Campmor Spree Advice

“I'm heading out to New Jersey this w/e on account of my girl friends' Mom's 70th birthday. The one goodie in it for me is that we've agreed to go to Campmor.

I've got big time credit there due to an XMass present (North Face VE-25) that I did not want to keep. Since I asked y'all about keeping the tent and got a lot of good input, I'm hoping someone has some good shopping advice.

There is nothing I need right this moment. I could use some winter sleeping bags, crampons and snow shoes. And with 2 sons to equip, I could use lighter weight summer bags, and lighter weight packs as well as all kinds of clothes (the shmucks insist on growing out of the old stuff, despite my repeated requests).

Would Ramsey's be worth a trip, even though I got no credit there (and it might take some negotiating with my g.f.)?

P.S.: I've never set foot in Campmor or Ramseys.”

“Campmor has the Osprey Aether 60 which is a real nice lightweight backpack. I would have suggested that to you for yourself if you hadn't already ordered the Auspex. I got one and like it a whole lot. You can easily spend several hours in there, it's big.

Ramsey generally carries higher end stuff, especially in sleeping bags (they stock both WM and FF) so it may be worth a side trip. They may have some good clearance deals on winter bags now.

Both stores will give you 10% off everything if you join the NY/NJ Trail Assoc., so if you're buying a lot, the $26 family membership pays for itself pretty quick. You can do it over the web but you’ll need your card. Their headquarters is just up Rt. 17 in Mahwah.

Give me an idea of when you'll be there - I'd like to play tour guide if I can get free.”

“dude, you're dating sisters?? i think Campmor is the least of your worries...they're sure to find out soon!! hey, whatever you do, don't schedule a date with both of them for same time, same place, and attempt to go back and forth between them! i learned that on Saved by the Bell.”

“Oh #&%!$! I think I saw that episode.”

“LOL Lyra! (Damned slippery apostrophes!!! errr... I mean... The triplets are totally kewl with it.)

I'm down there Saturday Viol. Send me an email and I'm glad to talk details!”

“Pedxing - you're in for a treat! Campmor is fantastic. I ditto what Violin said, but I think you'll find Campmor much more impressive.

I also ditto what Violin said on letting me know when you'll be there. I only live about 5 miles or so from Campmor. You two could be the first TT'ers I've met face-to-face. Hey Ice Tea.. why don't you come also?”

“Well good luck, Pedxing. Just remember that a lot of NJ doesn't look like the area around Campmor. I will be busy Sat with a school carnival, not that these guys here mentioned me anyway! but it would have been nice to meet you. Have a lot of fun! What part of NJ does the mother of your multiplying girlfriends live in?”

“LOL Lyndy. That was an illusory apostrophe... actually she is done multiplying (she's got a 15 y/o and a 10 y/o), but her Mom is in Teaneck. I camped out in the Pine Barrens years ago, and visited my brothere when he went to Princeton, so I've seen other parts of New Jersey.

I hope I do get to meet Artex and the Viol Man. Ifn there was more time, I'd say we should go see you at the carnival! Wouldn't that be a hoot!

Hey is there a good place to have lunch and/or a beer near Campmor?”

“You know, I always ask the same question about a place to eat near Campmor! No luck so far. Hey come to the carnival, you can ride the pony and jump around in the Moonwalk. You can even volunteer to sit in the Dunktank! I'll have a towel (and camera) waiting!”

“Funny you should mention moonwalk. We’re throwing our youngest’s first birthday party on Sunday and one of the attractions my wife felt was necessary was a moonwalk.

As I explained to Ped in my email, I might not be able to get free but will try to get the yard ready so I can spare a couple of hours.

Route 17 in Paramus is like the center of the shopping universe. Every major chain has a presence there so places to eat typically have those big golden arches on them.”

“There is a Chili's and some other Mexican restaraunt near to the big mall where Rt. 17 and Rt. 4 intersect (Garden State Mall? I can never remember the name). It's about 3 miles or so south of Campmor.

Pedxing, I'll drop you an e-mail when I get home from work and running a few errands.”

“There is no other gear store in the world that has that musty-basement smell that makes me think of a real gear closet...Campmor is the best, and one of the few things I really miss about the east coast.”

“On sale stuff recently acquired:

Marmot Precip Jacket ($79.97)

Red Ledge "Thunderlight" W/B Rain Paints ($29.99)

A lightweight North Face ensemble: anorak top ($19.97)
joggers-style pants ($16.97).

Just coupla little things ya' might wanna consider.”

“Yep, the golden arches is just a short way up Route 17, which I usually stop at for a soda. There are a couple of small sandwich/bagel places and Wendys on the southbound side heading back to the parkway. The Paramus Park Mall would probably cost you a half hour just trying to negotiate the clover leaf to get close to a restaurant and park. But at least you should have some decent places to eat there. They almost assuredly would have a pub type restaurant.

So Violin, you are offering a moonwalk at your child's birthday party. I hope it isn't very hot this weekend. The kids usually love the moonwalk, unless it is real hot.”

“Ooops, the carnival is on Sunday. Now I really am in trouble because I told the relatives to come on Sunday, not Saturday, due to the carnival.

I'll try to make a Saturday trip to Campmor to meet up with everyone.”

“ped, you mentioned that your tent was too small for you and your pooch, perhaps you could get the bigger one you wanted.

I can TOTALLY relate to the kids growin out of their stuff. I have 3 boys(10,8 & 4) and the big one is suddenly outgrowing things. Luckily I can pass things down at this point. But gear um up man. I have almost as much fun buyin stuff as i do hiking.”

“Thanks for the input everyone. Great ideas Strat and Gilligan. I love that tent Uncliff (I've got the CD-3).

Lyndy: I'll send you an email.”

“One can never have too many tents and Campmor has a ton of them set up for you to crawl around in. They have a bin with returned tents at a steep discount. Many of them were never even set up - at least not outside - you can tell because the pegs are clean. I dig through there every time I go, it must be magnetic. The last time I found a Walrus Trekker Tarp for $65 and was really tempted.”

“Viol Man: I'm assuming you got my email. Anyway, I leave this afternoon for NJ. I will be at Campmor at 2PM. Since there is no thebackpacker.com T-shirt, I will try to remember to wear my "outdoor review" T-shirt.

Artex and Lyndy say they'll be there. Anyone else gonna drop in?

Iced Tea? Do ya want witnesses to tell BacPac you are for real?”

“Wouldn't it be nice if we could all wear thebackpacker.com T-shirts so we could recognize each other (hint, hint)?”

“We could all wear our tin foil hats..

I have no idea what I'll be wearing, just take a good look at my picture on Phil's website so you know what I look like, I'll do the same for you guys. I'm pretty tall (6'1"), so I'm easy to pick out of a crowd.”

“Bring the boar, that'll be a nice subtle hint.”

“Not a bad idea, I wonder if they'll stop me at the door with a 300 lb. boar riding piggy back (get it.. piggy back? Ha, I kill me!)”

“ok so artex is bringing the bad jokes....j/k ? hehehe”

“So Artex: Who is the guy in the green shirt? Is he coming too?”

“It is odd, I have have two outdoor review.com T-shirts and 2 bandanas - and I post there 2 or 3 times a month. It would be really kewl to have a thebackpacker.com T-shirt to show where I really spend my on-line time.

Hey Matt: Get them in a nice breathable synthetic and I'm sure people will buy 'em.”

“ya ped but we would need a good graphic for it... td in lace? :)”

“Most us wouldn't have enough room on our "thebackpacker.com" tshirts for all our troll names.”

“Starting to feel the weight of the trolls, bit? You might need the ultimate troll diet. For $29.99, I can send you a personalized daily anti-troll menu, guaranteed!

We could "borrow" a graphic from a scout badge and add thebackpacker.com as an arch above the small mountain and tent scene?”

“We had a couple of threads on a T-shirt and most people thought a "thebackpacker.com" logo on the front with "If you can read
this, someone stole my backpack" (flyguy6x's idea) on the back would be pretty cool.”

“Har har har, Pedxing! :-)”

“Okay, I met Pedxing, Pedxing's girlfriend (trailname?) and Artex. Ped's girlfriend has a nice name but most people go incognito online, so I won't post it. We had a nice chat at Campmor as my daughter played inside one of those monster tents, until a salesperson thought that she was too rambunctious, and told her to settle down. Then I said goodbye and went shopping for my daughter's hiking boots.

Anyway, both Pedxing and Artex are very nice looking. Ped has a girlfriend, but all you single young Trail Talkers should definitely plan to join Artex on a group hike or two. The picture of him with the boar does not do him justice (I'm not sure it would do anyone justice, but that is neither here or there...)

I have met several Trail Talkers by now, and really, hikers are just nice down to earth people. Maybe a lot of you think that everyone is nice, but see, I live in NJ and there are some major wackos here. Like the lady in the doctor's office the other day wearing a speedo and flip flops. I am sure that she is good friends with her bottle of amphetamines, too.

Anyway, it was great to meet you all! I hope you had some success with your shopping. This weekend's weather would have been perfect for camping, but I have relatives visiting, as luck would have it.”

“LyndyS - it was very nice meeting you also! Thanks for the kind words {{blushing}}. Pedxing, it was great meeting you and your girlfriend also. You guys are all bvery down to earth, and I'd consider it an honor if we ever hit the trail together. Lyndy, hope your daughter got a nice pair of boots and Pedxing, hope you get a chance to try out that new tent soon!

I'm surprised at the restraint I exercised and didn't buy anything. However, as I told you guys yesterday.. those Hennessey Hammocks are looking pretty sweet! :-)”

“Artex, we got some very nice Dunham waterproof ankle boots, but I hope to find them cheaper online, as they were kinda expensive for a 7 year old who will outgrow them fairly quick. I also bought my silnylon tarp that I have been drooling over for months. Now I don't care if it rains while I'm backpacking with the family! We can play Racko and Go Fish under the tarp.

Our school carnival was awesome! We raised several thousand over the expenses for rides and games. The money will help the PTA finish replacing the playground equipment. The weather was so great though, that I wish we could have backpacked this weekend.”

“Well, believe it or not, I managed to spend my entire refund at Campmor (LOL!). Mostly I got clothing for myself and my kids. Highlights were two pair of precip pants and a North Face Gortex jacket (marked down from 360 to 139).

But the highlight was meeting Lyndy and Artex. The only disappointment was not getting to hike with them. They were both great people, easy going and friendly. Lyndy is in a better position to judge, but I do believe she is right about Artex. He looks much better than in his picture and seems like a great guy. My g.f. liked them both and mentioned how lovely she thought Lyndy's daughter was.

After Lyndy and Artex left, my g.f. ditched me to go get a massage (her sister gave her a gift certificate for her birthday)while I did some heavy duty gear shopping. Violin also called me on my cell and we got to talk a bit.

Lyndy and Artex. Please let me know if you come up this way, or if you wanna do some hiking in my neck of the woods.”

“Definitely, Pedxing! New England hiking in the autumn would be great! Oh and thank you for the compliment on my daughter; I tell her that all the time but she doesn't believe me.”

“I shoulda added that I agreed about your daughter, but I thought E's spontaneous opinion might care even more weight than mine since she has no TT history.”

“Pedxing, I'll definitly let you know when I'm up your way! And if you ever want to hit the Catskills or other areas near me, I'm game.

You got a sweet deal on the North Face jacket, congrats!”

“I’m really sorry I didn’t get to meet you all the other day but the preparations for my baby’s birthday got overwhelming. I’m happy to say all the hard work was worth it - we had a beautiful day and a wonderful party (the moonwalk was a big hit) but I regret not getting to meet up with you (even if you are all lying, undead, flesh-eating zombies and I deprived you of your meal).”

“oh, c'mon, Violin--what's more important, your baby's 1st birthday, or undead flesh-eating zombies?!? sheesh. some people...”

“We were not all undead flesh eating zombies.

And thanks for the call.”

“Pedxing is right. To limit myself to only eating flesh is unfair. I also consume the internal organs, especially the brains, as I don't like things to go to waste. Now if you'll excuse me, I think the delivery truck out back just ran over a squirrel.”

“My daughter said that they were studying the native indians of North America and the pioneers too, and wanted to know if we could make a rabbit stew like they would eat. I told them that there were lots of rabbits in the backyard, but I wouldn't know where to start. My daughter then said that she thought that everyone had to disect a rabbit in high school, and was I absent that day. I think that I was absent that decade. What is she talking about?”

“Um, I guess this sounded off-topic but the sounds of Artex munching on squirrel reminded me of this conversation. Has anyone here killed a rabbit and made stew out of it?”

“i always preferred sweet tarts to spree.....”

“I found a recipe that calls for a "young frying rabbit". You can also use a "mature rabbit" if you increase the amount of vegetables. The recipe claims that you can buy rabbit in most supermarkets. Bugs Bunny on sippy cups, yes, but packaged rabbit meat? Oh Artex, how was your squirrel? I think you might try it without the guts next time.”

“It was like there was a party in mouth, and everyone was in invited!”

“okay, well, party hardy. Watch for hairballs (some bluegrass and fescue will help with that).”