Originally Posted by
Papa Tom
OK, time for the OP to step back in!
I really appreciate all your suggestions about tents, etc., but I guess I didn't really express myself well in the opening post.
When and if I do decide to camp this summer, I'm not really concerned about what type of tent, etc. I was just wondering if there's some major potential trip-crusher I should consider before pulling the trigger. The bugs were one of those, but I was wondering if there's anything else a first-time camper (at 54) should know about.
Camping can be surprisingly easy & quick (other than toting weight of tent) vs motel. State parks etc usually have nice flat camping areas w/o too many bugs. Main thing I'd consider is location--in east coast USA there can be surprisingly few designated campgrounds so one would probably need to follow a fixed itinerary.