Uncamping. Or microcamping. You decide.
Zero PTO needed 😉.
OMG, you guys!…
…wouldn't you just kill to do this now???1
I've got news for you, Fellow Travelers: you can. If not today, before work, then certainly next Friday, if you finish your emails and sneak out of the office a little early (doesn't everyone? on Fridays??). Ok, if not Friday, then you can positively do this on a proper weekend day. As in: within a week or so from today.
The beautiful thing about this is that you can have the full camping experience, without actually camping, because you will not be staying overnight, which = less commitment, less planning, less headache.
The other beautiful thing about this is that you don't need to search for a campsite. You can do this literally almost anywhere.
Think of it as semi-guerrilla camping. You can go by bike, or on foot. Bring food and something to drink, or --better yet, for a more complete camping experience-- a way to prepare it. Toss in a book, a sketchpad, a musical instrument if you play one, or just the thoughts in your head, and set off on a trail into some woods.
After a while, take a side trail, and another. See if you can get a bit turned around, or scramble off the visible trails into the woods.
When you’re good and alone, find two trees, stretch your hammock, set up your chair and fire up your cooking gear. Make a meal. Roast a sausage over a minuscule fire. Read, draw, relax. Climb into the hammock, and have a snooze.
No one will bother you. No one will know you’re there.
When you think you’re done, stay a little longer. Brew some tea, or crack open a beer, strum your ukulele.
Stay until nightfall. You won’t regret it.
What to bring?
To turn a simple outdoor outing into a full-on camping experience, bring (drumroll!...) camping gear! You could bring a small tent, but a hammock is quicker, simpler, lighter, and can be set up even if ground conditions are imperfect. It also draws less attention to itself.
If you plan to chill for a few hours, a log will do, but a packable chair, like my beloved Joey chair will be much more comfy.
For refreshments, you could simply bring a sandwich and a thermos of something hot to drink, or perhaps a beer. But, there's nothing like actually cooking outdoors to make you feel like you're camping.
You'll need to keep this equipment pretty compact to avoid drawing attention to the fact that you're using fire, unless you choose a forest preserve with designated cooking grates. But for anything else, I suggest a a tiny camp stove, such as the MSR Pocket Rocket 2 and fuel. For an even more compact alternative, try the Vargo Titanium Wood Stove, which uses nothing but found sticks for fuel. Combine with Baddest Bee firestarters for a dependable flame every time.
You’ll need some basic camp cookware, which you may already have, but the beauty of this short-distance approach is that you can get away with carrying a small household pot or frying pan (I’ve used an 8” cast-iron skillet). I’d bring a plastic bag to wrap it up when done, and do all the clean-up when I get home.
You will also need something to pack everything in (a backpack or bicycle pannier you may already have), and a light in case you stay until dark.
Where to go?
Seriously, almost any place where two trees can be spanned together with the length of a hammock.
For fellow Chicago-area microescapists, good places for this are local forest preserves where the green space is wide enough to allow you to get a bit away from the beaten path. Off the North Branch Trail, LaBagh Woods can be a bit chancy, but Ted Lechowicz, Bunker Hill, Harms Woods, and Skokie Lagoons have plenty of pockets you can sneak away unnoticed.
Also try the Dune Ridge Trail in Indiana Dunes NP, and --more specifically-- the adjacent Beverly Shores trails to the east (former streets, now completely overgrown with moss and grasses). The latter are difficult to find online, but are very well marked once you get there, and offer a nice extension to the relatively short official NPS trail. I like to set up camp on the ridge overlooking Lake Michigan, and chill until after sunset.
See you soon for another dose of microescape!
—Justyna
My sincere apologies to those of you who joined my experiment a few weeks ago, and for whom this will be a duplicate post. There will be a few more, but I promise more original microescape ideas will be coming!!