What have done towards your prep?

[Mortblanc]

Pete, one of the things I noticed when I turned about 40 was that I needed good sleeping gear more than as a youngster.

I am not talking about the sleeping bag and such, though they are also important.

I am speaking of the mattress, padding or cushion between me and the ground.

After the first back surgery that became the most important thing in my list of gear and it changed the way I approached camping.

Even my backpacking changed and an expensive "self inflating sleep pad" became part of my back packing gear.

The other thing I noticed as I got older was that it was much more difficult to get from lying on the ground up to standing position and felt like a real accomplishment once it was completed.

Because of that a "real bed" was added to my vehicle camping equipment. I am talking about a real folding bed with springs and a foam pad!

Every time I read about someone intending to live under a tarp and sleep on a bed of leaves my first thought is that would work fine as long as they die at 35. I really do not remember enjoying it a great deal when I was in my twenties.