17 Things Campers Hate About Camping

Photo by Frank and Helena/cultura/Corbis, Design by Hanifa Abdul Hameed for Yahoo Travel.

For some folks camping is an acquired taste, like okra or beets. For others it is a lifelong passion, a chance to get in touch with nature, unplug, unwind and do the kinds of things people did before the invention of reality television. But even those who love camping can’t help but complain about these 17 things that make any camping trip just a little bit worse.

1. The too small tent bags. Why won’t the damn tent go into the damn bag? Why? Why? Why?

2. Pooping in the woods. We try not to talk about it, but if you are a human there is absolutely nothing pleasant about digging a hole in the ground and covering it with leaves.

Related: How to Have Camping Equipment Delivered Right to Your Door

3. Your camp neighbors. We’ve all had annoying campsite neighbors. There’s the guy who thinks he is Bear Grylls who keeps trying to trap the local rodents for dinner. There are the frat boys who really just wanted to have a kegger in the woods and the bachelorette party girls who have never camped before.

Enough with the lights and the loud generators. (Photo: iStock)

4. Those clowns in the RV. They always leave the generator running all night.

5. That guy. There is always that guy who gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and knocks over all the pots causing a bear panic

6. Bear panic. Real panic does exist and it is terrible.

7. Tent spikes. Why is one tent spike always missing? Why? Someone counted them before you left the house. They were all there. Now one is missing and it is making tent construction terrible.

Related: Urban Campsites for City Slickers

8. Campsites next to the toilets. Need we say more?

You’ve never missed your dishwasher more. (Photo: Jo Piazza)

9. Eternally greasy dishes and mugs. They may never be clean again.

10. Shoes in the tent. No matter how many times you tell all of the people to take their shoes off before they get into the tent, no one ever listens to you.

11. Cheese loss. The ice melts in the cooler and then your cheese is found floating around in it.

Gimme all the bug spray! (Photo: iStock)

12. Bug Bites. Mosquitos, ticks, fleas, ants that bite. They’re all out to get you.

13.  Hidden fees. You thought you had found a free or inexpensive campsite. You were wrong. There is a fee for parking, a fee for dogs, a fee to use the toilet, a fee to enter the park. There’s even a fee to cancel once you’ve learned about all of these fees.

14. Red tape. Campgrounds can often be more bureaucratic than France. They simply adore rules. Having to make reservations for a campsite is exhausting. Real campers just want to get up and get out there.

Related: The Best TeePee Hotels and Camps in America

15. Camp hangovers.  Drinking that bottle of whiskey/red wine/gin seemed like such a good idea when everyone was telling stories around the campfire, but come 7 in the morning the sun won’t let you sleep in and the nearest egg and cheese sandwich is a three hour hike away.

Drinking whiskey by the campfire may be one of the best things ever, just don’t get too carried away. (Photo:  James Saunders/Flickr)

16. When you drink all the whiskey the first night out. Where are you going to get another bottle?

Sure it is pretty now, but give it time. (Photo: Jo Piazza)

17. Forgetting the rain fly. Or more often than not saying to yourself, “gosh it is beautiful out. I bet I don’t need that rain fly.

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