When some people go camping, they plunge deep into the wilderness, by foot or canoe, and carry only the most essential baggage. Others park their loaded-up camper outside a Wal-Mart. There are a lot of options in between.
Some people go on solo adventures, while others bring friends or family. There are also festivals in which hundreds of supposedly like-minded people sleep together in a field of tents, creating a miniature neighborhood of canvas homes.
If a quest is a part of the camping trip, it seldom results in a pot of gold or other tangible reward. The goal is usually to conquer some distance and see the sights. The reward is how good a shower or plunge in open water will feel at the end.
Some people like to get up at sunrise and start the day; others like to stay up late, drink alcohol and listen to loud music. At a campground, these cultures always clash, but usually without confrontation.
Campers tend to get along well with each other because they have common enemies: mosquitoes, flies, ticks, grizzly bears. Having the proper gear is essential, but something is always forgotten. The kindness of a stranger can be lifesaving.
Starting a campfire is sometimes necessary for warmth or for cooking, but often it's just there to create a conversational centerpiece. There's usually a controversy over what can be thrown into the fire. Some people think nothing of burning bottles and cans; others get upset about anything but wood and paper going up in flames.
Combining a chocolate bar with a marshmallow on a graham cracker is indeed a tasty treat, but it's not really any better than a chocolate bar by itself. Finding seemingly practical ways to utilize the fire, however, is always fun, and the experience of hiking to the shore to wash off sticky marshmallow goo is what makes a s'more extra delicious.
The worst parts of a camping trip are inevitably the most legendary. A favorite topic around campfires is always the time someone broke an ankle or flipped a kayak. It seems there is no adventure without misadventure.
But eventually the stories die out and the night is quiet for a few moments. Someone looks up at the stars, or maybe pokes the fire with a stick. The awkward silence is prolonged by the perception that the next remark should be profound. Someone inevitably steps up to the challenge.
"Fire is awesome."
Paul Lundgren is a newspaper columnist and a very nice man. His e-mail address is paul [at] geekprom.com.
