed meals.  He chose a blue walking stick, and ended up buying two, because the salesman insisted two was better.  He got the charger and the torch and the whistle, maps and a guide book.
Finally he was ready to go.  He drove to the campsite, pitched his tent, and chatted to the other campers - compared walking sticks and solar chargers, then phones.  He enjoyed discussing their cars, parked in the carpark, and which did the most miles to the gallon.  They ate the boil-in-the-bag curries, but didn't really enjoy them.  Still that was part of camping.  He used his twin walking sticks to hike around the marked trail through the wood, while chatting on the phone to his brother about being in the wilderness... oh and had he played that new video game set in a forest yet?
When the man went home, he was satisfied.  He had done camping properly, just like the book had told him to do.

A man from the city decided to go camping.  His cousin had an old tent he could borrow, so he shoved a few things he thought he might need into a backpack and set out.  He found a good place to pitch his tent in the campsite, and collected some sticks to build a fire.  He chatted to the other campers about different places they had been, mountains and lakes and valleys that he should visit.  One of them showed him how to catch fish from the river and which plants you could eat, and they baked the fish and the tubers in the fire.  They were delicious.  Afterwards the man shared a bag of marshmallows, which they toasted over the fire on green twigs.  The next day they went walking.  The man found a sturdy stick to use as a walking stick, and one of the other campers explained how he could even carve it and keep it as a memento of his trip.  He saw birds and animals scurrying across their path, and that night he looked up and saw the stars for the first time.  When the man went home he was satisfied.  He had done camping properly, he felt it in his bones.

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