I’m a fan of “early” season camping. I put early in quotation marks as early to me is not early to some seasoned outdoorsman, but that’s neither here nor there. So I went camping this season in early May. The days were in the 80s (plenty warm), but the nights… the nights sunk to the 20s with wind whipping through the Pingree Park valley like a goddamn flood of hyper-threat violent shakes, hell-bent on destroying any mortal creation in its way. While our tent and gear withstood the barrage nature decided we needed (Birdie included), the one thing I wish I had was a legit face warmer.
Enter: The Face Warmer
Handmade in California, I came across these fleece-lined, velcro-attached by happenstance one day. Got one right off, and now wear it once the temps dip on camping trips and/or cooler bike rides through Denver. Works well for blustery hikes and going incognito.(I recommend not wearing this into a bank, convenience store, or anywhere the person behind the counter is already skiddish about being robbed…)
Anyway, I’ve found this useful thus far for camping. I assume they would be nice for chillier bike ride, but seeing as how it’s 100 in Denver, I have yet to test.
These are now available in a number of colors and patterns at Camp Well ($15).
Easy
When i went camping on the 4th of July, it was the first time I had been in quite some time (read: at least two years). So, naturally I forgot a bunch of stuff, brought crap I didn’t need, and was dressed terribly unprepared for the elements. When it started raining and all I had was a cotton sweatshirt, I was forced into the tent to weather the storm. All I had was a book of crossword puzzles and 
There’s a few essentials I bring on every camping trip: Jerky, beer, a sleeping bag, and my beat up acoustic guitar. A knife is always a good thing to throw into the mix, but I don’t remember it in the same way I remember the other things. So, check this out, one of my best friends is back from Guatemala for a bit and wants to go camping this weekend. The 
The weather is heating up so fast. It was 90 yesterday and supposed to hit that or more today. It’s really hard to sit in an office all day when the heat is on outside. Of course, the A/C is nice. But what’s even nicer is the weekends now, and the camping trips being planned. Amanda and I spoke last night about possibly getting out of town next NEXT weekend. We gotta BBQ to plan for this weekend so that won’t work. And now I’m excited, especially browsing the 
Towering pines and a raging fire. A peirced can of beans and a slew of other snacks. The car is only 25 feet away from the tent and we’re hardly out of the city, but it’s still camping. The acoustic guitars as well as everything else will smell like campfire for days to come, but we inch closer to the flames regardless as the sunsets behind the hills and the night air chills the lot of us. Eat up and drink it down.