For you Nature boys!

By Harris
This week I did some research on another prospective guy thing to do being Camping. Most of us hardly leave the comforts of our home and if we do we will have the comforts of some kind of roof over our heads. How many of you would like to sleep under the stars, stand guard over camp over a slow camp fire, cook, wash and clean all in the wild, brave the storm and the floods, scare the boar (maybe even have it for dinner), actually establish your own territory and have an adventurous escapade for a few days in the wild with your buds? Guy thing to do? Oh yes it is!

Camping entails living the life of a primitive man.  There is no Pizza delivery, there’s no hot water geezer, no shelter, no security guards, no electric fences, it’s you and the wild. You have to be tough, you got to take the rough path, you have to prove that you are as much a man as the fearless Spartan in 300 who fights that Wolf man creature! (maybe not the six pack though!) Personally this would seem an ideal way to have a guy time, I’m not saying girls can’t go camping but if a bunch of guys go (being the competitive sorts we are) camping is bound to bring out the best in you and no doubt have an experience you will never have anywhere else.

People go camping for various reasons like hiking, mountain climbing, wild life observation, exploration or even just as an adventure. For camping destinations in Sri Lanka firstly there are two camp sites maintained by the Sri Lankan Scouts Association located in Meerigama and Nuwara Eliya. Apart from this there are great unofficial locations such as Kirigalpotha (Near World’s end) and some near the Knuckles mountain range  and another called the Far Inn near Horton Plains. Some persons prefer to even camp out at the beach and location is usually dependant on what you propose to do whilst camping and it can be almost anywhere (just except in someone else’s garden or something).
It’s a Guy thing because you go out of your norm. Leave the normal routine life you have, leave the comforts of civilization and challenge yourself. A bunch of strangers can never go camping and so it would be an ideal time for your buddies to hang out, work as a team, go through the challenges of life. I dare say 1 out 100 guys would not have done this and by next week I will enlighten you on all you need to know about camping. But be warned it’s not necessarily a simple thing. In the next article I will go through preparation, location, basic skills, how to set camp, equipment for group and individual, norms and many useful tips to send you on that camping trip!

Few cool stories I heard of. A bunch of people went on a hike whilst camping and it started raining on their way back to camp, and they found the track was blocked by a large tree. They had no choice but to get together and chop up the tree in the thick rain to get back to camp ( a soaking wet one). Then another bunch of guys looking to be adventurous took an off road path to a mountain and lost their way and were engrossed in a mist seeing not even the next person to them. They had to light up a fire and spend the night in the thick mist until day break amidst the thick of the jungle. Another painful story where the leader of a trek had accidentally cut down a bees’ hive arousing the bees and the lot of them had to run into a river and dive in to avoid the angry sting! Strangely one would say I’m crazy to say this is fun? It seems like the most horrific, miserable and often painful mess you can get yourself into.

Think again because how many of you manly men have a story like this to share? Oh boy wouldn’t you love to someday talk about ‘that day’ you sent a bear packing! ( we guys love to tell our stories don’t we J)