Whether it’s your first weekend of camping or your hundredth, camping in outdoor tents can and should be a great adventure that you will remember for its high points, not its disappointments. Seasoned campers know what to expect and what to prepare for, but they may still be surprised by a simple camping tip they never thought of. For new campers, your first camping trips can make or break your desire to continue camping.
These simple and mostly common sense tips will get new campers off to a good start, and might even contain a suggestion or two for the seasoned camper.
Know your camping area: Tent Camping is about being prepared, and you can’t be prepared if you don’t know what to expect. It is not enough to know if it is a mountain or lowland camp, or if it will be hot or cold, you need to know the type of terrain in the area and typical weather expectations. Know that the campsite has amenities, such as; water, electricity and bathroom facilities is important, but it also helps to know where, when and how much. Such as; restrooms are one mile from your campground, or there is a water source for the entire campground, or electricity is available, but you can only use an extension cord. Restrictions on camping sites can also play a role in your preparations. Your anticipation of great campfire meals will turn into a major disappointment when you arrive to find that open fires are not allowed.
To be prepared: Knowing the above information will help you decide what equipment and camping gear you need to bring and how much to bring. It’s not just about the right and expected items and quantities for your planned outing, but also what you might need for the ‘unplanned’. For example; you planned one change of clothes per day – what happens when you get soaked unexpectedly due to rain or if you miss a step while crossing a stream, or if you brought enough fuel for the camping stove for normal camping conditions, but Is it colder and windier than I expected? – it needs more fuel that you didn’t bring. Are there: mosquitoes, flies and insects, or snakes and vermin that invade camps? You will be miserable if you did not prepare for them.
Check and double check: More experienced campers have and use camping checklists that they have refined over time to match their camping style and needs. It is especially important that new campers use them as well. It only takes one forgotten item, large or small, to ruin all or part of your camp. Your camping stove looks great on the table, but it won’t do you much good if you forgot the fuel connector for the propane bottle, and imagine your surprise when you’re ready to start dinner and find that camping completely equipped and organized food cooler is sitting on the garage floor at home, rather than with the rest of the camping gear, where you fictional it was. Please check it when you organize it and double check it when you pack it on board.
These are just the basics. Each area has much more than the details providing enough material for dozens of camping books for each. No matter which method you find works for you, as long as you find one, if you cover these three areas of preparation, your chances of having a great and memorable outdoor camping trip will be much better than the ones that don’t.
For more information, which includes; step-by-step trip planning tips and free printable camping checklists, see Gus’s article on Planning an outdoor camping trip.