Camping has long provided The Far Side with plenty of material for its peculiar brand of humor, especially when people venture into the wilderness expecting a peaceful escape. Gary Larson’s comics often twist these familiar outdoor situations with strange details, unexpected animal behavior, and characters who make an already uncomfortable outing considerably worse.
From poorly planned expeditions to tense encounters around campfires, these panels find comedy in the small frustrations and unpredictable hazards of outdoor life. Their campers may arrive looking for relaxation, but the wilderness rarely cooperates, and Larson’s sharp visual punchlines leave even the simplest camping trip open to complete disaster.
10
The Unwelcome Surprise Waiting in a Cowboy’s Dinner
This strip depicts several cowboys gathered around a campfire for dinner, when one man discovers a toad sitting among the contents of his bowl. He pulls the creature from his food, bringing an unwelcome surprise into an otherwise ordinary meal shared outdoors with his companions beside the fire at camp.
The cowboy’s remark suggests Eggbeater somehow overlooked the toad while preparing their supper, shifting attention toward the cook’s apparent mistake during the campfire meal. His matter-of-fact response makes the discovery seem almost routine, as though their meals regularly arrive with an extra ingredient in the shape of a hefty amphibian.
9
Simmons and the Discouraging Word
This strip also depicts a handful of cowboys gathered around a campfire, with their horses standing behind them against the night sky. One of the men announces that Simmons has just uttered a discouraging word, doing his best to get the attention of the others as if it were an extremely serious situation.
The scene is referencing Home on the Range, whose lyrics describe a countryside where people seldom hear discouraging words out on the range. The men seem to compare their own gathering with that cheerful picture, so Simmons’s negative remark becomes news because it contradicts the song’s vision of western life without complaints.
8
The Quicksand Trap That Leaves Nothing but Scout Hats Behind
This panel shows a stretch of quicksand with several Boy Scout hats scattered in a line across its surface, while a warning sign stands nearby. The boys themselves are nowhere to be seen, leaving their abandoned headwear as the only visible trace of the troop that entered the dangerous patch.
The sign’s wording echoes the Scouts’ familiar motto, “Be Prepared,” while warning anyone approaching the patch about the danger just ahead along the wooded trail. Their scattered caps suggest the troop failed to recognize the warning in time, leaving the boys swallowed by the very hazard they were supposed to anticipate.
7
A Burning Marshmallow Sparks an Old-Fashioned Western Standoff
This strip depicts a cowboy positioned to the right of a campfire scene, holding a smoking revolver toward a man sprawled across the ground in front of him. Other campers sit nearby as the gunman announces that both companions are witnesses, explaining that he shot the man after his marshmallow caught fire.
The exchange borrows the atmosphere of an old Western, with a recently fired weapon and a man lying beside the campsite fire. Yet the explanation concerns nothing more serious than someone laughing at a burning marshmallow, while the shooter calmly presents that small offense as justification for his deadly response.
6
The Two Birds and the Sinking Camper
This panel presents a man sinking into quicksand, with two small birds perched calmly atop his hat in a remote patch of wilderness. One bird remarks that something seems wrong, noticing their perch descending while the man continues disappearing beneath them without attracting much concern from either of his unexpected visitors.
The birds’ comment sounds oddly casual when readers can see the danger carrying their perch downward, while the pair appear slow to understand their situation. Their reaction is especially amusing because the man carrying them faces immediate danger, yet receives no acknowledgement as his head sinks from view into quicksand.
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A Camping Dinner Takes an Oddly Specific Scientific Turn
This strip depicts two men seated at a jungle campsite, with a tent and scattered provisions around their makeshift dining spot beneath the trees during an expedition. One camper notices a fruit fly floating in his soup and asks what Drosophila melanogaster is doing in his meal during their outdoor dinner.
His complaint is especially specific because Drosophila melanogaster is the scientific name of the common fruit fly, not simply a general label for an insect. The contrast between a routine camping nuisance and such precise biological terminology suggests a scientifically minded camper who just can’t resist using his field knowledge at dinner.
4
The Scoutmaster’s Unusual Solution to Teaching Knot-Tying
In this comic, a line of Boy Scouts gathers beneath tall trees as their leader holds a supply of boxes marked “Big Boy Velcro Kit” near the campsite. The boys appear to be receiving these packages in place of regular knot-tying equipment, with one scout already holding his own kit at the front.
The caption explains that even scouts who cannot master knot-tying can still join their troop on camping trips without passing the familiar test. Their oversized Velcro kits act as a humorous substitute for the knots they struggle to tie, allowing the boys to participate in outdoor activities despite struggling with this basic scouting skill.
3
Irving’s Boot Full of Insects
This strip shows a camper seated on a folding cot, holding one of his boots upside down as a thick stream of insects spills onto the ground around his feet. Irving stands nearby on the right, watching the scene from beside the cot as their campsite sits beneath towering trees with equipment scattered around.
The caption identifies the standing camper as Irving, who realises he put on his own boots without checking them first, leading to a rather alarming possibility. His footwear is noticeably much larger than intended, and with the scene unfolding in front of him, it is easy to guess what is going on.
2
The Young Campers Who Make an Unusual Bear Snack
This cartoon shows several bears gathered around a wooden picnic table in a forest clearing, with young Cub Scouts laid out on serving plates before them. One bear carefully pours honey over a scout, while the others sit ready to enjoy their woodland meal as though they were preparing an ordinary picnic.
The bears appear perfectly comfortable with their meal, while the scouts have become the centrepiece of a very different kind of camping feast. Honey is normally associated with a bear’s favourite food, and here it is being poured directly over the children, whose place on the platters leaves little doubt about their fate.
1
When the Crickets Stop Chirping, Something Worse Is Coming
This panel presents a pair of campers sharing a fireside meal in the woods, each holding a stick over the flames as night settles around them. One man is delighted that the crickets have stopped chirping, apparently convinced their evening has finally become peaceful after all that irritating noise disappeared.
Behind them, however, a massive predator has entered the area, its shape possibly difficult to distinguish among the dark trunks and heavy shadows. The crickets have fallen silent because of the approaching danger, while the campers mistakenly celebrate a quiet they should find alarming, given the creature now looming near their campsite.
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