My
first thought was that it was a ludicrous notion.
Then
I said to myself: “Get cool. Explore a new trend.”
And
that’s how I got to go glamping.
Glamping
is a growing new trend. The word, a combination of glamorous and camping, did
not exist officially before 2006.
Traditional
camping to most of us is pitching a tent or building a lean-to in the woods,
preferably by a lake. You light a campfire, heat a can of pork and beans over
it, wash your dishes in the lake and roll out a sleeping bag for the night.
Glamping
is the same idea, except someone does the work for you. The glamour comes with
meals that go beyond pork and beans, and luxury tents, sleeping cots and
pillows instead of your rolled up blue jeans.
You
pay for the luxury of course. And that is why I thought glamping was a silly
idea. Why pay for an outdoor experience that you can create yourself at little
or no cost?
My
glamping trip gave me some insights. First, there are people who have never
experienced outdoor camping. Glamping gives them the enjoyable experience
without the travails that come with being inexperienced.
There
also is the issue of time. Some folks want to experience Algonquin Park, but
have limited time. It takes huge amounts of time to get and organize a canoe
and accessories, tent, cooking and sleeping gear and food. On a glamping trip
you simply arrive carrying your toothbrush.
The
world-wide trend toward glamping has been attributed partially to the financial
recession of the past decade. Vacation budgets have shrunk.
Also,
terrorism has caused many vacationers to avoid urban vacations. Plus, growing
concerns about climate change have created more interest in the outdoors and
the desire to understand it better.
There
are no reliable statistics on the growth of glamping. However, Google Trends reports
searches for the term glamping have increased from almost nothing to millions.
The
trend began in the United Kingdom where it remains extremely popular. North
America and Australia are the two areas where glamping is really catching on.
Styles of glamping vary widely, from the
basic Algonquin Park canoe and tent experience to stays in tree houses, tipis,
gypsy wagons and log cabins offering luxury service and gourmet dining. One
glamping site in Enniscrone,
Ireland offers accommodation in a retired Boeing 767 or converted railway cars.
My
glamping was with Algonquin Adventure Tours. The two-day trip began at Canoe
Lake with a six-hour paddle around the lake. We visited some ruins of the
former town of Mowat, watched painted turtles soaking up sun and paddled
Whiskey Jack Bay in hopes of seeing a feeding moose.
In
late afternoon we went to the campsite at Mew Lake Provincial Park where spacious
tents had rug on the ground and comfortable cots. Our guide cooked a dinner of
spaghetti with beef stew and cabbage salad served in a dining tent with plastic
plates and utensils. The next morning he did blueberry pancakes with maple
syrup and coffee.
After
breakfast there was a three-hour bike ride along the old rail bed and it
included a bit of nature study.
The
cost was $300 per person. Included in that is the park entry and campsite fees.
The
best part of the trip was the glampers themselves. They were intelligent and
interesting folks who took to the experience with a positive attitude. One
family from Portugal – mom, dad and eight-year-old boy – had never been in a
canoe before.
There
was an evening campfire of course at which we shared some of our thoughts and
experiences.
All
said, my glamping experience was good. It was not outrageously expensive for
anyone who didn’t have time to field a traditional camping trip, or anyone with
no camping experience.
The experience could have been
tweaked to add more glamour with upgraded meals and better thought out canoe
and bike outings with more context and history of the area. Little things that would send the glampers
away saying “Wow that was great” instead of “Yeah, that was OK.”
Toasted marshmallows and S’mores
were a campfire hit. Nice, but my preferred campfire treat is an Irish whiskey
and a Cuban cigar.
No comments:
Post a Comment