Outdoorsman

Those "two-person tents" are mighty small. Seems a bit like false advertising. What is realistic for two people who don't want to be too cozy and keep their gear dry?

You could get a small family tent, an eight-by-eight with five-foot ceiling. . . . Generally, going one size bigger than the number of people is a lot more comfortable. A lot of these tents have what we call a vestibule on the end, so you can put your pack there or your muddy boots so they don't dirty up the tent.

What about environmentally friendly gear?

MSR [Mountain Safety Research] had a really neat stove that used radiant heat as opposed to a flame. It has a heat exchanger that makes the fuel use more efficient. . . . Also, if there is no flame for the wind to blow and all the heat is trapped inside, you are not using nearly as much fuel. It's going to be about $150, but it seems worth it. That's probably the neatest thing I saw recently.

There is a movement toward being even more environmentally friendly. Patagonia redesigned all its Capilene this season. [Capilene is a material used in making undershirts and pants that control odor and wick away moisture, and it is good for activities where you might sweat or are in wet conditions, such as cross-country skiing.] When you are finished with the underwear in three, four years, you can take it back to a store that sells it and we send it back to Patagonia and Patagonia breaks it down and makes new underwear.

Let's say I'm camping with a friend who wants to use only natural bug spray. Do those really work?

DEET is the best. Thirty percent DEET seems to be the magic number. It seems like, perhaps, the more DEET, the longer it lasts. Some people are allergic, a small percentage. But, overall, what the bugs can do to you is way worse than what the DEET can do to you. Products that contain Permethrin are an alternative and a little more user-friendly, but it is for clothing only, not for skin. They now make bug-repellent clothing called Buzz Off that has the repellent in it, and that seems to work pretty well, too.

How gourmet have you ever gotten with your campfire grub?

I always like a good steak. When we were up in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, we were carrying our 75 pounds of food with us, and there were some frozen steaks in there. We were out in the middle of the woods in northeastern Minnesota, tired at the end of the day of paddling and hiking. It was nice to sit around a campfire and cook up some steaks.

Favorite camping spot locally for car camping and hiking camping?

Hiking, I like the Appalachian Trail a lot. There is a circuit hike up there called Whiteoak Canyon Loop Trail, where you can see a waterfall, and that is a nice spot. . . . Old Rag is a great spot, a very popular spot. Meadows [Big Meadows Campground] is a great place for family camping if you want to take the kids off Skyline Drive.

What should you expect when you take your kids camping?

When the kids were really young we went out to this Jellystone campground near Fredericksburg, and there was camping and swimming. When I asked my son at the end of the trip what his favorite thing was, he said miniature golf.