How's this for roughing it? This was taken at Joshua Tree, California. My little brother and I went to California in February of 1996 (and several times since then) to visit one of my best friends, as well as to do some surfing, climbing, rappelling, camping, and hiking. It was a great trip, although we did run into some bad weather. Wouldn't you know it, we woke up one morning, in the Mojave Desert, to SNOW! Yep, that's right, we traveled all the way from snow filled Michigan to go see the snow in California! Even with the few bad weather days (which we made the best of), it was a great trip.
To all the climbers out there, Joshua Tree is an excellent place to climb. The sandstone is a little rough on the hands, but you can get an exceptional grip. The scenery is beautiful; absolutely magnificent, and I don't even have to point out the weather in the photograph....
In general, I love to camp and have done it enough that I consider myself pretty proficient. I think it gives you a great respect for nature, and allows you to see sights that most people never get a chance to experience because they are too busy or don't want to go to the level of effort that it takes to reach some of the remote spots. I try to camp as much as possible on all of my trips. In 1999, I had a new experience in camping when I went kayaking at the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We packed all of our gear in our kayak and paddled to our camping spots. It was a really great trip, and I learned quite a bit about what gear is necessary on camping trips over the water. There is some more information about the kayaking trip in the Past Trips page.
I have done a considerable amount of camping and have done pretty much all of the different types of camping. From disbursement camping in Colorado and Kentucky, to several month long snow camping while backpacking and snowboarding in the Colorado 14er's and California. Have even done quite a few trips in an ultralight fashion. Each type of camping has it benefits, and each method has it's hardships and learning curve. Winter camping also has it's list of necessary gear; most important is gear that will keep you warm and dry. Make sure you are prepared for whatever trip and type of camping you decide to try.