My First Time COWBOY CAMPING!!

I went camping with no tent!! Cowboy camping! This may be common to some, but it’s a pretty big deal to me! It would be super risky to go camping without a shelter in the Pacific Northwest regardless of the season, but since I was in Arizona I figured it was time to finally give cowboy camping a shot! The appeal of cowboy camping is to sleep directly under the stars and be totally immersed in the nature around you. For this video I headed out to the Superstition Wilderness of Tonto National Forest, and I left my tent at home! My first time camping with no tent! Cowboy camping in the wild west! Hope you enjoy.

*This video was originally published on June 12, 2022 on REI’s Miranda in the Wild YouTube channel, which is now an independent channel you can find at    / @mirandagoesoutside  

Intro: 00:00
Searching for water in the desert: 1:55
Cowboy camping set-up: 5:37
First night cowboy camping: 7:10
Thoughts on cowboy camping: 8:02

IMPORTANT NOTE on Leave No Trace as practiced in this video -

Leave No Trace principles recommend camping at least 200 feet (60 meters) from water sources. In the instance of this video, we struggled to find a viable campsite far from water without causing new impact on the area. We opted instead to sleep on hard rock where others had recently camped, but it was not ideal to be this close to a water source. Abiding by Leave No Trace principles is always what we strive to do.

If you’re unfamiliar with Leave No Trace and why it is important to camp 200 feet or more from fragile water sources, follow this link to learn more: https://www.lnt.org/

We filmed this video in the Superstition Wilderness on the ancestral lands of the Hohokam, Western Apache, Yavapaiv Apache and possibly other indigenous nations.

Gear I used in this video -

NEMO Tensor: https://www.rei.com/product/199935/ne...
NEMO Disco 30: https://www.rei.com/product/163035/ne...
NEMO Switchback: https://www.rei.com/product/141846/ne...
NEMO Fillo Elite Pillow: https://www.rei.com/product/170457/ne...
Gregory Facet 45: https://www.rei.com/product/203239/gr...
NEMO Moonlight Chair: https://www.rei.com/product/186577/ne...
Shorts (Jelly Shorts!): https://www.rei.com/product/185823/th...
Trekking Poles: https://www.rei.com/product/202395/bl...
Hiking Shoes: https://www.rei.com/product/166582/al...
Camp Shoes: https://www.rei.com/product/131755/te...

Become an REI Member: https://www.rei.com/membership

Miranda in the Wild is an REI Co-op Studios production!
Producer: Rainer Golden
Producer: Miranda Webster
Videographer: Abby Hagan
Editor: Jenna Neish
Additional Editing by Miranda Webster and Katie Van Fleet

#backpacking #cowboy #camping #hiking #naturelovers #adventure #wanderlust #rei #mirandainthewild