I'm with some of you who do not enjoy the down time of camping - I'd like to keep going but camp I must.

I take a ton of photos so my favorite thing to do is lay back and look through them. 2nd favorite is to clean up and change my shirt especially.

Seems a lot of folks take a nip - I need to try that....

Enjoy some good tequilla or whiskey and a good english blend tobacco with a pipe. Mmmmmmm. A fire adds at least 10 points to the enjoyability factor as well. :-)

Sleep and eat a chocolate bar. Chocolate is awesome in the backcountry, anytime, anywhere. I don't remember the last time I had a campfire when I was out hiking. I kind of despise using them for anything but cooking, and I cook over a wood fire so infrequently that it is a non-factor.

when out solo:
look through photos, take new photos, check out exactly where i traveled during the day on the map, plan where i will be heading the next day on the map (i luv maps), nap, read, eat, ponder the meaning of life, write in a journal, listen to music (i don't do this often), watch the sunset, look at the stars, make a fire where appropriate, etc.

when out w/ other people, i do the above plus:
talk, make jokes, tell stories, play frisbee where possible, play cards, etc.

Personally, I like camping about equally as much as the hiking part of backpacking - especially when you are camping at a nice, remote backcountry spot w/ good friends.

Edited by pedro87 on 01/25/2009 12:36:03 MST.

If alone, then Tai Chi and stretching, botanising and bird-watching if it's light enough and not raining, reading (especially if it is raining).

With others, I enjoy their company. A bit of whiskey or wine never goes amiss.

I'm a photographer and an usually not in a hurry. If I get to camp before dark (I try for this), I'll explore the area and make some photographs. I set up camp and cook dinner. After dinner, I like to sit around a small fire (if a fire is allowed) and sip some single malt and smoke a stogie. I'll sit and write down something about the days events and maybe read a little before bed.

My favorite way to end the day is not having to set up my tarp (even though I love my tarp, I love sleeping under the stars more) and cowboy camping. Sipping hot chocolate in my small, lightweight, insulated mug that has 7,000+ miles on it. That mug, and the act of drinking the hot chocolate, reminds me of the adventures I've had, helps me to think back about the day I just had, makes me excited about the coming day and reminds me of how lucky I am to be enjoying the outdoors and to have the life that I have. It also signals to my mind and body that it's time for bed.

> couldn't have put it better myself. Anyone out there have tips for Adam and myself regarding relaxing at the end of the day, especially when alone?

Yoga. End it with some breathing exercises while laying in your bag.

It's productive (you'll be stretching muscles that definitely deserve it) and there are a few amazing poses that will rest your poor abused feet. It's active. And it's inherently relaxing. By the time you lay down and do some breath work, you'll probably be ready to fall asleep. Or you'll fall asleep doing it!

When possible, my favorite thing to do after camp setup is to go swimming. I also love exploring, and having competitions with my friends skipping stones across the water.

I love sitting around the campfire (when possible), and building structures (sometimes 3ft. high!) out of sticks and stones ( I scatter it before leaving camp).

-Evan

Edited by edude on 01/25/2009 22:09:08 MST.

My favorite thing to do in camp at the end of the day is eat.

While hiking the PCT I would roll in to camp, set up my tent, cook my dinner and lay down on my stomach and eat it in my tent while writing in my journal. Ahh.

After that, I might play my pennywhistle and massage my feet. Then sleep, which is my second favorite thing. Ahh... Sleep...

Eat dinner, play tiny harmonica, clean dinner out of tiny harmonica, scroll through pictures on camera, go to sleep blissfully happy. Generally in that order.

I can't imagine intimacy at the end of a hike when both parties are filthy and sweaty. Eeeeww!

Ben,

Sex is only dirty if you are doing it right. If you are not sweating then you are not trying hard enough.

"Sex is only dirty if you are doing it right. If you are not sweating then you are not trying hard enough."

do you mean with another person? yeah, i guess that could be good. my wife rarely comes with me on hikes, and there arent any sheep around here either. !

Quoting George Matthews: If you are not sweating then you are not trying hard enough.

Edited by ben2world on 02/02/2009 13:20:28 MST.

Ben,

I have been working on my oragami skills.

I think that with a little more practice, I can get my air matress to look like a woman.

Ummmm....gear pornography takes on a whole new meaning.

My favorite thing to so after a long day:

Sit by a crackling fire and watch the flames dance among the coals while sipping on a hot mug of hot chocolate or apple spice cider and feeling the warmth of the fire put a glow on my cheeks.

And when it gets too hot by the fire, standing up and turning my back to the fire to warm it and to look up to the heavens to see the vast sky full of sparkling lights or the moon rising across the night sky and bathing everything in a soft blue.

What I like to do is break out the topo, pick a point of interest, and go there. If there's a peak nearby, I like to bag it. If there's a lake nearby, I like to find it. And of course, when I get there, I break out the whiskey.

build a fire
18 year old Jamison
hot meal
watch sunset/moon rise/stars coming out
18 year old Jamison
crawl into the sack
sex

Edited by malndman on 02/05/2009 11:16:17 MST.

Is everyone that put sex on their list exclusively solo hikers….... huhuhu. I usually only hike with friends who happen to be all guys, and well........ I don’t swing that way.

I’d say music and or booze.

The OP question was "What Is Your Favorite Thing To Do In Camp At The End Of The Day" not what do we actually do.

A man can dream, can't he?
(Que the dramatic pastoral music)