Camping

Wednesday November 18, 2009

Are you a camper? You know one of those people who leave a perfectly nice house with a warm comfy bed to go and sleep on the ground in a tent? Okay, I guess it is obvious that I am not a camper. However, this past weekend I had the opportunity to be on the periphery of a camping group. I'll have to admit that I came away from the encounter with a whole new appreciation for these camping people. Here's why.

If a disaster strikes I think campers will be much better prepared to cope with the event than the general population. This is because camping is one big disaster drill. Camping requires you to live without all the modern services (electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and a stove) which we have become dependent on. When you are in the woods for several days you learn to adapt by cooking over a campfire and doing your business in the woods. Just packing up the gear necessary for camping is a great evacuation exercise. There is not space to take everything so you must decide what is really needed and then pack it efficiently.

One night I was sitting around a roaring camp fire considering all this camping activity while eating smores and having a glass of wine. (Yes, wine and chocolate are necessary camping supplies in my world.) I decided that there are a lot of benefits in knowing how to camp. Even though I am not ready to give up my soft bed for a sleeping bag until I am forced to, if the worst should happen, I plan to find a group of campers and throw my lot in with them.

Additional evacuation information available at www.wineandchocolateplan.com