We were able to plant 41 trees and 15 bushes including

Trees (Fruit)
Apricot
Mulberry
Nectarine
PawPaw
Peach
Asian Pear
Kieffer Pear
Pecan
Plum
Plumcot

Trees (Nut)
Black Walnut
Chestnut

Bushes (Fruit)
Blueberry
Elderberry
Goji Berry

Medicinal
Comfrey

The comfrey is planted with trees and bushes as a living mulch and as a medicinal.

It was so nice that it was a family effort with Connie and JonnyLee.

Thanks

Rob K for the walnut trees and the use of his autocross car a few weeks ago (that was fun and we didn’t die)
Rabbit Ridge in Coats, NC for the fruit trees.
Permapastures Farm in WNC for the comfrey

I think the attitude was best expressed by the sign in the widow of Gentry Hardware

Here are some pictures of the damage from the hurricane

We had a great time camping on Troublesome Gap with friends! Thanks to everyone for joining us and helping out.

One morning we were treated to a valley full of fog, where the tops of the mountains looked like islands, simply amazing

Some of the sunrises were amazing

It was a wonderful weekend

Background

Local businesses often struggle to market and sell products. This is driven by several issues including

• not having a fully developed sales channel – wholesale, retail and online
• smaller number of items in their catalog
• catalog items are often very hyper focused on what the small business is passionate about

This is especially true for small farms. Simply Us Farms is young farm in NC adding new production every year. The farm specializes in uncommon fruits and berries with high nutritional value and high anti-oxident content.

The challenge for this holiday season is to develop a gift basket. Simply Us Farms produces honey from the farm and from Troublesome Gap. One option is to team up with other local producers to create a specialty gift basket filled with local goods and the honey from the Simply Us Farm.

Sources of Inspiration

Dan the Sausage Man is a company that produces a well thought out line of gift baskets. They also have a great origin story that they effectively share. Here is the story from their website.

They provide a variety of gift baskets that vary with the seaon and a different price points.

The internet also provides lots of examples of gift baskets that feature or include honey.

Goal

Provide a great gift that will be appreciated by the person receiving it. We want to create an special experience for the person who puts the contents of the gift basket to use.

Basket Themes

We want to help the basket user create a special culinary experience. This could be categorized several different ways. One way is to associate the experience with snack or meal. Here are some options

• pre-breakfast (such as morning coffee)
• breakfast
• brunch
• lunch
• dinner
• snack

Other opportunities is to associate the gift with an event include

• picnic
• thank you (professional or personal)
• family or personal tradition
• specific holiday (religious, cultural or social – examples: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween)
• birthday or other personal milestone (maybe a 50^th anniversary, college graduation, or baby shower)
• wedding present
• corporate / organizational gift, thank you or award

Packaging

Because these are limited runs, the packaging needs to be something that is easy to decorate and off the shelf. We can print labels to designate the package as a Simply Us Farm gift box. Decoration can also show which version of the gift box is in packaging after it is closed up. The filler material and the box should be easily recyclable. Possibly a crinkle paper. It would be nice to have a single box that held the 3 smallest configurations, just to keep down on the number of boxes to purchase.

What to Put in the Baskets

Simply Us Farm has two types of honey available (farm honey / Bennett, NC & mountain honey / Troublesome Gap, NC). We can pour that honey into different size jars. Currently we have

• 1/2 lb
• 1 lb
• sample size

It would be great if the gift box / basket could be filled with items from local farms and vendors. Here are possible companion products from a brainstorming session

• honey dipping utensils
• coffee (maybe with a coffee stirrer)
• sauces (maybe bbq or some other sauce for a process that can involve honey)
• sourkraut or other fermented food
• teas
• table cloth or other items to set a scene
• meat product (cured ham, sausage or sliced)
• crackers
• cheese
• jelly or jam (including fig)
• honey from another farm with a different taste
• recipes or cookbook
• food mix
• juice (maybe grape, elderberry, or other)
• mug with a relevant graphic
• medicinals (locally sourced)
• balloons for a birthday or other party
• pumpkin something for fall
• placemats for the table with a seasonal color scheme
• locally made pottery or mugs
• locally made candles (maybe with a seasonal scent)

Themes

We also wanted to think about how we could build gift box around a them. The theme helps build an emotional connection with the gift giver and receiver. Turning it from a box with food items into an experience.

• Morning coffee and honey
• Christmas coffee and honey – maybe adding a pine or other seasonal smell
• Fall grilling season (mild)
• Fall grilling season (hot)
• Tailgaiting
• Snowy Day
• Fall set – maybeadd something pumpkin or wool placemats with a fall color scheme
• Health theme (maybe with medicinals or a medicinal tea)

Pricing

After doing a survey on the internet, here are our initial cost targets for pricing.

• Option 1 – $54.95
• Option 2 – $59.95
• Option 3 – $64.95
• Option 4 – $149.95

Once we put sample baskets together then we can take pictures and test market the combinations on the website and with targeted emails. That will help determine if the gift basket is desirable and if they will sell.

Next Steps

We have started working with local farms to identify items that can go in the baskets. Then we’ll need to create specifc basket configurations. We’ll share the results as we go. The best wasy to follow along are to join the email list and check back on the blog.

https://drivenc.gov

You can also use google maps to select a route. The DriveNC site is more pessimistic than the google maps. When I trying to work out a route to check on family that we can’t reach. The DriveNC site shows roads blocked that google maps doesn’t. The damage up there was horrible. Carefully consider the situation before travelling to the area.

Jack Spirko often contends on his podcast that answers can be found in the forest. I’m thinking that most answers can be found in the forest and farm because we already know the answer most of the time. We just need to face to up the answer we already know and looking at the beauty around us help us to face those answers. Or sometimes we just need to something to help us focus so we can put the pieces together and arrive at an answer. Other times there is inspiration that we can find in the beauty and grand design of nature around us.

Many times I find that while I’m working on something on the farm, I’m learning about how to be a better farmer but also gaining a deeper understanding of life and myself. Hard work is good way to push out the some of the mental clutter. Getting that mental clutter out of the way helps me to think through any challenges or questions. Often I find that I get to the end of the day and the work is done and I’ve figured out answers to challenges that have nothing to do with the farm.

During the day at work and home, there are a lot of things competing for our attention. Getting outside and working filters out that digital noise and info, giving a very important digital detox. The act of labor and the concentration on the task at hand helps deepen the effects of the digital detox. These moments of digital detox peel away the layers of mental clutter and leaves me prepared to enjoy life and remember what is truly important.

I hope you have a great week!

How to spend the weekend camping on Troublesome Gap

https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/north-carolina-troublesome-gap-camping-3xryh1vk/

How to build traditions.

Over time, enjoyable repeated activities can grow into traditions. Or, traditions can happen by accident. Something may work well once, so you repeat it. By the tenth time you realize you have a tradition. Keep in mind that when you do something that is comfortable and enjoyable, you’ll keep doing it. You may find that it is important to your family to go camping on a certain date or a particular place because it brings back special memories and there is an expectation that you’re going to make more good memories—that’s a tradition.

Repetition builds traditions.

I’ll give you an easy example. There’s a restaurant in Winston-Salem, TJ’s Deli, that Connie and I tend to stop at when we’re headed for the mountains because it’s on our way. They have awesome, homemade sandwiches and to-die-for fried mushrooms. Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a fancy place, more like a hole-in-the-wall, but the draw is the food and the tradition. We order the same meal every time, a gigantic sandwich and fried mushrooms on the side—I always save some of the mushrooms for the remaining drive. Even when we travel with friends, we stop there. Every time.

Is having a meal partway to your destination part of camping? No, but it can be part of the entire camping experience. When we head west to camp, we usually work our departure around stopping at TJ’s Deli for a meal, which we both look forward to. The detour helps break up the trip and I think the tradition is nifty.

Another tradition we have is camping at Troublesome Gap every Memorial Day weekend. We are so predictable that friends call to ask if we are going this year. Those calls made me realize traditions can even spark a camping interest with friends.

Tradition looks different to different people.

You may never go to the same restaurant twice, but you may have a tradition of stopping at some restaurant on your way to the camping site. You may never camp at the same location, but you may set your supplies up in the same order every time. Or you’ll always be sure to have a campfire. Or roast marshmallows.

You could lean towards more open spaces because you like to throw your daughter up in the air in the middle of a grassy field. Or perhaps you like to take a morning walk right as the sun is beginning to rise and dew still licks the grass blades. Maybe one of your kids is an early riser who likes to get up with you and help build the morning fire, which is a teachable moment by the way.

Priceless moments.

You guessed it, when a tradition is created, most likely a priceless moment will as well. Look for those traditions, spur them along, and allow them to happen. Some occur organically. Some we purposefully build. You can’t force them, but you can encourage and grow and build them.

Keep up with traditions.

When camping with others, they’re watching. So if you always have a ham sandwich with onions the second day for lunch or you always have s’mores the first night over a roaring campfire, then your family may be disappointed when the activity doesn’t happen. Usually these traditions are special camping experiences, not something you normally do at home. Some traditions are hard and fast, and some of them aren’t. You’ll just have to work that out depending on your family.

Anyone can start a tradition.

Sometimes you’ll do the most obscure activity with your kids, maybe throwing knives into an old stump or forging your own path in the woods. It may not make an impact on you, but your child doesn’t forget and wants to do the same activity the next time you go camping. It’s usually the simplest things.

Perhaps you take your family on a spectacular hike and see breathtaking scenery, but the thing your kids remember from their day is the mound of soil behind the apple tree they created dirt castles from. Whenever you get the chance to interact with your children, do so. Even if it’s making dirt castles under a canopy of low-lying tree limbs. Those are the moments to grab and revel in.

If you are single and reading this book, then you can still build great traditions while camping with friends or family, or going on a solo trip. If you are divorced or widowed, a camping trip could be just the thing you need to get out of your day-to-day rut and create wonderful new experiences. While I’m spending a lot of time talking about family camping, there are still many ways to enjoy a trip while single, divorced, or widowed.

Be flexible.

If you’re into schedules, that’s great. But keep in mind, if someone in the family is enjoying an activity, put that hike off for an hour. If there’s rain in the forecast, consider doing an activity closer to the campsite. Agendas don’t matter, the memories and time together does.

Stories grow over time.

Kids remember events. Some of those stories grow like fish that you caught. You know the story of an angler who catches a twelve inch fish and by the time he tells the story about six times, its two feet long. Well, sometimes memories are that way too. Sometimes they’re precise; other timess they’re not even close. But, what matters is the memory.

I’ll give you an example that’s not camping related. When one of my daughters was in elementary school, I began going to school and having lunch with her once a week. Kids won’t be young forever, in fact there may come a time when they don’t want to spend much time with you. Anticipating this, I made a point of making that weekly meal a priority. A number of years into this tradition, my daughter noted I’d been coming to have lunch with her every week since whatever grade. She enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, and so it remained a tradition, a thing between just the two of us. She valued the time I carved out for us. Over the years when she’d tell the story, she’d share we’d been lunching together longer than we actually had. Should I correct her? No. Am I trying to encourage her to be inaccurate? No. I guess the thing is it pleased her that we had lunch together once a week. And so, it was a big deal that became a bigger and bigger part of her life. And her nailing down exactly when we started doing it really didn’t matter. What mattered was how appreciative she was because we were making lifelong memories.

Interests change.

Your kid’s interests will change over the years. Be flexible. Something that is important to him this year may be boring four years from now. This means your camping trips may change. The important thing is to give your kids attention, relate to them, and listen to what they want.

At some point you or your kids will look back and be thankful you hiked every waterfall trail in North Carolina, or made s’mores every night around the camp fire, or took the time to find a thick enough branch to make a walking stick the first night of each trip. Those were traditions and you enjoyed yourselves and made memories. But, there may come a day when your kids decide they’d rather spend time with their friends and that’s okay. You need to roll with it. You’ve spent years developing a set of experiences and memories that you can share and remember forever.

Continually ask questions and listen to see what the people in your family want to do this year and next. If we can be flexible and go with the flow as interests and needs change, then we have the chance of keeping the tradition of camping alive and the opportunity for creating more memories. In fact, a lifetime of them.

Also keep in mind that your interests and capabilities change. Maybe you used to be able to hike ten miles a day when you were younger, but now perhaps four is your max. Or maybe you used to hike only difficult trails, but you’ve learned that moderate means success. On the other hand, if you want to push yourself then take a long hike. Maybe you used to hike moderate trails, but after hiking a challenging trail you realized you have the capability to hike longer and more difficult trails, so push yourself and revel in that accomplishment. If you are camping solo, then this may be a good time to enjoy the fruits of your physical fitness efforts with a long challenging hike. Alternatively, taking your athletic, teenage kids, on a difficult hike may be something they really enjoy. Just keep your capabilities and stamina in mind so everyone, including you, can enjoy the physical challenge.

Quality time.

Whether it is a yearly guy’s trip, or a monthly trip with young kids, or maybe a romantic getaway with your wife, the important thing is to be free from distractions and spend quality time with loved ones. If you have more than one child, each parent should try to spend concentrated time with individual kids. You may find your children consider this quality time a tradition. Now, note that tradition for traditions sake is worthless, unless you are accomplishing something important.

Traditions are usually simple.

Many times traditions aren’t bound up in spending some ridiculous amount of money, but are instead simple. It may be somewhere you ate, and spent the majority of the meal laughing. It may be playing in the mud behind the apple tree. It may be hiking a specific trail that you’ve hiked every year for twenty years.

For example, if your wife or child is asking to go on a particular hike again, you need to figure out if they want to go on a general hike or a specific trail and for what reason. What do they really want? What’s important to them? Ask questions and dig. Because they may be looking for the smiles, laughter, and love they felt on a past hike. Maybe it was just you and them on that trail. Perhaps Mom wasn’t there, or maybe Dad wasn’t there, and was just the two of y’all. That’s the moment you’ll realize there is a new tradition of going on this hike, perhaps just the two of you. And it’ll be a special time. Then you make your plans based on this information and how you can make it work.

Don’t try to please everyone.

Depending on the age of your children and how many you have, satisfying only one for the next ten minutes might be your only option. Sometimes everybody’s in tune and sometimes they’re not. In those challenging moments, you may want to break up your group. If you have two children with two totally different interests at the moment, maybe Mom goes with one child and Dad with the other. Breaking that up gives you the opportunity to pursue those varied interests. And there again, build those great memories. But, maybe you have a situation where everybody wants to do something together. You can figure it out even if it’s not always easy.

Plan, but don’t plan.

One tip I suggest is make a list of activities available for your location. If you don’t plan, but instead wait until the last second, generally whatever you wanted to do won’t happen. Say there’s a national forest right down the road; maybe you pack into the car and go there to experience the wonder of it all. Perhaps there’s a body of water close by so you get into a canoe or a row boat or a paddle boat. That can be fun as well. Keep in mind though, you may have camping trips where what everybody wants to do is sit by the fire and relax. And all of a sudden, it may explode into a hiking trip, and then they go back to sitting by the fire. So, planning is great, but also be flexible and see what happens. But, don’t forget the simple things like running around in the woods to just explore. You can also make a game of the mundane activities that it takes to put together a campsite—like, accumulating stones to edge the fire or gathering kindling and firewood. My point is to make time for organized hikes or rafting trips, but leave gaps available for exploration and inspired play time. Sometimes the simplest and least expensive things are what we remember.

Always keep budget in mind.

I have found it’s not the amount of money you spend; it’s the fun, fellowship, and relationship building. Keep in mind, if you spend money on something and it stresses you out, everyone will pick up on the stress and fun diminishes. Perhaps you can do something that costs close to nothing and still enjoy yourselves. I have found the best trips right-size your activities with your budget, your physical capabilities, and everyone’s expectations.

In the process of talking with folks about this book, I’m not surprised to hear they have such fond memories of camping as a child. I hope you can find your own traditions, and develop those priceless moments everybody will cherish for a lifetime.

Remember the Meme on Pinterest that I talked about in the first chapter? It showed a Prius at the top of the image, and at the bottom a Jeep in the desert sitting on the crest of a hill, in front of a sunset. A guy and his kids are in the Jeep enjoying the sun setting in this majestic place. The closing message of the meme said, “Your kids will never, ever remember you getting fifty-five miles per gallon. However, they will remember the night you watched the sun set over the mountains.” Let’s talk about some camping basics today.

Check out my books on camping

Why go camping today?

Because there will never be another today. In the Prius Meme, the point is that things don’t matter, experiences matter. Perhaps you can make a daily drive fun with some singing or frivolity. Or perhaps ride to the top of a mountain to watch a sunset. Those are the priceless moments to chase after. I encourage you to get out and enjoy life. Not everything has to be constrained, and I think in many ways that’s what camping is all about.

Don’t allow challenges to get in the way.

When you consider camping, there can be challenges: you might get rained on, it could be extremely hot or cold, the bugs might be extra annoying, dry kindling may be hard to find, etc. But, at the end of the day, the goal is to build memories. There are only so many opportunities to go camping with your children or your spouse or even take a solo trip. Right now it seems as though you have all the time in the world, but you really don’t. Your kids will be in college or active in other things before you know it. So grab those moments while you can.

The experience matters, not the stuff.

Someone who had a very nice late-model sedan asked about my Jeep. He indicated that if only he had an off-road vehicle, he would try camping. Why go camping if you can’t go trail-riding, he said. That’s the wrong attitude. True, driving on thirty-five inch tires with a four inch lift and a bunch of modified stuff is great. It’s nice when you’re riding around on a spring day with no top and you’ve got no doors. But you can still create those priceless memories by rolling down your windows and opening your moon roof.

Persevere.

The trick with camping is that you can find yourself in a rugged situation, for example it might rain the whole weekend leaving you nothing to do but play cards in the tent, or after rain from the first night all the kindling is wet and you can’t start a fire, maybe an animal got into your food supply and now you have nothing to eat. It doesn’t matter what happens, the secret is in how you handle the situation.

Don’t give up, persevere. Sometimes camping makes no apologies. Your skills might be tested, but I am going to promise you that you will still have opportunities, even on those off weekends, of making solid memories. You might be sitting around the campfire or hiking or hearing the coyotes howl or watching the sun set or building a fire with your child—those priceless moments can’t be bought so grab a hold of them.

Keep a look-out for memories of a lifetime.

Keep your outlook fun and positive because you can’t predict when memories will be created. But trust me, your kids will remember and they’ll tell their children about these special times one day. Just put yourself in a good situation to have those moments. They may occur in your Prius getting forty-five miles per gallon because of the song you sang. Or perhaps when you’re sitting on top of the mountain and out of your element as you watch in fear as a bear ambles by. Be available and put yourself in situations to achieve those priceless moments.

Coming up, we’re going to look at convenient, low-cost, low-pain, and low-suffering ways to be in a good situation to discover joy. By attaining that joy, you get those memories that will live on because you taught the next generation skills. And one day, your kids will not only pass along the skills to their children but will share their childhood priceless moments around a roaring campfire.

Check out my books on camping

There are many different levels of engagement when you’re camping. Anywhere between an epic adventure like Man vs. Wild or perhaps one where more creature comforts are brought from home. Either is fine as long as you can physically pull it off and afford it. The goal is to have a good time and enjoy your time. For me, I like to camp with a tent, I’m not an RV guy. I don’t mind taking a shower on the side of the mountain or backpacking in. Sometimes the best way to really see and experience a location is to backpack to the camping site. But, say my wife joins me, she prefers a larger tent, more organization, more creature comforts. If Connie’s coming, then what we bring changes and where we stay may change. For both of us to have an enjoyable time, compromises need to happen. Let’s talk about some different options.

Live off the land for a weekend.

One option would be to head out into the woods with a knife, some tinder, flint and steel, a waterproof jacket, and a wool blanket. The idea is to live off the land for a weekend. If you’ve got the skills to do it and you enjoy that level of difficulty, go and have fun! There are certainly people that thrive on this primitive I’m-gonna-figure-out-as-I-go-build-me-a-lean-to-in-the-woods-and-feel-close-to-nature type of thing. However, keep in mind your skills and your traveling companions. For example, if you are taking your five-year-old daughter and wife who have never been camping, it would be wise to rethink the details otherwise the trip will end quickly. And, the ride home will be the squirmy kind of uncomfortable.

Purchase an expensive RV for camping.

Another option is to head to your local RV store and buy a half-million dollar motor-home, don’t forget your checkbook. Now, you’re probably laughing and about to fall off the couch right now as most people don’t have that kind of money to invest in a hobby. Or perhaps you have the type of disposable income to make this dream come true. With an RV, you could spend a year driving around the United States. If so, enjoy yourselves and send me a postcard.

But honestly, most of us don’t have the means to pay for a million dollar motor home. So as we look at other forms of camping, be aware of what you can afford. If you want to participate in the RV lifestyle but don’t want to buy one, then consider renting one for your trip.

Camping shouldn’t involve stress over money.

Because stressing over money doesn’t equal fun, keep the scope of your camping trip and equipment in-line with your income. If you have to save for a hundred-dollar tent, instead buy the fifty-dollar option and choose the contingency of camping close to home in case a catastrophe happens so you can head home easily. People can enjoy different levels of camping, regardless of their financial ability. Also, consider borrowing supplies from family, friends, or neighbors. Once you decide you want to invest in pieces, you’ll know better what works for you.

Survivor Man versus backpacking.

These are two extremes. One is to hike the Appalachian Trail maybe something similar to doing the Survivor Man thing for five to seven months. For that epic trip, you’ll need to delve into other books to succeed. For this book, let’s talk about backpacking. That means you have what you need on your back, and you’re going some distance. It may be the whole length of the Appalachian Trail; but more likely it’s something like four miles through your local woods.

With backpacking, everyone will bring what they need for the jaunt in their pack. The goal is to have a lightweight and comfortable backpack and equipment that doesn’t weigh much. Consider eating dehydrated food as it is light. If you don’t take these suggestions into consideration you’ll end up hauling a fifty-pound pack instead of a twenty pound one for miles and miles. Trust me, the weight on your back will make a difference with each step. Backpacking isn’t for everyone and may be difficult to pull off with your family in tow, especially if this is the first camping trip.

Car-camping.

This is pretty simple. All the things you need are in your car and you drive to the campsite. You unload a popup shelter or tent and a sleeping bag. You might have kitchen items to cook by the fire or you may choose to eat at local restaurants. Whether you build a fire or not, you’re experiencing the version of camping that works for you, so embrace it. I highly recommend this for your first outing, especially if you have a family.

Supplies for backpacking versus car camping.

Personally, I think there’s a good chance you will enjoy the outdoors. Which means that eventually you will end up with two setups—one for backpacking and the other for car camping. Backpacking provisions need to be ultra-light, whereas supplies for car camping can be bulky and perhaps less expensive.

Advancing further.

You’ve got to right-size your trip with what your family wants so that camping is a successful experience. You may need to take several simple car-camping trips before progressing further. Or, your group may be content with this simplest kind of adventure. But, maybe it grows into more. Perhaps add a campfire to the next trip, or cooking over the open flame, or a longer more involved hike. The trick is that if it’s a family thing, go slow and let everybody ask for more so they don’t feel forced. I have found the biggest objection about camping is that people don’t want to get out of their comfort zone.

Car glamping.

Which means bringing every creature comfort from home. There are different levels of glamping. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I glamp when we go to our place in the mountains because of the luxury items we haul with us. The over-the-top items we could bring are a super-big tent, which we’ll talk about later, a flat screen, an Xbox, a generator, maybe some gilded throw pillows. I’m sure you’ve heard of the glamping sites where you can go live in a tent that’s a lot like your house. They can even have air-conditioning!

Economy glamping.

Connie and I go “economy glamping.” We bring a ten by twenty feet tent. My choice would be much smaller, but it’s all about compromise. I want her with me and happy, so we’ve figured out what each party needs to feel comfortable for a weekend. That includes an inflatable mattress. We don’t wear shoes in the tent, which keeps it much cleaner. There is a small area designated for shoes and dirty clothing. We also have a cozy spot to sit down. These are things we do to make the clean up easier and the space more comfortable. Given these conditions, Connie will gladly come camping with me.

With a big tent, you have room for an air-mattress. In fact, a big tent will usually allow everyone to sleep under the same roof, which goes a long way to a good night’s slumber for all. The more comfortable you can make camping for your loved ones, the better the chance that your kids will want to have epic, hard-core adventures in the future.

Camping without camping, is it possible?

What works for your family? You can always stay in a hotel or a bed-and-breakfast that’s close by to your activities and then do day trips. I’ll argue that you’re not camping per se, but those day hikes and discovering waterfalls, will still get you outdoors. It will allow you to spend quality time with loved ones and set yourself up for those priceless moments with your family. If staying in a hotel and having day time adventures works, then do it!

What will work for you?

As you can see, there is a vast range of options for camping. Are you an RV kind of guy where you plug in at a campsite with power and air-conditioning and running water? Perhaps it’s going to be something simple, where you have a tent and minimal equipment and eat at restaurants. Or maybe you’ll go for something in between. There’s no wrong answer as long as you’re getting everyone outdoors and create those family memories.

What are my goals and intentions?

As you can see, the camping experience can span quite a range from a tent and a sleeping bag, to many of the creature comforts of home. Ask yourself:

• Where’s your comfort zone?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• How much effort do you want to exert?
• How much do you want to spend?
• How much time do you want to be at the site?

Getting everyone together to create memories.

The goal is you want to get your family outdoors and allow everybody to have a great time. Depending on if you choose an RV, a pop-up, or a tent, may or may not affect whether or not you have that priceless moment. I think with an RV you’re a little more separated from things. But people have different comfort zones. If the only way you can get your people to camp is to rent a pop-up or an RV for the weekend, then do what you need to do. You’re achieving some of your goal, everybody’s having a great time, and you’re creating family memories, which make it all worth it.

Don’t feel pressure if camping is new to you.

There’s no pressure to be Mr. Outdoors. Because if you’re the kind of person who has never been in the wilderness before, no one would expect you to build a fire with flint and steel and some cotton you pulled out of your pocket. Feel free to use matches. Keep it simple when you build your first fire, and maybe even your tenth. Later on we’ll talk about some of these other skills. But, my goal here is to give perspective on your different options.

Most of my camping experiences revolve around family trips or Boy Scouts. As a result this book really focuses on family camping. However, the same principles, skills, and knowledge apply to a single person or family. Maybe you are a single man or woman who wants to experience camping for the first time. You could be a widow or widower, or newly divorced. There are many people in lots of different situations that head out to enjoy camping. This book spends a lot of time talking about family interactions and considerations, but the skills and knowledge apply to a variety of life circumstances. If you don’t want to go by yourself, then consider joining an outing club. It’s a great way to go with a group and enjoy the camping experience.

Build up your skill set.

You may need new outdoors skills. Or perhaps it’s time to teach those techniques to your kids or spouse. You never know when you need to build a fire. Your car may break down in a place that has no cell service and the only thing to keep you alive overnight is to build a fire. Does this happen to everybody? No. But, the simple ability of building a fire could be a lifesaver. One reason to continue to camp regularly is to keep our skill set sharpened. This gives peace of mind and boosts confidence. Learning outdoor knowledge improves self-reliance that translates to other areas of life. These regular camping trips build a happier, well-adjusted, better-prepared-for-life family member who is more available to partake in those priceless moments.

It’s not a question of how rugged someone is. The question is what they want. Some people at different points in their lives simply don’t want to spend the weekend working hard outside doing camping stuff. Sometimes you want the fun component and not the work part. So instead of a tent and open flame cooking, they might choose an RV and restaurant food. Or perhaps they’d rather do something at home that weekend.

Compromise.

There are trips when Connie doesn’t come because I am hunting and I’m fine with that. Sometimes it’s nice to be on a solo trip, or a trip with the guys. It’s an opportunity to go with a smaller tent and do different activities. The point is to keep the perspective that there are a lot of ways to get a win out of camping—backpacking, economy glamping, hunting backpacking are just three. They all have their pluses.

First trip could be a solo one.

If you are unsure about camping for the first time with the entire family, then consider just going solo, or with your spouse. Then bring the kids on the next trip Camping can be enjoyed in lots of different scenarios from the whole family going, or individuals without children going solo (or with a group), or situations where only one parent takes the kids.

The key is to figure out what works for you, at this time in your life, with whoever is going camping with you. Don’t feel pressured to be Mr. REI, because that won’t make you happy and it isn’t what your loved ones are looking for. Kids are seeking quality time spent with Mom and Dad. Your spouse is looking for the same thing. Leave your pride and ego at home. Camping is about those priceless moments.

Step 1 – Define the challenge to solve

The event was driven by the main challenge question

How might we build a community that engages men?

The group also considered these specific questions

1) What type of activities help build that community?
2) What activities engage men and build community?
3) What are men missing in daily life in our area and group?

Step 2 – Idea Buckets

The idea buckets help give participants an idea of the possible scope of ideas (while not limiting the scope). Creating a mindmap is a great way to quickly create a framework of buckets. Here are the buckets for this session

Step 3 – Brainwriting

The group spent the next 20 minutes doing brainwriting. We separated and individually wrote down ideas on sticky notes. At the end of the 20 minutes we came together as a group and posted the sticky notes on the wall. Then each participant shared a brief explanation of the ideas generated with the group.

Step 4 – Time to Brainstorm

The brainwriting time helped everyone move into a creative frame of mind without the pressures of having to generate ideas in front of the group. Now, it is time to generate ideas on the fly with the group and capture them on sticky notes.

Step 5 – Vote and Expand

At the end of the session, each participant had 3 votes to allocate to any of the ideas. The votes could all be on one idea or on multiple ideas.

Then it was time for the group to expand on the top ideas and capture those concepts.

We came up with a lot a great results. These are the raw ideas without refinement.

Properly planned camping trips can cause relaxation.

Planned properly, camping can be relaxing. But, beware of the potential physical exhaustion which can occur with ill-informed choices. Depending on decisions like where you go, how you camp, the length of your stay, and what you bring, relaxation may only be a longed-for dream. But there is hope, so keep on reading and I’ll help you design a successful camping trip.

Improve attitude.

Often times, getting out of your current environment and replacing your daily concerns with activities like building a fire, sleeping in a sleeping bag, or making s’mores over a campfire can help to push out your usual concerns and allow you to relax in the comfort of simplicity. You get a fresh perspective on life and family that you wouldn’t normally get in the day-to-day grind. The campsite is there waiting for you. You just have to take the hardest step of all and walk out your front door and get in the car to head out for an adventure you won’t regret.

Personally, I feel at home in the mountains. I love being there with the views and the hikes and the trees. The people and music are great. There are so many awesome things to see and do there. Find your passion by going out and experiencing the world. You can experience it slow, in a tent or on foot. You’ll see views from your campsite and on your hikes that you’ll totally miss through your car window or on your TV. Just go and enjoy the journey.

A new normal provides instant gratification.

When we get away and into a different context, our brain can back-out of the humdrum or stress of day-to-day life. While camping you are in a temporary new routine, which can be a nice health adjustment for your mind. Mentally we push out concerns from the old normal and replace them with immediate activities. This process allows instant gratification by being out of your ordinary circumstance.

Exercise benefit.

When you camp, you’re not performing your normal activities so your body adapts to what you ask of it. We fall into ruts by repetitively doing the same physical exercises. Conversely, there are times we do nothing. While camping, you’re throwing new actions at your body and those new endeavors keep you in motion much of the time, they also challenge your body and spirit. That is a good thing. You may be tired at the end of the day, but you’ve recharged your mind and body in a beneficial way that will positively impact you for days or weeks to come after you get back home.

In daily life, you may attempt to minimize your motion. We tend curtail the number of steps while cooking a meal or travel to our job with the shortest route, or in our office most of us sit around typing on a computer. While camping, we’re in a position where we can be constantly moving which forces our bodies to adjust. What that means is that we’re burning energy on creative work which I think is very enjoyable and rewarding.

No interruptions allow for deep conversations.

Possibly, the most wonderful thing about camping is the one-on-one time spent with loved ones without the normal of interruptions of daily life. When at home or at work, many things demand our attention. But, when camping, it’s a totally different situation. Diverse issues vie for our concentration. Cell coverage may be non-existent or limited. Because of this, there’s a good chance you’re going to have conversations at a level you probably didn’t otherwise. At home you can turn on the TV or pick up your phone or login to your computer to check email. When camping, you may not even have a cell signal. Sitting around the campfire with laughter filling the air and joy in your hearts, that’s the goal.

You will want to plan ahead for how to handle electronic usage at the campsite. Today’s kids are often addicted or borderline addicted to constant contact through a smart phone. If you totally take them away, that may create frustrations that will keep your children from enjoying the trip. It may be that no electronics use is too much to ask, that may seem like punishment. Look beyond the whining and moaning and complaining and figure out a win-win situation that works for your family. Your kids win because they are looking up from their phone long enough to enjoy the outdoors. So if completely taking away the phones is going to really be an impediment to them savoring the weekend, then allow your kids to use them a couple of hours a day. Another option is to not let them recharge electronics. When the battery dies, then your phone usage ends for the weekend. This is a great way to teach them how to budget a resource. Whatever you do, let your children know a set of clear rules. Camping is a new situation for everyone and if letting you kids have their phones for a few minutes makes them more receptive to camping, then maybe that is a good plan.

Seek out priceless moments.

One of the things I crave and look forward to when camping are priceless moments. You may be alone and look out across the valley to see the opposite mountain or you may take in a deep breath and enjoy the rare view. It may just be you because you’re the first one up in the morning and you’re enjoying the quiet and the beauty. Or perhaps someone you love laughs which makes you revel in joy. Possibly you’re the one laughing. Maybe everyone is laughing around the campfire.

Camping is one of the greatest ways to generate these special times. In later chapters we’ll talk about the ways you can set yourself up for success or failure. If you let them, you will find priceless moments camping. Then you will have memories and stories that you and your kids will cherish for years to come.

I saw a meme on Pinterest that had a Prius at the top of the image, and at the bottom a Jeep in the desert sitting on the crest of a hill, in front of a sunset. A guy and his kids are in the Jeep enjoying the sun setting in this majestic place. The closing message of the meme said, “Your kids will never, ever remember you getting fifty-five miles per gallon. However, they will remember the night you watched the sun set over the mountains.”

Be receptive to what will be beautiful memories.

One way to generate your own memories is through camping. My goal in this book is to lead you through how to discover them. When you are well prepared, have knowledge and training and proper equipment, then, you’ve put some of the adversity behind you and you’re in a good situation for those priceless moments to occur. The all you have to do is be receptive to catch them and revel in them.

Knowledge is power and weighs nothing. You can take this knowledge and couple it with a list of skills for your trip. It is that simple! As you’re camping, you’re not worried about a sleeping bag getting wet; you’re enjoying the memories created with your loved ones.

So, let’s get started! I’d be honored if you’d let me share what I’ve learned and some of my many camping experiences. My hope is this book will enrich your camping trips and help you find those priceless moments.

The Mayapples are growing. We never get any of the fruit because the critters always beat us to it.

You can camp on the farm too, just visit

https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/north-carolina-simply-us-farm-and-camping-retreat-zwjhp868

Join me as I share my class project in this podcast.

First we created a challenge. The challenge guides the project.

How might we create experiences and farm products for potential customers that appeal to their desire for healthy foods from local farms who create nutrient rich goods with sustainable practices?

One really important thought

It is important to note that this class wasn’t about marketing to the customer or confirming a pre-existing solution will sell. Instead we focused on understanding the customer, developing empathy and most important – inspired by the customer.

Here are some of my insights from the project

1) Better food oriented customers want something that can be integrated into their lifestyle, which requires a convenient location for regular and ongoing touch points or purchases. Since the farm is in a remote location, I called this the tyranny of distance“

A remote location is ok for less frequent interactions or purchases where the interaction becomes a day trip, especially with family, a common understanding is the concept of the roadside vegetable stand. How the buying and interaction patterns with the farm and customers are really part of a pattern of life for the customer.

2) Better food oriented customers are looking for more healthy options, but may not be able to articulate or even realize all of the options they want or might want

3) The concept of rent-a-tree / rent-a-bush isn’t something most of the people we interacted with understand or are used to as a service. There were several concerns about risks associated with just having the production of one plant and what happens if someone picks off the wrong plant (intentionally or accidentally).

4) Many people seeking out healthier foods also want a deeper connection with the farm where their food is grown. This connection gives them confidence that there food is raised in a smart way that results in healthier food for them. The desire to have these roots is important to many customers. Something as simple as watching smiling customers interact with farmers at the farmers market highlights that desire for a deeper connection that results in a healthier food and lifestyle choices.

What was surprising, challenging, or easy about the process of crafting insights?

Having a consistent and structured approach that keeps digging in to ask why, reveals a lot about how the customer thinks. The process of asking why, why, why, why, why is quicker at revealing results than I thought it would be. The process of asking 5 whys revealed answers that sometimes surprised the wonderful people that I interacted with during the project.

I just finished the Insights for Innnovation Class. This a wonderful class. We concentrated on observing, interviewing and developing customer insights. Walk with me though the podcast as I share what I learned.

I had a few days on the farm this week to ponder the future plans for the farm. I’m taking a class with IDEO on Insights for Innovation. The class project revolves around the farm so it was good having time to ponder the future plans for the farm while working in the field.

Here are some pictures from this week

• team is deployed to an emergency site
• team is not deployed but there is an emergency

One of our team goals is put ourselves in a position where we can help the broader community during a wider emergency, such as a grid down situation after a hurricane or power station sabotage (like the next county over went through in 2022).

This plan is a step towards achieving those goals. Later phases of plan development should help address the communications divide between the CERT team and the greater community. These later phases should also incorporate some of the great ideas that were generated in the brainstorming / brainwriting work.

The rough draft of the plan is below. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Lee County CERT Team – Communications Plan
Rough Draft – dated 2023-03-18

Deployed Comms

At time of muster, team members will be assigned to a group and a backup group based on available communications tools and radios.

At time of muster, team members will also be assigned a cell phone number for a command staff member, where they can confirm the communication channel they should be using. This communication should occur via text message. This cell number can also be used to short messages between command staff, as needed. Primary communication method is radio communication.

Teams Communications

Priority 1 (Group 1) — Zello Channel – “Lee County Emergency Response Team”

Priority 2 (Group 2) – HAM Radio using the KB4HG repeater – 441.9500 / +5 MHz / 136.5 Tone

Priority 3 (Group 3) – MURS channel #3 (151.94 MHz)

Priority 4 (Group 4) – GMRS / FRS channel #15 (462.55 MHz) [Note: limited FRS range]

Priority 5 (Group 5) – CB channel #22

(Backup) Priority 1 – No backup, go to other group

(Backup) Priority 2 (Group 2) – HAM Radio using the NC4ML – 147.240 / +5 MHz / 91.5

(Backup) Priority 3 (Group 3) – MURS channel #5 (154.60 MHz)

(Backup) Priority 4 (Group 4) – GMRS / FRS channel #17 – 462.60 MHz [Note: limited FRS range]

(Backup) Priority 5 (Group 5) – CB channel #24

Note: Group 2 – If both HAM repeaters are not available, switch to Simplex 146.58 FM

Command Communications
Priority 1 (Group C1) — Zello Channel – “Lee County Emergency Response Team – Command”
Priority 2 (Group C2) – HAM Radio using Simplex 144.400

Priority 3 (Group C3) – MURS channel #2 (151.88 MHz)

Priority 4 (Group C4) – GMRS / FRS channel #19 (462.65 MHz) [Note: limited FRS range]

Priority 5 (Group C5) – CB channel #21

(Backup) Priority 1 – Use command text message number to ask which alternate group to use

(Backup) Priority 2 (Group 2) – HAM Radio using Simplex 144.800

(Backup) Priority 3 (Group 3) – MURS channel #4 (154.57 MHz)

(Backup) Priority 4 (Group 4) – GMRS / FRS channel #21 (462.70 MHz_ [Note: limited FRS range]

(Backup) Priority 5 (Group 5) – CB channel #23

Non-deployed Comms [used during emergency situation where CERT team isn’t deployed]

Use the following communications channels on the schedule below with a wilderness protocol (seeking to minimize power use in case the grid is down):

• text message to designated contact
• Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 (Carolina Trace local area), Group C1, Group C2
• other groups activated in an extended emergency to provide greater footprint in community
  
  Note: number of groups is minimized to reduce the amount of time the command staff has to communicate with team members.

Here are the ideas that we generated. There are over 140 ideas. Hopefully these give you a head start on developing your plan.

1. Introduction
   • Participants – everyone introduced themselves
   • Plan for the morning
   • Go through the rules for brainstorming
     • Capture ideas as we go
     • No analysis or critiquing idea, instead just let the ideas flow. It is good to build on ideas
   • Looked at the buckets and challenge / specific questions
2. Review the brainwriting results – quickly went through all of the brainwriting ideas
3. Brainstorming session – after the first idea went out, this group really took off with ideas. We posted stickies with written ideas on the white board and grouped them by bucket.
4. Analysis – we ended the brainstorming session. The next steps:
   • Everyone voted on their favorite ideas, working to identify ideas that we should explore
   • Talked about the highest priority ideas and looked for themes (ideas that grouped together around a common theme)
5. Identified next steps and concluded the meeting

An enthusiastic group that really wants to find better ways to help out in the community during an emergency really made this morning a joy.

Here are some images of the ideas on the white board.

Results

Between the brainwriting and the brainstorming, the team generated over 140 ideas! Many of the ideas were very high quality. There is lots of interest in pursuing those ideas in the wild and turning them into actionable plans.

Thanks to everyone who participated.

We’ll publish detailed results in a separate blog post, or 2 or 3, where we can look at them in detail. The ideas and the themes we discovered are all helpful.

Challenge Question

How do we create a workable plan that allows the CERT team to communicate within the team, with local authorities and the community in an emergency

Specific Questions

1. How do we communicate with all CERT members (Ham and non-Ham) during a deployment?
2. If we have an issue with one communication path how do we let everyone know that we need to switch to another method (maybe another channel, repeater, app or method all together)?
3. How does the CERT team communicate with the community during a grid down situation?
4. How does the CERT team communicate between members (HAM and non-HAM) during a grid down situation?
5. What would a one way communication / “beacon” do and how could it be accessible by hams, non-hams and the general community in an emergency?

Buckets

Deployed Communication
Communication between CERT and the community
Ham Comms
Non-Ham Comms
Grid Down
Beacon / One Way Comms
Digital Comms

Our local CERT team is working on a communications plan to cover 2 very different situations:

1. deployed in an emergency
2. not deployed, most likely in a longer term emergency or a grid down situation

CERT means Community Emergency Response Team. There are CERT teams across the United States.

We are going to document our work so others can leverage our work and make developing a communications plan easier for other groups. We hope to use standard innovation tools to use the knowledge within our local community. These tools include:

– brainwriting
– brainstorming

Our approach, ideas, and research can help you develop a plan for your local community or other group. Maybe even your family emergency communications plan. We are looking at incorporating the communications elements that we have available to our members:

• CB radio
• MURS, GMRS, and FRS radios
• Ham frequencies, repeaters and digital technologies
• Internet options such as Zello
• Other options we haven’t even thought of yet
• LoRa Meshtastic

Join us on the journey. Just listen to the podcast to follow along!

Thanks
Montie
KO4NQF

I want to help you achieve that goal of taking your family camping. You can read the first of my camping series of books:

www.montie.com/book

This book helps families (or individuals) make that first foray into the woods and actually enjoy it. I share what I’ve learned in a lifetime of outdoor adventures. The book is not about extreme camping or anything crazy. I just talk about practical skills, knowledge and how not to spend a fortune on equipment on our way to a great weekend with the family.

If you want to see my handiwork and the campsite that I designed, checkout

#camping
#campinglife
#campinggear
#digitaldetox