Camping in Montana

Life in Montana is anything but mundane.  We at TRG are lucky to live and work in this land of secluded beauty that is Montana, and we work hard to be here.   But when the work weeks start to wind to a close, there is a common voice in the minds of most Montanans.
It starts as a whisper on Wednesday, and by Friday it is yelling in our faces, tempting us.  It is the voice of the mountains that calls us, it is the singing of the river that moves us, and it is the taunting of the back country that motivates us.  Like the ringing of a dinner bell, when the weekend hits, we run towards the sound of our mountainous escapes that we are privileged enough to have.

One favorite escape that is common amongst the TRG family is camping.  Regardless of what type of camper you are, the surrounding areas of Bozeman prove to have some of the best camping sites around.

One type of camping site that you can find in the area is a site that you have to pay to stay at.  Traditionally, a pay and stay camping site will be equipped with a restroom area, a fire pit with a grill attachment, electrical hook-ups for the RV camper, and other more modernized camping features.  To say the least, these sites normally do not provide for the most rustic camping experience.  The occupants of these such sites we call “Car Campers”.  This is simply because you can literally drive up to the camp site, set up your tent, and voila, you’re camping!  The car is the biggest benefit, and it can serve as an excellent place for shelter in case the weather changes, like it does so frequently in Montana as described in one of our previous articles, "Montana Weather".  Cars are also great for storing food, coolers, firewood, and other essentials that the traditional Car Camper would need.  In a sense, car camping is like going on an overnight picnic.  Car Campers will have mostly everything that they need to survive.  Possibly the greatest risk when car camping is to make sure that your car battery does not die from all the music that is being rocked out to.

Another form of camping that is preferred by the more rustic camper is called “Roughing it Camping”.  This type of camper will venture out into the back country, and will only have equipment that fits adequately in a backpack.  Typically, only the mere essentials are brought on a Roughing it Camping trip.  Essentials include a tent, bear spray, water filtering system, a sleeping bag, head lamp, and other items needed to aid in any foreseeable obstacles.  Light packing is essential because the traditional mode of transportation for this type of camping is self-powered.  The Roughing it Camper will hike or bike to their most desired camping sites.  One of the biggest benefits that Roughing it Campers have is the option to pick their own camping site.  Literally anywhere that a tent can be set up or a body can be laid down would be a possible camping site.  Risks that are included in a Roughing it trip would include the weather, wildlife, risk of getting lost, having enough food, and risk of fires.  For details on the fire hazards in Montana, please see "Montana Wildfires Still Raging" written by TRG’s own George Dickson.

It does not matter whether you are a Car Camper or a Roughing it Camper.  What matters most is the fact that nature provides us with endless entertainment.  It is vital that we respect and preserve our environment to ensure that we will have an endless playground for all to enjoy in the future.