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MOVIE MAJICK
Jan 4, 2012

by Pragmatica
I'm new to the whole camping thing, having only camped once in Canada, in a park, so this is a bit of an upgrade in difficulty I understand. Next month I will be visiting a friend in South America who wants to go on a jungle camping trip in Brazil. What sort of things will I need? A tent? What should I look out for in terms of dangers? He has never really camped before either and we are both excited to have our first 'newbie' camping trip together.

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Big_Gulps_Huh
Nov 7, 2006
Where are my hooks?
Are you going backpacking or just parking a car and setting up a tent? If it's the former I don't know if I recommend doing that without more experience. Can you read a map and use a compass? Do you have a backpack? Are you going to be bringing dehydrated food or do you have a cooler? How will you be cooking this food? There are many ways to camp so you need to tell us generally what you'll be doing if you want any sort of specific answer.

thrakkorzog
Nov 16, 2007

HoogieChooChoo posted:

Are you going backpacking or just parking a car and setting up a tent? If it's the former I don't know if I recommend doing that without more experience. Can you read a map and use a compass? Do you have a backpack? Are you going to be bringing dehydrated food or do you have a cooler? How will you be cooking this food? There are many ways to camp so you need to tell us generally what you'll be doing if you want any sort of specific answer.

How much Toilet paper do you plan to bring? Double ply or scented?

Yeah, these seem like dumb questions, but the TP questions are a pretty good barometer of how serious you are about camping and hiking.

thrakkorzog fucked around with this message at 12:51 on May 17, 2015

Rent-A-Cop
Oct 15, 2004

I posted my food for USPOL Thanksgiving!

Be prepared for bugs. A shitload of bugs.

Like, imagine the most bugs you've ever seen, triple it, and make each one the size of a small dog.

mrlego
Feb 14, 2007

I do not avoid women, but I do deny them my essence.

Rent-A-Cop posted:

Be prepared for bugs. A shitload of bugs.

Like, imagine the most bugs you've ever seen, triple it, and make each one the size of a small dog.

Otto Von Jizzmark
Dec 27, 2004
I've heard it's got fun n' games

Testikles
Feb 22, 2009

Rent-A-Cop posted:

Be prepared for bugs. A shitload of bugs.

Like, imagine the most bugs you've ever seen, triple it, and make each one the size of a small dog.

Depending on where you are in South America and what season you go will you see huge bugs. Otherwise prepare for a lot of little bugs that can kill you!

PT6A
Jan 5, 2006

Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

At least I can see it easily and it doesn't look poisonous or particularly bitey. That gets a 9/10 for acceptability by my judgement.

For advice: Apparently the legend about the fish that swims up your peehole when you're pissing in the river is just a legend, but is it a chance you really want to take? Piss on dry ground.

darthzeta88
May 31, 2013

by Pragmatica

PT6A posted:

At least I can see it easily and it doesn't look poisonous or particularly bitey. That gets a 9/10 for acceptability by my judgement.

For advice: Apparently the legend about the fish that swims up your peehole when you're pissing in the river is just a legend, but is it a chance you really want to take? Piss on dry ground.

It's not a legend it's just in south east Asia. Our was it just a fish that bites dicks?

The Dregs
Dec 29, 2005

MY TREEEEEEEE!
It's a candiru. It lives in Brazil and it probably doesn't swim up your pee-hole. probably.

Kuiperdolin
Sep 5, 2011

to ride eternal, shiny and chrome

THUNDERDOME LOSER 2022

Regardless it's bafflingly poor hygiene to take a leak with your hole in rivdr water. Wtf.

Internet Explorer
Jun 1, 2005





Camping in the jungle sounds loving awful. Go watch some Surviorman / Dual Survival jungle episodes or something.

BlancoNino
Apr 26, 2010
If you don't know how to pack for backpacking/camping in your own area you probably shouldn't try to do so in the jungle. You'll forget something critically important (or wont know how much of something you'll need, like having enough water) and then you will have a lovely time in the jungle.

Jerry Bindle
May 16, 2003
It sounds like you're pretty new to camping, so here is some basic advice about taking a poo poo. Find a short springy tree, four to five feet should be fine. Tug on it a little first to gauge its strength. Drop trough, grab on to the short tree then lean back and start making GBS threads. If you just try to squat down you'll wind up filling your back pocket with poop.

Now I bet there are a lot of bugs in Brazil, get a mosquito net.

Teriyaki Hairpiece
Dec 29, 2006

I'm nae the voice o' the darkened thistle, but th' darkened thistle cannae bear the sight o' our Bonnie Prince Bernie nae mair.
I've heard that if you go for a week consuming nothing but several gallons of Mountain Dew a day it almost exactly simulates the effects of dengue fever.

bloodsacrifice
Apr 21, 2015

by Ralp
He's probably just propositioning you OP.

Sweevo
Nov 8, 2007

i sometimes throw cables away

i mean straight into the bin without spending 10+ years in the box of might-come-in-handy-someday first

im a fucking monster

Depending on where you're going and the weather it might be better to take a hammock and an insect net instead of a tent. If the place is crawling with insects then sleeping off the ground will be much easier.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe
I've hiked a little bit outside of Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica, which may be similar to jungle hiking in Brazil. I'm not pro but I'll do my best.

Don't try to sleep in a hammock unless your body is somehow shaped like a banana or you're a 19th century sailor. There are many reasons that hammocks suck for hiking/camping, but comfort is the biggest one. YMMV but with setup, cost, gear weight, and flexibility in mind, skip it.

You can get by without a sleeping bag so bring a very light blanket and an air mattress instead. Just get a tent with a bathtub bottom, double walls, single pole with clips, and good reviews. This should also weigh around two pounds and cost you a small fortune (300-500 bucks) or it is garbage.

Mosquito nets are surprisingly hot, so be prepared for that. Those bug net hats are almost useless because you'll be dying of heat unless you're in a swamp in <20C North America. Then they're awesome.

Purify your water with a filter and chlorine dioxide tablets. Don't gently caress around with water because you're in hideous disease country.

Don't wear open-toed anything. At any time. Buy some short gaiters to keep the tree poo poo and horrible insects out of your shoes and light, well ventilated hiking shoes. I didn't believe in gaiters at the time and my ankles got savaged by some kind of horrible stinging ants. They had stingers and were nearly invisible but were obviously upset.

Learn how to navigate and orienteer. Trails will often be confusing and poorly marked or damaged and you should know how to triangulate your position and infer where you are by terrain features.

Rain gear is contentious. It may be too hot to make a difference, but goretex is mosquito proof so you may want to bring a light shell jacket for mornings. Whether you bring rain gear or not, bring some kind of synthetic barrier cream. Body Glide is not that good, you want something like this poo poo. Chafing will ruin your life.

Get a stove that runs on white gas because it'll probably be hard to source canisters in-country.

Those are just random things that I learned from my trip like six years ago, but by that point I had a couple thousand kilometres of wilderness hiking experience so I'm sure I've missed tons of novice info.

MOVIE MAJICK
Jan 4, 2012

by Pragmatica
Yeah okay, more details. We hope to be doing some backpacking and there might be a local my friend can get in touch with to come along with us. The entire trip will probably run us a week in the amazon.


tuyop posted:



You can get by without a sleeping bag so bring a very light blanket and an air mattress instead. Just get a tent with a bathtub bottom, double walls, single pole with clips, and good reviews. This should also weigh around two pounds and cost you a small fortune (300-500 bucks) or it is garbage.



Thanks for the advice. Hammock is out of the question. I've already got a pretty nice tent that I inherited from my uncle, 500$ is well outside my price range anyhow. At first I was thinking of just using a tarp to protect myself from rain, seeing as how the cold is no issue, but that would probably get pretty creepy with all the critters in the forests.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

MOVIE MAJICK posted:

Yeah okay, more details. We hope to be doing some backpacking and there might be a local my friend can get in touch with to come along with us. The entire trip will probably run us a week in the amazon.



Thanks for the advice. Hammock is out of the question. I've already got a pretty nice tent that I inherited from my uncle, 500$ is well outside my price range anyhow. At first I was thinking of just using a tarp to protect myself from rain, seeing as how the cold is no issue, but that would probably get pretty creepy with all the critters in the forests.

Is there anything in particular that you want to know? Usually people post a gear list for this kind of thing and people who know can just critique it and make suggestions.

Tarps are great and awesome if you have a bug net and a bivouac bag (like, a goretex sac, usually called a bivy bag/sack) or it's August and you're in a nice, dry, temperate place. The jungle isn't a good place for this because of the possible rain and insects and stuff.

Also, there's a hiking thread in TFR where more people have hiked the jungle more than once, I'm sure.

mrlego
Feb 14, 2007

I do not avoid women, but I do deny them my essence.
How many miles will you cover in that week?

Does the trail have a lot of inclines?

What kind of footwear do you have?

Do you have a pack?

Zahrkon
Apr 2, 2010

tuyop posted:


Don't try to sleep in a hammock unless your body is somehow shaped like a banana or you're a 19th century sailor. There are many reasons that hammocks suck for hiking/camping, but comfort is the biggest one. YMMV but with setup, cost, gear weight, and flexibility in mind, skip it.

You can get by without a sleeping bag so bring a very light blanket and an air mattress instead. Just get a tent with a bathtub bottom, double walls, single pole with clips, and good reviews. This should also weigh around two pounds and cost you a small fortune (300-500 bucks) or it is garbage.


This right here is some loving terrible advice for a jungle. I just got back from 9 days in Chile/Argentina and the guides I had highly recommended a hammock with a mosquito net. You want to be up off the ground in the jungle due to all the nasty things crawling around. Proper camping hammocks like a Warbonnet, Hennesy, or ENO hang at an angle so you lie flat and generally come with an integrated mosquito net that can zip away when you don't need it. You should also pair it with a tarp for rain or as a windbreak and get a robust pair of straps to hang it with. As foot footwear you will want to bring 3 to 5 pairs of socks so you can change them on the regular. Most other recommendations look good so I won't repeat them.

Zahrkon fucked around with this message at 22:14 on May 22, 2015

Free Market Mambo
Jul 26, 2010

by Lowtax
I spent a month in a jungle survival course in Costa Rica, get thee some talc and sleep off the ground.

NineBreaker
Oct 22, 2005

I live in a rainforest and when I'm not sleeping in a thatch hut and/or the concrete floor of a nahs, I hang out in a hammock. Sleep elevated and have a mosquito net. Don't use your mosquito net for fishing. I repeat: your mosquito net is not a mother loving fishing net. It is there to protect you from mosquitoes.

Long clothes are ideal because they keep dangerous insects and trees at bay. Also, when you fall and get hurt, it won't hurt as much.

Keep many people aware of your location and your route. I don't know Brazil, but if it's anything like here then your biggest danger is getting disoriented and traveling in a circle. The second biggest danger are sharp rocks.

I mean this with love and respect but why are you going camping in a rainforest? I cannot imagine doing it for fun. Do you have trails? If the answer is yes, do those trails actually exist? Having to make your own trail with a machete doesn't count.

Bloody Hedgehog
Dec 12, 2003

💥💥🤯💥💥
Gotta nuke something
I camped at a native village in Guyana for a weekend once, and even that was rough. You HAVE sleep off the ground and protected by some sort of outer layer, as the bugs will swarm you if you don't. We had hammocks slung inside an outbuilding, but we still had to use a mosquito net to keep off mosquitos, but also vampire bats from using a hanging appendage as a quick snack. If you're near a river as well, find out what sort of beasties might be in the water there; the piranha isn't the only thing with big sharp teeth in south american rivers.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe
I had a bathtub bottom tent and kept my stuff inside and it was alright. Just gave it a shake in the morning. :shrug:

tsa
Feb 3, 2014
Why do idiots always start with a marathon instead of some reasonable progression of difficulty? "Hmm me and a friend have never camped before, instead of a sensible overnight trip lets plan a whole week in a jungle filled with things that want to eat me or give me malaria. What a fantastic idea!" You sound like the walklikecrazy guy in E/N op, take a day trip to the jungle and spend the rest of the time on the beach looking at butts and sipping mai tai's.

PT6A
Jan 5, 2006

Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

tsa posted:

Why do idiots always start with a marathon instead of some reasonable progression of difficulty? "Hmm me and a friend have never camped before, instead of a sensible overnight trip lets plan a whole week in a jungle filled with things that want to eat me or give me malaria. What a fantastic idea!" You sound like the walklikecrazy guy in E/N op, take a day trip to the jungle and spend the rest of the time on the beach looking at butts and sipping mai tai's.

I dunno, I think it's a valuable way for morons to kill themselves. See also: that Canadian woman who died on Everest, which was the first mountain she'd ever tried to climb.

darthzeta88
May 31, 2013

by Pragmatica

tsa posted:

Why do idiots always start with a marathon instead of some reasonable progression of difficulty? "Hmm me and a friend have never camped before, instead of a sensible overnight trip lets plan a whole week in a jungle filled with things that want to eat me or give me malaria. What a fantastic idea!" You sound like the walklikecrazy guy in E/N op, take a day trip to the jungle and spend the rest of the time on the beach looking at butts and sipping mai tai's.

Go hard or go home.

Keldoclock
Jan 5, 2014

by zen death robot
Man the jungle is no more dangerous then some other climate. I bet there's a thread right now on forums.algoterrible.com talking about how this guy is coming up to his friend in Colorado's home and he's worried about camping in the cold.

Camping is not more dangerous than the other poo poo you do every day. Literally it is just sleeping in some kind of portable shelter. I am sure most people could assemble the stuff they need to spend the night in relative comfort in most climates easily. Its this guys first long backpacking trip, hes going to bring too much stuff, forget something important, maybe get lost, maybe get a little hurt. That's okay. It's all part of learning and growing as a person.

prinneh
Jul 29, 2005
prince of denmark
Not to get all touristy up in your authentic jungle experience business, but consider doing something like a guided hike or jungle tour instead. You'll probably eat better, sleep better and most assuredly enjoy yourselves a lot more than you will trying to work out basic hiking skills in the jungle.

darthzeta88
May 31, 2013

by Pragmatica
If you want to just have a experiance just do it. If you want to have a comfortable experience then hire a guide that won't gently caress you over. Mountain climbing in the cold id's more dangerous than jungle camping I think. But I never camped in a jungle so I don't know. Get some malaria preventive pills though.

The General
Mar 4, 2007


tsa posted:

give me malaria.

Pro-tip: If you decide to get malaria, try for the relapse kind, so you can be at home, and at a good hospital when you're dying.

Spudalicious
Dec 24, 2003

I <3 Alton Brown.
Just watch a bunch of man vs wild and do what he does. Example: bring a camera and safety crew and don't actually sleep in the loving jungle because that is just loving crazy, even in a tent. The sheer amount of bugs moving outside will keep you awake even if snakes and/or jaguar don't.

Blue Star
Feb 18, 2013

by FactsAreUseless
Camping in the jungle sounds cool. If I went, i'd always be looking out for dinosaurs and lost cities.

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Motorola 68000
Apr 25, 2014

"Don't be nice. Be good."
Well, I guess the climate in Brazil is somewhat like that in Vietnam. SO head to your nearest army surplus store and get yourself a pair of jungle boots. You may also want some claymores and wire. Just in case.

Now, in all seriousness. Make sure you have a good set of boots. I've never been in the jungle but I have hiked quite a lot. You need to make sure you have a good pair of boots that are already broken in when you go on your camping trip. It is also recommended to take a pair of socks for each day plus a couple more just in case. Wet feet are the downfall of every man.

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