ladysprite: (Default)
ladysprite ([personal profile] ladysprite) wrote2004-07-15 10:45 pm

Firsts

This weekend I will be going to my first SCA camping event ever. It's rather silly to realize that I've been a fairly active member of the SCA for over a decade (well, with a few years off in the middle due to an attack of grad school, but still....) and I've never been camping before. A large part of this is due to the fact that, while I'm a devout fan of the great outdoors in small, controlled, safe doses, I'm rather afraid of being actively away from modern civilization for any prolonged amount of time.

I've never been camping. I went to summer camp once, but all of the bunks had electricity and beds and roofs, and there were real showers and plumbing and food that was cooked in ovens and on stoves. My Girl Scout troop tended more towards the feminine and ladylike pursuits of baking, cookie sales, and sock puppet stitchery than to the grubby and dangerous hobbies like camping, and my father's idea of roughing it on a family vacation meant staying in the same hotel room as my sister and I.

This will be my first for-real camping experience. I've slept in a tent once before, to be completely honest, but that was as part of an organized whitewater rafting outing run by the campsite and raft rental place, with no real campground and with staff-provided meals. I know that SCA events aren't truly camping to the jaded wilderness experts among my friends, but for me the thought is mildly intimidating, if only because I absolutely despise situations in which I don't know what to do and have things plotted, planned, and under my control.

Maybe I won't be able to find a cat-sitter, and I'll have an excuse to come home and have a hot shower and spend the night in my electrified, climate-controlled house, safely protected from any new and intriguing experiences.....

[identity profile] jtdiii.livejournal.com 2004-07-15 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Presuming that you are going to GNE, make certain that you pack bug spray. Warning: Avon Skin So Soft will not cut it in Maine... DEET is required to have any effect.

While this years mosquitos are not yet the size of swallows, they have been reported to block out the sun while swarming looking for prey. :)

[identity profile] vettecat.livejournal.com 2004-07-15 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
You're braver than I am! I hate camping... but I hope you have a great time. Remember to bring bug spray and suntan lotion!

[identity profile] oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com 2004-07-15 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
This is probably an ideal distance for your first exposure to SCA camping events. The drive is long enough that it's not convenient to decide to go home on a whim, but short enough that you know that's a real option if you really need to.

Also, you'll be among friends, most of whom have done this many times, so if you've forgotten something like bug spray, or sun screen, you can still have easy access to them. I hope you have a great time!

[identity profile] metahacker.livejournal.com 2004-07-16 08:27 am (UTC)(link)
Mud.

Ask someone about GNE and the great mudstorm of...err...was it 1998?

[identity profile] matildalucet.livejournal.com 2004-07-16 09:24 am (UTC)(link)
The current site is less muddy, from what I've been told.

[identity profile] gyzki.livejournal.com 2004-07-16 10:02 am (UTC)(link)
Remind me to tell you sometime the story of Jungle Night at Camelot. Gives a whole new insight into the SCA camping experience.