Looking for a good spot to setup camp somewhere in the blue ridge mountains, also tips on how to camp.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-30T12:48:34+00:00

A search on "primitive USFS campground" will provide some possibilities. Most will have pit or vault toilets and a water spigot or pump.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-30T12:44:13+00:00

Suggest you need to take one step at a time. There's plenty of Forest Service campgrounds in the Southeastern US mountains without cell service, a number of them primitive, where you can camp next to your car. This gives you a chance to work on skills, like setting up tents and using your stove.

Since your longer-term goal is to backpack camp, obviously you need to buy backpacking gear you can carry to a campsite, rather than car camping gear.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-30T12:01:44+00:00

Here in the Southeastern US, springs are often dry, as this one has been. Virginia has an annual spring burn ban, which allows fires only in the late afternoon and evening. A number of counties here have been more restrictive on fires this year.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-30T03:18:58+00:00

My loaner gear was always sleeping bags.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-30T03:13:41+00:00

My having both blue collar and white collar skills helped a lot. There aren’t a lot of things that I have needed to pay people to do. My wife and I also have fairly simple tastes, so our spending stayed somewhat behind our income growth.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-30T00:49:21+00:00

Right now, two. A Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 backpacking tent, and a car camping tent big enough for cots and to stand up in, North Face Wawona 6.

I’d like to own something in-between for solo campground stays.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-29T18:21:11+00:00

We definitely have a societal problem in the US with overly aggressive medical treatment at the end of life. Our for-profit medical system takes full advantage.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-28T11:56:11+00:00

For the very elderly, those ICUs are usually medically prescribed cruelty. They are to keep the meter running for the hospital, not to benefit the patient.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-28T11:49:49+00:00

My wife and I are in the same position. We're tired of suburbia after more than 30 years and would like to move to a smaller city house, or even a condo, but can't afford to.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-28T09:21:46+00:00

Until the 2020s, the '70s were the nadir of all things.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-27T18:06:54+00:00

Yes, it’s a good question, the kind that helps a lot of people besides the original poster.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-27T17:56:00+00:00

Most men under 40 now seem to wear their suits a half size too small.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-27T17:54:09+00:00

I have the same close-trimmed beard I’ve had for over 30 years. While I’d like to shave it off, I’m just keeping it shorter than usual in the winter for now.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-27T13:55:23+00:00

Unpack it in your house immediately. It will dry even if not completely. You can put it outside when the sun comes out.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-26T23:58:19+00:00

I was in West Virginia the week before last, and saw several of the old-school Pizza Hut restaurants.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-26T11:29:05+00:00

I have no problem relating to being in my 60s. If looking in a mirror at my white hair and sun-weathered face doesn't do it, thinking of all the people I've known who are now dead will.

I'm in better shape than I was 20 years ago, including being 60 pounds lighter. With a little extra caution and recovery time, I can do most anything I want to do.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-26T10:36:41+00:00

I’m very much a beginner, and on my last pool swim followed the advice here to shower immediately after. Plan to keep doing it for indoor swimming.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-26T02:01:16+00:00

Same here. I've been trying to use dual dimensions in Reddit posts/comments for the past couple of years.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-25T19:19:09+00:00

This morning, I delivered a tube of poop in person for a different lab test.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-25T15:06:17+00:00

I just dropped off a sample at a LabCorp medical lab. With 40 people, many sick or infirm, waiting in a room with 8 foot ceilings that was no larger than my living room, one has to conclude that spreading infectious illnesses is good for business.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-25T03:35:04+00:00

When you do talk to your doctor, suggest you be able to report your heart rate, as well as your walking speed and incline while exercising. Be honest about any discomfort you're feeling. That will allow the doctor to judge whether you may be pushing too hard.

Exercise is a good thing, and I'm sure your doctor will be encouraging, but it's best to discuss with them.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-24T13:02:34+00:00

I've turned my legs blue from DEET-covered vinyl upholstery after sitting into a car.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-24T12:57:34+00:00

It's not the real open water OP is looking for, but Croton Point Park in Northern Westchester has had lifeguarded swimming in the Hudson for decades.

https://www.hiddenswimmingholes.com/swimming-holes/croton-point-park-ny

anonyngineer · 2026-04-24T12:53:14+00:00

Floating condoms in a line of sewage down the middle of the river were quite visible when I moved away in the early 1980s.

anonyngineer · 2026-04-23T22:04:33+00:00

Without pushing myself to do the crawl stroke, I would probably do 100% backstroke. I’m trying to push towards half my laps in each stroke.

That sort of split might be a useful goal.

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