New camping gear!

October 18th, 2008 • chatter
Tags: camping

Last week I ordered a new REI Quarter Dome T3 tent. This isn’t replacing the one Jess got me for my birthday but it’s certainly going to be our primary tent, mainly because Jess decided to take the other one back because it was simply untenable for two people. I got the new REI tent yesterday and setup was mostly a breeze. I had a little trouble setting it up in the living room, mostly because of the odd pole-hub design but got it quickly figured out. Having all 3 poles connected all the time cuts down on losing or leaving one but it makes setup a little more tricky than expected. The tent is a 3 person tent, which means it’s a tight fit for three. After getting it all up and getting the rainfly on, we chilled out for about 10 minutes before the final debate came on. It was rather comfy, if a bit stuff since there’s no breeze in our apartment that could flow through the rainfly vents. I couldn’t stake out the tent, the rainfly, guylines, or the footprint but I’m going to see if we can go camping next weekend, just the two of us. I’ll still be without a sleeping bag at that point, since I took mine back due to it being a giant piece of cheap crap, but that should be OK with me and I’ll just bring a blanket. Still need a cooler and some cookware for car camping though, maybe I can order that this weekend.

I’m glad we’re getting this stuff now because I really missed camping. Even though it’s not full on hiking/camping/primitive camping, it’s still just as fun. My dad is actually mailing me my old tent from a few years ago so I hope it’s still in one piece. I don’t really remember taking good care of it but then again, it’s been 5 years and I probably took better care than I remember. Now we’ll have two big tents for us and anyone that wants to come. We’re planning a trip to Bahia Honda State Park in November and that should be a blast. Neither of us have been to the Keys — well, I went 25 years ago — so it will definitely be an experience. I just hope the spot I want to get isn’t filled for the weekend I want to go. We also need to buy some saltwater fishing gear, anyone got any suggestions?

Overall, I’m pretty stoked!