My buddy's comment about my tent stakes hit me harder than I expected

He said I looked like I was fighting my gear instead of using it, and after 8 years of backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas, I realized he was right about how I always jam stakes in at a bad angle. Has anyone else had a friend point out a simple fix that totally changed how you camp?

4 comments

4 Comments

karen_sanchez4927d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy Dave once spent a whole year digging fire pits like a maniac every trip. He was always cursing and throwing rocks around. His girlfriend finally told him to just find a spot with a natural windbreak instead of trying to fight the wind with a fire. He said it was like a lightbulb went off. Now he just looks for a rock or a log to block the breeze and his fires are perfect every time. Funny how the simplest stuff can make the biggest difference lol.

mary_west27d ago

My buddy did the same thing til his wife showed him a simple windbreak trick lol.

torres.thea26d ago

And once you start noticing natural windbreaks, you see them EVERYWHERE. It's like unlocking a secret level of camping where you stop fighting nature and just work WITH it.

karen36125d ago

Doesn't a well-dug fire pit still give you more control than just relying on what nature put there? I have to say, I've always found that taking the time to dig a proper pit and stack some rocks feels more reliable than hoping a random log blocks the wind just right. To each their own, but for me, a little effort up front beats hoping the elements cooperate every time.