Tent Associations

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“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” – John Muir

When my daughter told my mom’s 83-year-old gentleman friend that we were going to camp out in the backyard this weekend, he turned to me and said, “After I got out of the army, I told myself I’d never spend another night in a tent.” It seemed like a reasonable vow for him.

My friend, Phil, who was the first American to climb the north side of Everest quips that bivouac is French for mistake. It isn’t – it’s derived from a French word that means “by guard” according to Merriam Webster but since Phil had to once bivouac high up on Everest, he’s earned the right to that joke.

My association with tents comes from the first time I spent an extended amount of time in them. It was 5-week trip through Ecuador I did in college with a group. We lugged the tents up there in our backpacks and then huddled in them to stave off the cold of the Andes. I remember one of my tentmates, Ted, retelling the entire movie of Dead Calm with no interruption since we had nothing else to do. Then we sweltered in the humidity of the Amazon jungle in tents where we squished ants and spiders and talked about our dreams of what we’d be when we were full-fledged adults. I can still replay my tentmate, Lisa, talking at length of how great an ice cube would feel sliding over her forehead. We’d take to our tents every afternoon on a beach near the Galapagos that had no shade and told stories about things we’d seen on the trip.

So for me, tents are not only a base for adventure but also a safe place to lie on your back and just listen. Listen to your tentmates, listen to the wind and the rain on the nylon, listen to your heart beat in a new place where nothing is familiar.  To me they smell like hard work, feel like closeness, look like a kaleidoscope view of the world outside them, taste like crappy food that you are just so grateful to be eating and sound like everything you can’t hear when you are too close to life as usual.

No wonder I’m excited about back yard camping with my little ones even though the ground feels a little harder than when I was young. It was hard to go to sleep with all the excitement and the steady rain on the tent and we only made it til 4:20am and the birds woke us up. And maybe they’ll need their own adventures before we’ll really know but I can’t wait to find out what they associate a tent with!

How about you – how do you feel about tents?

36 thoughts on “Tent Associations”

  1. I feel like “glamping” is also a valid option for people who aren’t up for camping any more :)..camping (or glamping!) can be such a bonding experience. Sounds like the kids had a ton of fun in the back yard!

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  2. I never sleep very well in tents, so I’m not a huge fan of camping. It wasn’t something I did much as a kid, as my dad gets claustrophobic in tents.

    I slept in a snow cave once, and even though it was warmer than a tent would have been, I think I would’ve preferred being cold in a tent.

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    1. You make some excellent points. I’m not sure I’ve ever slept well in a tent either. I suppose I always assumed that was part of the experience. Interesting about the snow cave. That sounds like an interesting story as to how you came to sleep in a snow cave. I think I heard of a hotel in Iceland that is made completely out of ice. Is that possible?

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      1. Quebec City does an ice hotel in the winter.

        The snow cave was during a backcountry skiing weekend with an outdoorsy ex-boyfriend and a group of his friends. I think there were four of us in the cave we dug out. I remember another ski weekend when a couple of people built an igloo but it ended up collapsing on top of them.

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      2. Wow – that sounds like hard work to dig a snow cave for 4 people. Yes, collapsing would be what I would worry about – I think I might feel like I was melting the place with every breath. Although they are life saving in a tight spot.

        Interesting about the snow hotel in Quebec. Thank you for helping me ground that memory!

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  4. Backyard camping! It’s a gift I think. My youngest especially would spend days in the backyard in a tent until she was old enough to toss gear in her Jeep and venture forth. I have fond memories of tents as a mom camping with kids and also as a Girl Scout leader. It’s the really, really hard and rocky ground that upsets the good points. Those birds do get up and start a ruckus early, don’t they! I can’t hear a crow call out sunrise without remembering summer mornings in the forest.

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    1. I love this comment, Deb! To think those birds make that ruckus every morning but we often sleep through at least some of it until we are out there in it! And how fun your youngest would do sleep in the backyard tent. My daughter wanted to do just that last night but I told her she had to wait until the weekend. So funny!

      But you are right about the rocky ground…especially the things that jut out in the middle of the night and keep you from sleeping! 🙂

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  5. What a fun activity to do with your kids, Wynne. There’s nothing like having kids to keep us young at heart by doing things like camping in the yard! I’ve done my share of tent camping as a child and younger adult and It was also always fun to share those experiences with my kids too … including backyard camping.

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    1. She’s still on the trail! Wow – good for her! I hope you publish something about the stories she tells you of her adventure! I like room service too – the great thing about tents is they make you appreciate the room service even more!! 🙂

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  7. It’s really about the adventure. a tent keeps bugs, mice, snakes and skunks from sleeping with you and crawling into the sleeping bag with you. Winter camping is another level. There is nothing like sleeping under the stars on a bed of snow. It takes two really good sleeping bags on an insulation pad to stay warm for me but so worth it when it’s way below freezing.

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    1. There is so much I love about this comment. You are right about winter camping. It makes me think of all the times I’ve slept with my boots and gotten dressed in my sleeping bag because it’s way to cool to do otherwise.

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  9. Backyard camping is such a wonderful way to change up the routine at home and create new bonding experiences and memories! And who knows, your recent experience, despite the 4:30 am bird call, might also be a gateway to bigger adventures for your kids as they grow up!

    We did backyard camping in summer 2020 when things were locked down and it was a great experience! Glad you got to enjoy that with your kids.

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    1. I like how you put it – a gateway to bigger adventures! I’ve seen how you camp – that looks delightful. We’d come join you on a trip anytime. 🙂

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  10. My family loves camping, being scouts and a scout leader. I love camping but now I need the double height air mattress covered in a fleece blanket!! Thinking seriously about a pop top camper!

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    1. Oh, I think I might need a double height air mattress with a fleece blanket – that sounds delightful. And those pop top campers are so cute and awesome. Both great ideas!!

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  11. Wynne, you have had some very, very special adventures that included tenting. In fact, they couldn’t have happened without tents. Those are the special ones and the reason why tents can always bring back those special times. Your post allowed me to go back over some of our adventures that couldn’t have happened without tents. Probably the most exciting tent-based adventure was one we did just over 20 years ago, with our son and DIL, who were living in Botswana at the time. We camped in swaths of backcountry, including an elephant wandering through our campsite, hyenas daring to come in as we cooked over a fire, and the sound of lions roaring in the night! 20+ years on, the memories are vivid, but if you think your body finds the ground harder than you used to, just wait 20+ years! 😏 Our other son, in Toronto, took his young boys tenting in their backyard a few summers ago to prep them for their first family camping trip. The Dad was the only one who made it through the night!! 😂 Thanks for the memories!

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    1. Wow wow wow, Jane!! I love the memory of Botswana that you shared. I can just imagine how amazing and spectacular (and a little frightening when you don’t know what’s might step on your tent) that was. Oh, the adventures we have — and you are right that it’s because tents allow them to happen. Delightful!

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  12. As you say, the ground feels harder than when I was young…but when my son was a young boy we also slept in a tent in our backyard from time to time. And it was funny!

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  13. While I feel neutral on tents, I took delight in this post–on tents and their interweavings with other delights! It made me think, too, of my own little one’s last tent adventure, also in the backyard. He, I think, will likely have a fondness for tents based on his fond memories within and around them. The thought makes my heart glad. ❤️

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    1. What a delightful association for your son! You touch on an interesting point – sometimes we do it not because we like it but because it creates a jumping off point for our little ones. Yes! Love this – thanks for the comment, Deborah!

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  14. That’s funny that you brought this up because my husband was a soldier in the army and he feels very similar to what your mother’s friend feels about tents. My husband thinks that staying in the tent in the middle of the woods is pointless when you can hang out in a hotel 🤣 yet I managed to convince him to spend a week with us at glacier and Yellowstone national park camping out inside of a van! 😬 wish us luck because I LOVE camping 🏕 😂 I am determined to drag him along with me.
    I will say that your Amazon experience had me feeling rather impressed by you! Heat + tents is definitely not my forte

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    1. Oh a week at Glacier and Yellowstone, yay!! I’m so envious – that sounds wonderful. While I think your husband has earned the right to his opinion, I hope that family camping shows itself as SOOO much better than being in camping with sweaty soldiers. 🙂

      I hear you on heat + tents. It’s not very comfortable but this particularly beach had no shade in the afternoon so it was our only way not to be sunburned in a tent on a beach in the sun… 🙂 We made the best of it. 🙂

      I love this comment, LaShelle and will be cheering you on for your fabulous National Park camping experience!

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  16. Camping is a favorite pastime and we always do so in tents. I love them! Especially if a gentle rain starts falling in the middle of the night.

    Less fun: a not-so-gentle rain. Especially if it’s accompanied by thunder and lightning.

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      1. I’m bummed because this will be the first time in about five years we don’t have camping reservations somewhere. I blame that on a combination of being too busy and waiting too long to book.

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