Hey, Firestarters!

Happy Campfire Day, Fire Fans! I’ve posted about campfire safety and good how-to knowledge in previous years, but today, I want to share a handful of different items that can be used to help start your fire and ensure you have a great Campfire Day! Often enough, you can use tree twigs and branches, but nature doesn’t always provide the dry materials you need to get your fire ripping and roaring!

There’s still hope, however, if you left home with the right material!

Don’t throw away that dryer lint! Instead, pack it into a used-up toilet paper roll. When it’s time to make your fire, you can place your firewood around the lint-packed roll. Light the center of the roll and the flames will burn outwards, catching on the firewood as it goes. Made from household items that would otherwise be thrown away, these tinder rolls are lightweight for easy packing!

Another option you have is to take five dry newspapers and to roll them into a tight tube. Then tie the tube into a knot. Place your firewood around this tied newspaper roll and light the knot on fire. The tightly knotted paper will burn slowly, allowing more time for the firewood to catch.

What kind of snacks did you pack? If you have a bag of potato chips you can actually use them as a fire-starter thanks to their fat content. Light a single chip on fire and it will burn for about 3 minutes. Pour a little pile of chips. Toss the burning chip into the pile of chips. Then, while this potato chip kindling is burning, place light, dry wood on top to catch fire over the burning chips!

While wet conditions will ruin most natural items you could otherwise use, you can still use sap from evergreens! Trees ooze this pine resin out which happens to be highly flammable. Collect some for a good means of starting fire. 

Use these inventive ideas for tinder to start your own campfires this evening (with the supervision of adults, of course) and enjoy the hypnotic dance of the flames on this great National Camp Fire Day! As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Mountaineers!

Making your way up the challenge of a majestic mountain has been described as a life-changing experience which would explain why we have a day designated completely to these awesome natural formations. And while other countries have their own dates for celebration, today is America’s Mountain Climbing Day. Happy Mountain Climbing Day to all you thrill seekers, adventurers, and hiking aficionados. Today is a day just for us!

The history of this country’s Mountain Climbing Day goes back at least as early as 1838. It started all those years ago as a student celebration at Mount Holyoke when a group of students from Mount Holyoke College journeyed off into the foothills to make their way up and reach the peak. They declared the day Mountain Climbing Day which inspired other colleges.

Eventually Smith College, Juniata College, Colby-Sawyer College, and others took part in the tradition and made themselves a part of the club. Students from Williams College had been climbing Mount Greylock—Massachusetts’ highest peak—maybe even earlier than the first recorded mountain-climbing party from Mount Holyoke! With so much interest across the nation, Mountain Climbing Day was finally declared a National Holiday.

Conquering a mountain is no easy feat. Breathing gets harder at higher altitudes and each step is work to lift yourself that much higher. But the feeling of accomplishment paired with a view that can’t be beat urges folks onward and upward to do what many others might say is impossible.

Vice President of Everything Summer Camp recently climbed a mountain in Colorado. Keep your eyes peeled to see his story posted here on the Blog. And you can catch the story from Reannon, a representative from our Customer Service team, about the peak she reached from her adventure in the Blackhills of South Dakota. Check that out by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Merry ‘Mockers!

Happy Hammock Day! I’m always happier with my awesome ENO hammock packed along with the Atlas Suspension Straps while I make my way through the welcoming wilderness because I know that at any moment, I can come across an appropriate spot, set up my ENO Hammock, and relax in the great outdoors! Making time to ‘mock is important!

Sway your way to respite because you need to be serious about your relaxation after all the summertime adventures and fun times you have. Find your summer sanctuary within the comfort of a quality parachute hammock. Whether you make your escape in the great outdoors or in the privacy of your own backyard, time spent in a hammock will heal you—mind, body, and soul!

Enjoy relaxation time in this comfortable cocoon with a number of different activities:

Just the same as reading in bed, reading in a hammock is just as relaxing, but made even better when you can do it in the great outdoors! Make a trip out to somewhere special and catch up on your reading in a hammock!

Conducive to deep concentration of meditative relaxation, hammocks are perfect for focus on the simplicity of existence and deep breathing.

Catching Zzz’s never comes with more ease than when you’re hanging out in the comfort of your very own hammock. Tip a cap over your eyes to take a daytime snooze or close your eyes for a night of sleep beneath the canopy of stars!

If you have a spare hammock or know friends with their own, journey out into the great outdoors together and hang up your hammocks for some chill, quality time together. Laugh it up over your stories as you enjoy snacks or activity book fun!

Check out our ENO selection by clicking here and order your own to discover true relaxation! Enjoy this awesome portable comfort and ‘mock like you mean it in an ENO Hammock from Everything Summer Camp! As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Canoe-Loving Campers!

Today is National Canoe Day! If Canoeing is your thing and if you can make it happen today it sure would be nice to celebrate your love for this hobby today! In celebration, I thought we could take a look at the reasons to go Canoe over Kayak.

Despite the fact that canoes are heavier and harder to transport along with a slower traveling speed, people have found a multitude of reasons to opt for canoes over kayaks. Some of these reasons fall back to simple preference while others are legitimate benefits that canoes have over kayaks.

Here’s a look at just some of the reasons why people prefer a canoe:

You can carry lots of gear easily in a canoe…in a kayak, not so much. The larger size and open top offer more packing space than the closed cockpit of a kayak. For this fact, canoes do better than kayaks on portage trips that require regular water crossing.

Canoes provide decent stability (much more than kayaks) and therefore offer a variety of sitting positions as well as kneeling (which can add more power behind paddling strokes) or even standing up. Not being stuck in the same position—like you are in a kayak—allows for more comfort for longer distances on exciting expeditions.

Canoes are super easy to get in and out of—especially so compared to kayaks. Young kids and family dogs can join you out on the water in a canoe. The open, tall sides of canoes keep water from splashing inside unless the waters are really wild. And the slower pace and openness of canoes offer a much better view of the beautiful sights as opposed to a kayak.

It’s National Canoe Day, so I really talked it up over kayaks, but that’s not to disrespect kayaking at all. The way I see it, kayaking is a little more for the adventure and workout of the activity while canoes serve more of a practical, strolling sort of experience. Enjoy your love for canoeing today and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Intrepid Trail Trekkers!

Today is National Trails Day! Read this post and then lace up your trail shoes to get out in the beautiful outdoors! Nature trails offer an awesome venue for folks with all kinds of interests—from hiking to biking, to horse riding and ‘mocking! No matter what you’re into, there’s bound to be a nearby trail for you to enjoy Trails Day!

As opposed to the never-ending feel of summer camp, park trails give us miniature escapes from the bustling city life. The natural world offers us fresh air, exercise, and peace. I’ve been logging a good amount of miles lately. My brother Mark (https://everythingsummercamp.com/blogs/news/employee-bio-mark) and I recently made a day out of visiting Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s local trails and altogether, we completed 20 miles!

And, boy!—were our legs tired!

Each of these Park Trails are maintained by a volunteer-based organization called CORBA. Each park has its own distinct charm and natural character.

Otter is the smallest of the parks, yet it offers the steepest climb—Feel the Burn. We used this park as our ‘warm up’ for the day. The ferns and canopy at Otter Creek create an isolated feel despite how smack-dab in the city it is. Mark and I caught the attention of a couple deer that morning and hiked about three miles there.

This is the largest of the parks and sits on the edge of town. A magical escape, Lowes offers a variety of trees and settings. We both saw our first beavers that day—three of them. And we discovered our favorite trail of the park, Split Rock, where you walk rocky trail along a steady stream. We went roughly 13 miles there.

Back in town, we finished our goal on trails with lots of roots, rocks, and other detail in the terrain out at Northwest Park. We know the trails at Northwest the best, so we tried to get in some “speed miles” and found that we really had to push ourselves by the last few miles. Our record time for completing a single mile was 13.5 minutes. It was a hard pace to keep up!

Immerse yourself in the scenic landscape of the natural world today and celebrate National Trails Day! Mark and I will both tell you that it feels great to exhaust yourself out in the Great Outdoors. Enjoy the therapeutic company of the wilderness around you and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John