Say, has the butler cleaned the trout yet?

[Yichus]

If anyone is interested in a "soft adventure," read this:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi ... storylevel

[Hikin_Jim]

If I ever get like that, would someone please just shoot me? Oh my goodness. "Glamping" (glamour camping). Give me a break. A maid to turn down the comforter in my tent? Please!

[AlanK]

Hell, I thought what I did was glamour camping! Although without the maid service (that's my butler in the picture).

[Hikin_Jim]

Is that you or your wife or ?

[AlanK]

OK, I admit it -- it's my son, not my butler.

[Hikin_Jim]

Oh, in that case, I was a butler back in the 60's & 70's. I swear dad taught me to backpack just because he hated doing dishes!

[zippetydude]

Kind of reminds me of the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite.

I just got back from a couple weeks in Yosemite, and on one of my trail runs I was 7 miles or so out from the road when I popped into a camp. Thinking I was way out in the wilderness, it was odd to find tent cabins (sort of like the ones in the pic from the original posting) all about, and one big one with a line of people waiting for breakfast to be served inside!

Not my kind of thing right now, but I did find myself thinking that even if I get tired of running, I'll never get tired of the wilderness, so this might be a fun option somewhere down the road.

The article was kinda funny though. I noticed they accentuated the prissy, "we're not the kind of people who would ever pitch a tent" theme. I'm not sure what kind of person I am, but pitching a tent is not beneath my dignity. I might be too lazy to do so, but that's a different matter!

z

[Hikin_Jim]

Well, I don't quite think the High Sierra Camps are quite that cushy.

My 3 day hike in Japan was a bit like the High Sierra Camps. They had food, a bath, and bed waiting for us. I don't mind camping at all, but Michiko's put me on notice that there's either running water or it's a "no go." Apparentlly flowing water (as in a stream) doesn't quite cut it. So, if doing High Sierra style camps is the only way I can share the wilderness with Michiko, then High Sierra Camps it is. I have to admit, not carrying 40 - 50 lbs on my back was kind of nice. No tent, no sleeping bag, no stove, no fuel, no sleeping pad, and not nearly as much food really cuts down on the weight.

Lastly, Zip, I have been noticing that "lazy" streak in you a lot lately. Getting up while it's still dark, not even starting on the trail until it's the crack of dawn, and waiting all the way to 8:00 AM to summit peaks, yep, "lazy" if ever I saw it. Shame, shame, shame. I expect you to start getting up before you go to sleep, hitting the trail before you leave the house, and summiting before you even open your car door. Now, shape up, will ya?

[halhiker]

As someone who has worked in a five star hotel (the hotel I currently work in is only four star, I have to say that glamping sounds like camping for morons. You get the best of NO worlds. Both luxury and wilderness get short shrift. I always tell my friends and co-workers that I prefer the two extremes: extreme luxury or extreme wilderness. Anything in between is a compromise to me.

And glamping is the ultimate compromise. Part of the joy of wilderness is being SELF reliant, delighting in the knowledge that you have the skills, smarts and stamina to do what most people cannot. I do not like campgrounds, when possible I travel off trail and I consider bringing a tent a luxury (but a necessity if in bug country). But when it comes to hotel, give me the best. I want 24 hour room service, a full luxury spa and a down comforter, even in summer (because I turn the A/C down as low as it will go).

To me the ultimate trips would be a X-country trip in the Sierra followed by a stay at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. I'll bring my Brioni suit for dinner in the dining room. I'll leave the glamping to the Paris Hiltons of the world, thank you.

[Hikin_Jim]

I'll leave the glamping to the Paris Hiltons of the world, thank you.

But I hear she has changed! No, really!

Wilderness followed by Ahwahnee sounds pretty darn good to me!