when I was an archaeologist and we were working far out in the bush, we had no choice but to set up a bush camp. It was good and bad...

Pro
-camping is fun
-camp fire every night
-sitting around playing guitar and singing
-because we would be on-site for weeks and months you can really put the effort into make a proper functional camp
-it was easier to cook and make food in camp than in a motel
-overall the food is healthier
-you sleep AMAZING
-you bond with your co-workers

Cons
-after a long hard day of hiking and digging, some times you just want a hot shower and a couch to sit on
-bathroom duties and being female
-some times you want a break from your co-workers
-it can feel like you are working 24\7
-although the food is better, it takes A LOT more effort
-everything is dirty....dirty bed...dirty body...dirty clothes....dirty hair
-you are woken earlier...if the first guy is awake at 5am, you are all awake
-less privacy
-when the weather is bad, you can't pack up and go home because you are there for work :\

I enjoyed the projects where we had the best of both worlds....we would have a motel room rented in town where we would be able to shower, use internet, etc and chill some evenings if the weather was bad.

Also, I was lucky because I had my xterra at the time so I had one of those tents that pops off the back. I would sleep in the back of the truck (would fit a double foamy) and use the tent portion as a sitting\dressing\living room. It was a pretty epic set up especially when the weather was shit....would sit in my camping chair in my "living room" and read or watch a movie on my laptop :D It could be hard to find and evened out area to park the truck so the blood wouldn't flow to my head, but I usually made it work with finding rocks and boulders to jam under the tires....I got pretty awesome at it!

This is why it was so hard to get rid of my X....her and I spend many lonely nights together :(

Can anyone recommend a place on vancouver island where theres good shore fishing and clam digging? Also looking for a place in the interior with good shore fishing. Thanks.

Interior of the Island or Interior of the mainland?

Interior of the mainland.

not vancouver island but,


some of the best shore fishing and clam digging was on the sunshine coast. camped at porpoise bay (provincial park with all the facilities).

the sand goes out for quite some distance and its very shallow, if you hike north along the beach to wear the quary was you get alot deeper water. flounder were hitting the hook as the damn thing was sinking lol. i only had a light action fresh water combo and some green power bait that was left in my tackle box. threw some powerbait on for the hell of it and tossed it in and i had 4 flounder in about 10 minutes lol.


plenty of clam on the beach although you might need to check the regs for your daily limits.

It says theres a ban on clam digging at that location.

last time i went was 2008 so i guess thats possible :badpokerface:

fishing was awesome though.

what vehicle are you planning to take? forest service roads game or are you just sticking to major parks and places?

toyota landcruiser, dont mind taking forest service roads. 5 of us want to get shelf fish or shore fish.

i'd say bamfield would be a good place to get all of that done. there should be some forest service roads in the area you can camp off of.

watch out for bears.

Finally got all my gear together to start taking my kids camping - looking forward to it! Though I bought a new chainsaw Friday night and then someone stole it out of my garage on Saturday. FFS

shitty man,

i've been in the market for a new stihl chainsaw myself.


whats the model number? do you have the serial for it?

i'll keep an eye out while im shopping craigslist.

I do have the serial#, but I will hold that for now. The saw is a smaller 16" model, a Stihl MS180 C-BE. This is a newer model, my dealer had to order it in for me. It is similar to their popular 170 except it has the Easy Start, tool less chain tensioner, and a metal claw (instead of plastic like the 170).

Stihl dealers are good at reporting this across their network and can identify a stolen saw immediately. They are worth the money.

MS 180 C-BE - One of our most popular chainsaws for use around the home.

will keep an eye out.

thieving scumbags hopefully they cut themselves on the saw.

That sucks man. Nothing better than chainsaw to help make a custom camping spot.

Ya, I am both mad/sad at the same time. Saved for a while for that saw so we could go camping as a family and have a good fire. Was a gift to myself for quitting smoking. I finally rush to get it (though I don't need it for a week yet, but I was excited) and it is gone in less than 24 hours - never even sawed and wood, motor was run less than 5 minutes. My wife was having a garage sale (the whole neighbourhood was), and I told her to take what she wanted and close the garage door afterwards as people were looking in (she had tables set up in the driveway). Well, she didn't close the door and even though I tucked the saw behind a shelf at the back of the garage, someone saw that bright orange case and decided they needed it more than I did.

I hate thieves. I had to go for a long walk to calm down.

Cant really blame the wifey for a jerk move by some random douche either... People like that need to be strung up naked at the local courthouse for 24hours behind a table with a few paintball guns and a few thousand frozen paintballs and unlimited air supply.... Be sure it was the last time they stole something, without thinking twice at least!

i call dibs on sniping the thief in the balls with the paintball gun

Not blaming the wife - though the whole "women never listen thing" is a discussion for around a campfire. lol. It's pathetic though when thieves take advantage of a busy mom with two young children playing, and enjoying all the people coming around.

But on a positive note, I set up the tent today and the kids were really wanting to sleep in it. If it wasn't for the rain and then us needing to go away early next week (so we brought in the tent to keep it dry), I'd be out there now cuddled up to a 4 year old and a 2.5 year old.

I'm up at stave almost every friday night in my Jeep cherokee. Maybe we've crossed paths? It's lifted with 35' tires, winch, sliders, tube bumper etc.

Golden Ears... Which campsite is better... I was looking at the Gold Creek coz it has shower and I will have kids with me..

gold creek is very nice and usually where the families camp at. north beach gets over run with idiots.

make sure you take firewood in with you and a splitting axe.

some firestarter, lighter AND matches.

do you have lanterns and flashlights?

Taking my boys out camping for the first time tomorrow - they are quite excited. Going to be fun until they realize there are no toilets in the bush. :)

take some pics for the outdoor thread please :thumbsup:


stay safe. :fullofwin:

at least they will have endless supply of leaves to wipe up :lawl:


Anyways, I just booked the Cold Creek Campground at Golden Ears... I think for the very basic, these will what I will have with me..
Tent/sleeping bag, foam tile floor (to sleep on), stove, lamps, bug spray/bug lamp, polysporin, coolerbox (ice/meats) BBQ tong set, chairs, baby wipe/hand sanitizer, multi-tool knife set, rope (to hang stuff), fire starter sticks... I think thats pretty much it.. only 2 nights...

Not sure if I really need anything else...