Anyone else ever hear about a series called "Expedition Bigfoot"? I watched it a few years ago with my wife because she had a celebrity crush one one of the people in the show. Anyway, they did a lot of clever things to collect evidence that bigfoot exists. They used AI to analyse more than 100 years' worth of news clippings and reports of bigfoot sightings, and the AI predicted the times/places where they would be most likely to see another bigfoot. They went to these locations with drones, LIDAR, infrared cameras and other tools. They even brought along a primatologist who co-discovered a new primate species earlier in her career. They never found proof, but they found a lot of physical evidence and caught some weird stuff on camera. Very entertaining, occasionally funny, and sometimes jaw-dropping.

@Gareth Parkes Good point, but it sounds like Barry wants to feel seen.

I wish a had a good story about bear, bugs, or bad weather. But honestly my worst camping trip ever was because of one of the people who came along.

I'm going to say shelter first, but of course it depends upon the conditions. For virtually all the camping I've done, the fire was a luxury but not a necessity. There've been many times when I've been alone and tired enough to just pitch my tent, crawl inside, and go to sleep. But if there's time, energy, predators or cold weather, then light it up!

Everything you mentioned is critical, but I pay more attention to the weather than anything else on that list. I have a good instinct for pacing myself, and if anything I'm monitoring the energy of the people with me. As far as gear, you should have checked it before you left.

The "obstacle" on our last trip was family members who brought bluetooth speakers and just wanted to get drunk. I spent some time carousing with the group, but then slipped away for a solo night hike. I did the same thing early the next morning. Later in the day, a few people came with me on a quiet, scenic hike. That evening I hung out with my drunken cousins, aunts, and uncles and it was fun. There was laughter and some bonding. The lesson: Whatever happens, just go with it. Accept whatever shows up. You'll have more fun and you might still get some of the experiences you were hoping for.