Good morning from Pennsylvania!

Hello all my name is Justin and my wife Joy, two kids Aidan & Ella all hail from South Central PA.

After a 20 plus year hiatus from tent camping I dove right in last year (head first) dragging my unsuspecting wife, kids and golden retriever Roscoe, along.

As a kid I was active in Boy Scouts with camping and backpacking. Did a little more "camping" in the US Army, lol and haven't been back to the woods.

Fast forward 20 years...

Last spring I decided that after some long power outages to source a used white gas Coleman lantern on Craigslist for emergency lighting.

One thing leads to another...

After a few weeks of lazy searching off and on I found a decent one for $20. The seller, also a former Boy Scout asked if I wanted more than one lantern as he had several. He also had a few Coleman stoves he wanted to off-load.

Well, walked out of his garage with 5 gas lanterns and 3 gas stoves for $60.00!

Got home, first thing I did was begin searching for a tent....sleeping bags....cots....and other paraphernalia.

So, I got much of this necessary gear over the course of several months and then it was quickly approaching fall and I wanted to camp, but where?

Not quite 20 years ago...

Back in 1998 I bought a brand new Jeep Wrangler and low and behold, i still have it and drive it every day as my daily driver.

Well, I signed up for a fall Jeep Jamboree in Williamsburg, Kentucky and we camped at Cumberland Falls State Park, KY and the rest is history.

Traffic jam of Jeeps in the woods...



Since, we have camped last May at Benjamin Harrison State Park, Wellsboro, PA. Had a great time but the weather was interesting, sunshine Friday, rain Saturday and snow Sunday morning. Needless to say, our outdoor activities were kinda curbed, but we had a good time nonetheless.

Took the Tahoe with 4 bikes this trip and set up camp here along the wood line...





A small and scenic waterfall hiking trail that lead down the hill from the state park to the Pine Creek Rail Trail...



Sleet that turned into snow...



This past July we hit Acadia National Park for a week in Maine and had an awesome experience. The weather in PA was 95°F plus while we enjoyed 72-85°F in Acadia. Kayaking, biking, hiking, eating and all around exploring - great place with beautiful scenery.

View of a mountain lake from one of the Carriage Roads...



View from our campground....



On the way back we stopped in Freeport, ME and toured the LL Bean campus... sometimes the journey can be just as fun as the destination!



End of September, my buddy and I packed up my Jeep to the gills, and headed for the Vermont Overland Rally. Camped out on a private farm, had to drive through a creek to get my camping spot. Then travelled Vermont's Class IV unimproved "roads" for an extended weekend.

Loaded up and weighted down... Jeep sporting a backpack of it's own!



Unloading outside of a repair shop, fuel pump went out...



What some (not all) portions of a Class IV road can look like...



View of a mountain pond created by a beaver dam in a small valley along a Class IV road...



View from a Class IV road in the Green Mountains of Vermont...



This past October we hit another Jeep Jamboree in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia in the Greenbrier Valley.

Lunch stop on the trail...



Next, planning a camping trip to Bald Eagle State Forest, Center County PA for this November.

And since I haven't been camping in such a long time, I have found that I had truly missed it all these years.

I now realize that I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of places I wish to explore with the family and look forward with doing so.

And as far as those damn Coleman lamps go, remember the ones that started all this recent craziness... Ironically, we have not lost power since last spring bit at least I have used the lanterns on some fabulous camping trips!

I also have enjoyed reading the posts here and have taken heed to advice and tips that others have shared.

Thanks and Be Safe Out There,

- Justin

 

Welcome Justin. Sounds like you had an adventurous year. Nice pictures!

 

My original intention was only to buy a pair of used white gas lanterns from a seller on Craigslist, to light up the night when the power went out. I ended up with several more and some white gas stoves as well. All this "new to me equipment" lead me down the path to explore camping once again.

If we take the Jeep along, I typically flat tow it with a tow bar behind our Tahoe whenever the entire family is camping tow bar. Makes a great pack mule for all the gear instead of the roof top carrier.

If it is just me or me and my son, we can take just the Jeep. Being a two door, space is limited. Hopefully I will have a trailer for next year's trips to tow behind the Jeep and we can simply use that instead of two vehicles.



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...aw yes - I've been lead down the path many times and I like it!