DAE remember when every campsite in Yosemite had those heavy canvas tents with the wooden poles?

I saw a family last weekend using a single pop-up shelter that fit in a backpack and it made me wonder if we've lost something by making everything so light and fast.

3 comments

3 Comments

torres.thea1mo ago

Man, you're onto something. Those old canvas tents made you feel like you were really living out there. Now it's all about cramming the lightest gear into a bag to hike further, faster. We traded that solid, cozy feeling for miles on a trail log. Sometimes I miss when camping was more about the place you picked than how far you got from the car.

avery_ross1mo ago

What gets me is the smell. That heavy canvas had a specific damp, earthy smell when it rained. It smelled like the forest itself. My new tent just smells like plastic and nylon, even after years of use. That link to the place is totally gone.

ellis.faith1mo ago

My 2015 nylon tent still smells like wet pine after a storm in the Cascades. The link is in the memories you make, not the gear you carry. I'd trade that old canvas weight for another ten miles of quiet trail any day.