and a tent, you’ll be in for a cozy night in almost any conditions. (Of course, if you’re new to camping, you may want to avoid doing your first trip in the middle of winter, just to be safe.) If you know that you get cold easily, remember to pack extra layers. Dry socks, warm gloves, and a wool or fleece hat can turn a chilly night into a perfect opportunity to cuddle. And don’t hold back on the cuddling! It will not only keep you both warm, but also distract you from the fact that it’s cold outside.
It’s in the Bag
“ My only memory of camping out as a kid was shivering all night in my sleeping bag and wishing I was home. So when I spent the first night in the down sleeping bag I borrowed from my friend, I was wearing about ten layers of clothing. It took about five minutes for me to start sweating buckets and stripping off layers of fleece. My girlfriend thought I was a complete nutcase. I guess I must have looked like one. I wonder what my childhood sleeping bag was made of—old bed sheets, maybe? ”
—RS
If you share your sleeping bags, you can benefit from the extra warmth of your partner’s body heat. There are a number of double-size sleeping bags available. But most brands’ single bags can be zipped together into a double as well, if you buy one left-opening and one right-opening bag. You can even combine different models and/or brands into one “interspecies” bag if the zippers are the same size and the bags are roughly the same shape and length. Whatever brand you go with, check at the store to make sure that the bags will “mate.” And then be prepared for a little mating of your own! A double bag makes it much easier to get intimate without getting cold at the same time. So if you’re hoping to have a romantic night even though the temperature has dropped, the double bag is ideal. Before you know it, you’ll both be complaining about how hot it is in there.
In areas that allow it, a campfire can be a romantic way to stay warm after sundown without having to hide inside your tent right away. Sitting beside a crackling fire is one of my favorite things about camping, especially if I get to snuggle with my man. It’s like a candlelight dinner a hundred times over. The smell of the wood smoke permeates my camping clothes and acts as a reminder of the romantic night by the fire for the rest of the trip. As an added bonus, the smoke helps to keep bugs away. It’s not always possible or practical to light a fire, but if the campsite has a fire pit and there’s no ban in place, it’s a great way to spend the evening together. Just don’t go cutting down trees to get fuel.
If you’re afraid that camping will entail spending the night shivering away, pack a few marshmallows and look forward to sitting by a cozy fire toasting them together. Then snuggle into your warm sleeping bags and make a real effort to heat things up in your tent.
Great Balls of Fire!
“ When I met my future husband, I made it very clear that I was not an “outdoorsy” kind of person. I like to be warm, dry, and comfortable, thank you very much. But as things got more and more serious between us, he started trying to subtly suggest that if I gave it a try, I might just enjoy myself. It took an awful lot of convincing, but by the time we got married, I was willing to give it a shot.
On our very first camping trip together, it rained all day. My husband tried to console me by making a nice campfire, but, of course, the wood was all wet and he couldn’t get it to light. He was so determined to show me he could light a fire that he poured lighter fluid all over the thing, and when he threw in the match, it went up like a big fireball and nearly burned his eyebrows off! And then it went out again anyway.
Lucky for him, the sun came out the next day, and the rest of our trip was really nice. Otherwise, that might have been the end of camping for me. But now I actually have learned to love the outdoors, and while I still prefer to sleep in my bed, I can give it up now and then. ”
-–TS
Rain
It’s a fact of life that if you go camping, you will eventually encounter some rainy weather. You might as well be ready for it. Try out your rain gear on a stormy day at home to make sure that it does keep the water out. Knowing that you have the right gear will help you to relax on your trip.
A little rain might not be so bad if you have ways to pass the time. Pack a deck of cards and a couple of magazines, and bring an extra tarp and ropes for some shelter outside of the tent. Of course, a rainy night (or day) is a perfect excuse to hide in your tent for a little extra snuggling and sex. Might as well stay warm!
Working Up to a Proposal
Greg and I were on a ski trip in the Italian Alps. Unfortunately, there was no fresh snow and it was incredibly foggy every day, but we were in the Alps, so we weren’t complaining. In the evenings, we joined our friends for wonderful family meals.
One day, the sun finally came out, so Greg and I decided to take a drive to a different ski area, Claviere.
When Greg plays, he likes do things a more “interesting” way. With snowboarding, this means hiking to reach good powder. Although I am often willing to come along, I tend to be lazy and lethargic after lunch. Needless to say, when Greg picked up his board and started hiking out to a ridge, I wasn’t thrilled. In fact, I was feeling quite nauseated hiking after the meal. Can’t we, for once, take it a bit easy? I thought. I might even admit to being a bit whiny. Greg was urging me on. When he stopped so I could sit and rest, I thought, Wow, I got off easy.
It was beautiful: We were sitting on a knife-edge ridge surrounded by snow-covered peaks. In the distant valley, we could see the alpine towns. This is my memory of what happened next (Greg has a somewhat different version):
Greg: “Is this pretty?”
Me: “Yes.”
Greg: “Is it romantic?”
Me: “Yes.”
Greg: “No, really, I mean, is it really romantic?”
Well, I could hardly think because my heart started beating really fast as I said, “Yessss……”
Then Greg got down on his knees in the snow and pulled out a box wrapped in a Borders coupon. I don’t remember the entire conversation clearly from that point on because I was too busy crying. I think he said he got me a 25-percent-off Borders coupon, and I said I always wanted that. Underneath was a little blue box with a ring inside. He proposed, and I said yes.
We sat there for a while. I was very excited that no one else knew our little secret, except for the skiers hanging out on the hut’s deck. We decide to go down, and I had an awesome afternoon scoring freshies in the trees.
On the way back, we stopped by the town of Cesana to walk around. At this point, I no longer wanted to keep the secret. I wanted to tell someone, anyone. We went to a wine bar and ordered two glasses of Barolo. I asked Greg if I could tell our waitress. He said sure, probably wondering how I would accomplish that. Well, in the international language of women, I pointed to my ring and said, “Oggi,” which means “today” in Italian. Of course, she understood. And I discovered the way to get a free plate of appetizers: She brought us over a plate of bread, prosciutto, and cheese. Maybe we should try that more often…
—Wanda Gonzalez
Ease Into It
Yes, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing, especially your first time out. Don’t get carried away with your enthusiasm for showing your partner all of the great stuff
