Damn did y'all know there's an eclipse coming? Apparently everyone else did... But I can primitive camp in state forests without a permit right? Both PA and NY? They might be crowded but that's just a party... But will I get eaten by bears? How difficult is like three nights in the woods?
Depends how primitive it is. I'll camp with my family all the time with no running water or electricity at the site, but there's still bathrooms, running water within walking distance of the site. That, I feel is doable for even folks that haven't really roughed it before. But if you've got to manage water by either bringing a tank with you or purifying stream water, along with no toilets, that's some varsity level camping that you definitely want to look up and make sure you're comfortable with it.
But if you can walk to a toilet and running water, you can get some water holders for your site that you can fill up and carry back. Some camp grounds will even have a camp host that has a small motorized vehicle to help you take water back to your site if a half mile with 40 pounds of water sounds like too much for you.
If you've never cooked on an open flame before, you can get a gas stove and some gas relatively cheap as well and then just cook like you do over your range at home. Make sure your cooler and ice situation is good, especially for three nights. You may need to go to a nearby store and buy more ice for that long. You can also focus on non-cooking food for a few days if all that is intimidating, wouldn't be the worst since it's for a short time to just have some non-perishable, or long term foods like some fruits, jerky, bars, etc.
I would get a small solar charger/battery pack for your electricity needs. Charge it full before you leave and then recharge using the solar panels during the day and that should be good enough for your phone. Get a good LED lantern, preferably one with solar charging on it for walking around at night. I also use an LED string light set with a solar panel on it that I hang on the tent at night for extra light.
I may be able to help with your question but it depends on where you are camping (like the general region, west, central, east, Adirondacks, downstate, ect)
So in New york when you go up north in April things can be surprisingly cold, especially at night, so I would recommend packing warm, it will also probably be very wet and kinda rainy so I would get some waterproof hiking boots if you haven't already and I definitely would not wear sneakers or anything like that, your feet will get muddy and they will get wet and if they get wet there is a good chance that you will get blisters. In terms of sleeping you can always just bring a hammock and set up wherever but you will be cold (probably) (get a rain tarp for it (the hammock) as well) so I would recommend finding a trail with a leanto or a place to pitch tents; a thicker, warmer, winter sleeping bag will serve you better than a thin summer one. Also, because of the warm winter this year there will be alot of bugs afoot, mosquitos, flies, stuff like that, so bring bug spray, or expect to be itching a lot, there is a lot of poison ivy in New York, its not as bad up north but it still exists so look out for it. On wildlife, squirrels l, chipmunks and other similar critters may try to steal some of your food if you leave it unattended so dont do that. I’ve never had an issue with bears but look into if where you are camping has notices for bear activity and if it does get a bear canister to put your food in, and a bit of cordage to hang it out of the bear’s reach. Final point I will make is that it is very difficult to start a fire in spring because everything is wet, so either bring a gas stove or be prepared to lug around serval pounds of marked up firewood wherever you camp. Other than that there is not much else to worry about if you stick to the trails, just be aware, have fun, and enjoy the eclipse!!!
Edit: i dont think its exactly legal to camp anywhere in the woods in certain forests but i dont see anyone stopping you soooo
You totally can it's awesome https://dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/camping/primitive
Oh cool, guess I wasnt on state land then. I know a lot of the trials around me have agreements and cut through “private” land
Specifically upstate NY can be pretty cold and snowy in early April. If I end up there we’ll be prepared for below freezing nights, lots of water and battery power and probably shitting in the woods. I wouldn’t count on any camping spots to be available.
I’m watching the jet stream before choosing where to go, but my family and I have a camper van and do a few yearly road trips, we’re ok finding Walmarts or Cabelas along the way.
To give you an idea. My (now late) brother and I flew to Chicago for the last total eclipse, and ended up driving our airport rental minivan from Chicago to Wyoming to guarantee cloudless viewing. The 18 hour drive each way (they wouldn’t change our return flight without doubling the cost) was completely worth it.
Also when we got there all places to shower were so booked that old derelict motels were scrambling to open back up and rent rooms. We paid $200 bucks for 3 people in one room they hadn’t been cleaned since the late 70s. Took luke warm showers, and slept until 3 am when we heard cars starting up outside to head to the best viewing spots.
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