General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

[clout90265]

In order to save boatloads of money on housing during my senior year of college, I've decided to camp outside for the duration of the school year.

Here is some information on the campground:

Location: Washington, DC
Timeframe: August 1 - December 20; Jan 15- May 10
Environment: Typical east coast lightly wooded area

I will have easy access to bathrooms and showers.

So far, I'm thinking a large, inflatable mattress with a sleeping bag. I would use a sleeping bag liner I could wash every week. I also need a tent that blends in well with the forest (i.e. camouflage, low profile, but enough space and comfort for functionality). I'd also like a covered porch area where I can take off muddy boots when it's raining and leave them outside.

I'd like to get some advice about gear, lifestyle tips, etc.

Thanks!

[clout90265]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

Hogsnapper,

Thank you for your reply. I'm not going to be some recluse. I will be eating at the cafeteria everyday, and will be on campus all day working. I will just be sleeping there at night. I am gone during the day. If anything, I think that I would have more time to devote towards studying/work, because I found so much time is wasted just lounging around when I lived in the dorms.

Any recommendations for a particular tent/living setup?

[TNONMYMIND]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

Is the campground open year-round? Are the showers/toilets at the campground available for use or were you
going to use the college facilities? If I remember correctly the East coast gets cold/icy/snowy in the
winter months so be sure you have plenty of warm clothing and a sleeping bag rated for the colder temps. that
you will more than likely encounter...Extra blankets both under and on top of you will help, especially the camping type
emergency blanket to deflect body heat back to you.
there are more knowledgeable campers who could answer your questions, these are just my thoughts.
My housemate and I will be doing something similar come spring of 2013, and have been accumulating (sp?)
camping gear for that...I wish you all the best, it can be done but could be a challenge...

We bought a canvas Kodiak Cabin 6 man tent. the straight walls give us more usable floor space,
which we felt we needed. It houses 2 cots, a chair, a portable pottie, our clothes totes.
we also added a screen house/awning to extend the living area for when the weather is nice.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

Ha! I did similar when I was attending Cornell U, 2 small kiddos and hubby in tow except we stayed in a cabin or tent for the late spring until Sept. @ Taughannock Falls State Park, NY in the good/bad ol days of reservations pre computers. . I'd suggest having a sun shower setup for emergency use. "What if the bthrm is shutdown for repairs or part of the season?" goes my thinking; as for tent............hmm..not sure of DC's weather during the time frame indicated but pretty sure snow is not unknown then. A tent heater would prolly serve you well. A table to rest your laptop would be useful as well. I'd check the height of some of the ones offered by GCI Outdoors and see which (if any) is best for your needs.

Back to tent..........I advice staying with a 4 season tent to cover all weather possibilities. Should you opt for the Kodiak line just think of the cost as cheaper than a brick and mortar abode. not sure if they make a camo version yet easy enough for you to find out via google.
To keep dirt outside, a heavy duty door mat inside and out will keep house keeping to a minimum.

[GlitterHiker]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

I'm familiar with the area. Which campground will you be staying at?

[pitmaster]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

you should check with the guy that owns Turtle Creek in the North Carolina mountains (he is also on a tv show called Mountain Men). he lived his entire college career in a tent (while at Appalachain State if i'm not mistaken). talk about pointers, i'm sure he could give them to you and that was many, many years ago when he did it. i think his name is Eustace or something along those lines

[clout90265]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

I will be stealth camping. Hopefully I won't have to tear down the camp after each night, but if it comes down to it, so be it.

[clout90265]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

hogsnapper,

thank you for your advice. FYI, I will be eating entirely at the cafeteria, so cooking/shopping/cleaning are irrelevant.

I totally agree about how everything will take longer, and I want to thank you for opening my eyes to this. I am going to start living out of a tent about a month before classes actually start to get things dialed in. My goal is to get the lifestyle down to a t, while minimizing time spent.

water protection is a definite concern, so I will definitely drape several tarps over my tent to receive as much protections as possible.

Your warnings and excellent foresight are exactly what I need to best prepare for this.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

Stealth camping requires an awful lot of chutzpah which I just don't have on that level.
One night, betwixt and between camp sites, while cycle camping, a decision was made to stealth sleep at a county wildlife area.
Nothing happened but I never did it again.
I'm just not made for an outlaw existence, LOL.
Good luck.

[scott37300]

Re: General Advice for extended camping (6+ months)

Here is/was some stealth "camping", http://news.yahoo.com/camouflaged-re...opstories.html