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Sleeping on a piece of cloth could be a moving experience

Joyce Walter reflects on the joys of camping.
ReflectiveMoments_JoyceWalter
Reflective Moments by Joyce Walter

I’ve previously expressed my view that my preference for roughing it on holidays is getting along without a tub in the hotel bathroom.

My experiences with outdoor camping have been limited: a few nights in the homemade camper on the back of my parents’ half-ton truck; a rainy week in a leaky tent at a church youth camp with four girls who didn’t get along by the end of the week; and a weekend with my brother’s family in a hard-top trailer not big enough for the five of us. To add to the discomfort, my bed was on the hard top of the convertible table, without the pleasure of an air mattress or a sleeping bag. I begged to go home where I knew what lurked near the outdoor facility.

Those camping trips were years before the glamping lifestyle that now takes place in parks and roadside camp grounds. I’ve seen the interior of some of those homes away from home and I have to say, I might be perfectly happy spending a week in one of them: TV, microwave, bathroom, air conditioning, plus the benefits of sitting outdoors and enjoying the natural beauty of seclusion.

I, would however, require a driver to assist with the parking experience, especially the part involving backing up into those tiny spots with trees as environmental obstacles. Maybe a chef for a day or two might add to the ambience but we could manage to burn our own hamburgers or undercook the hotdogs.

But it appears not everyone is turning their backs on the more primitive aspect of a holiday under the stars. 

This year, right close to home at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, if one is so inclined, one is able to take part in a back-to-nature camping experience that this summer will be exclusive to our nearby park. And that would be “hammock camping.”

Yes, swaying on a piece of fabric attached to two trees is the latest way to get away from the noise of the city. There are options: bring your own hammock and supporting stand in case trees are not strategically placed, or rent hammocks from the park. 

My first thought was what about mosquitoes and other flying insect life, but a deluxe zip-up hammock is also available for a tiny bit larger fee.

And if you can’t abide leaving friends and family behind, there is something called a “weaver structure” that can accommodate up to six swinging hammocks.

There is no mention of locations available in the park but I assume public washroom facilities would be close by, and of course, there is likely a rudimentary barbecue for one’s dining pleasure.

I have never personally tried sleeping in a hammock. But I’ve seen them in movies and on television, and the loafing cartoon characters never have an accident-free sleep, whether in daylight or after the sun goes down.

Pranksters come along and tip their buddies out of the hammock; the nocturnal sounds of the forest chase inexperienced outdoors persons back to the safety of their station wagon; or worse perhaps, four-legged creatures come calling, sniffing and snorting their way through the campsite until they find a human cowering in fear on that piece of swaying material.

Of course those stories were mostly fiction and besides if the province is rubber-stamping hammock camping, there is unlikely to be any danger involved, sending hammock campers home with stories to tell about what they did on their summer vacation.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet figured out how one gets one’s body into those flapping and unsteady devices. I can see myself involved in back-aching contortions to get into, and similar spine-tingling movements to exit to the ground.

My exit, no doubt, would be bottoms up! But to the less physically-challenged, have fun and if you need me, I’ll be in my SUV with the seat reclined and Sirius classic country joining with the night sounds of who-knows-what.

Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.  


          

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