Archive for the ‘camping tips’ Category
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Four Steps for Effective Tent Setup
Imagine it: you’re out under the stars, sitting at a lovely campsite with a roaring fire brushing away the chilly night. When it’s time for bed, you get under a spacious tent, which then blocks some of the overnight rain. You wake up dry and warm, ready for another day on the campsite.
Sounds like the ultimate camper’s dream, right? You can make it a reality with an effective tent set-up. Here are the steps you’ll want to follow.
- Step #1: Unload everything.Many tents come in tent packages that include all of the gear you’ll need, not to mention instructions and a protective bag. If it’s windy outside, make sure that all of these materials are well-protected from the wind or at least securely weighed down. There’s nothing more frustrating than poorly putting together a tent only to see the materials blow away.
- Step #2: Identify your materials.Following the instructions, you’ll want to make sure that you have all of the materials handy. Many instructions and manuals will make sure to list and illustrate all of these materials so that you can perform this step. Once you know you have the right materials, you’ll not only know where you can find them, but what they actually are. It’s better than going to search through a pile of tent materials every time you begin a new step.
- Step #3: Plot out a great spot.Most tent manuals will have you begin your tent by setting the foundation – this means driving stakes into the ground so that you can have a secure tent. Before you start following those directions, make sure you’ve chosen a flat, clear spot for your tent, far enough from the fire to prevent any potential hazards. Picking a good spot for your tent will be key – make sure that your tent door will face the campsite.
- Step #4: Follow the directions as closely as possible.At this point, you can begin driving in those stakes, establishing the tent skeleton, and attaching the tarp. Many tents are different, but a lot will follow these general directions. Make sure you read each step thoroughly so that you aren’t caught off-guard later. Some steps might include second actions that you’ll need to perform for later; don’t miss any of these.
Establishing a great campsite starts with the tent: if you have a good one, you can live in the outdoors as comfortably as you live at home. A large enough tent can fit a great inflatable bed, keeping you dry and warm every single night.
Photo Credits: stevecadman -
How to Break Camp Without Leaving a Mess
If you’ve ever been camping, you know that bringing a lot of your civilized comforts out into the woods can be great, but it can also result in a messy campsite when all is said and done. This can be very frustrating, especially if you’re at a campsite that makes you clean your own mess or camping on your own land, in which case you’ll obviously want to keep your land clear. So how do you break camp without leaving a cartoonish pile of debris in your wake? Follow a few simple tips:
First, it starts with preparation. While you’re camping, make sure you have everything compartmentalized. Leave your living essentials in your tent or car, where they’ll be sealed off from the rest of the world. Make sure the fire pit area is separated from the other areas. Have a designated garbage/recycling bag pair handy at all times so that you don’t have to collect garbage at the end of the trip. If you start preparing for a clean campsite the first day you get there, you’ll make things a lot easier on yourself when it’s time to break camp.
Also, be sure that you re-use materials and places when you can. For example, if you have a lot of wood in your fire pit, try to burn that wood in the next fire; you should have a big pile of ashes in the same place when your camping trip is done with. That’s good! That’s what you want, because you can then simply shovel it into your garbage bag.While you’re camping, make a mental note of cleaning up everything after yourself, every single time. For example, if you bring out a paper plate to eat a hot dog dinner with, make sure you dispose of all the garbage you have at the end of the meal. If you unpack something, don’t simply leave it out somewhere on the campsite; put it back in its bag if you’re not going to be using it.
If you’re on a campground, there might be a place to dump your greywater. If not, it’s best to use items like biodegradable soap and then dump the greywater away from fresh water sources.
If you’ve followed these instructions, it shouldn’t be very difficult to break camp without a whole lot of work today. Don’t dread the last day of camping – be sure that you’re thinking about your campsite’s “debris mark” throughout the whole trip!
Photo Credits: heymarchetti
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Delicious Camping Food – Uh, Really?
You read right: you can have delicious camping food, even when you’re roughing it in the wild. This doesn’t involve necessarily bringing in an RV or finding a place to eat out – instead, you can learn to become a great “outdoor cook” that knows how to handle his or her way around the campsite kitchen. It just takes a little know-how, a solid attitude, and the willingness to make it happen. Here are a few tips to making your camping meals great.
Good food starts with good tools.
If you’re not working with good tools, it won’t matter what you’re cooking – you need to be able to cook your food well. This means clean pans, a good way to heat your food, appropriate utensils for eating them, and the right tools for flipping, poking, grabbing, and mixing. Tools like pans built for the outdoors, tripods that let you heat pots over fires, and camping silverware need to be present – and you should consider them essentials for a comfortable camping trip.
Ingredients, ingredients, ingredients.
Your ingredients will determine the quality of your food – it’s that simple. So you need to start thinking of you and your family’s favorite ingredients that also travel well. A steak can be great, but unless you’re prepared to bring some with you, you won’t be able to enjoy them in the outdoors. You’ll need to prepare for it by bringing a cooler and keeping your meat refrigerated.
Think about other ingredients that both taste good and make for easy packing – foods like nuts, beans, and other canned ingredients can be combined easily during a meal. If you use a little imagination, you can find ways to bring these ingredients together and create some great recipes.
Think calorie-dense food.
When you’re running around in the outdoors all day, you need plenty of energy. It’s not time to count calories and order the salad – you need food that fills you up without dragging you down. And you need plenty of energy to feel good. What foods are calorie dense? Bring a bottle of olive oil to add to your pans for healthy fat; other calorie-dense foods like cheese pack well and can be stored in the cooler.
Cooking in the wild is just like cooking indoors: it’s the preparation that will make or break a meal. You can’t cook without preparation indoors, so why would you expect to whip up something easily outdoors? Prepare by bringing the right ingredients, keeping them stored safely, and knowing how to bring them together over a simple pan and fire. It only takes a little bit of thinking and shopping: you can let the fire do the rest.
Photo Credits: fishbone1
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How to Stay Safe During Your Camping Trip
Camping can be a dangerous undertaking because it requires you to spend an extended time in the great outdoors. If you’re planning to take your children camping with you, then you need to spend extra time examining certain precautions that you need to take. What should you worry about when you’re about ready to go, though? This article will give you a few common concerns and what you should do to prepare for them.
Watch the Weather
Being outdoors, it’s very important that you pay very close attention to the forecast when you’re going camping. If you’re going in the winter months it can be extremely dangerous if you camp in the midst of a snowstorm because you could easily run out of food and have no way of getting back to civilization. Be sure to watch the weather reports and if you’re already at your campsite you can always ask any rangers or other campers you see what the forecast looks like.
Bring the Right Supplies
Brining supplies with you can help you feel much safer during your trip as it offers you a backup and can be used anytime an unexpected problem occurs. Common supplies include: bug spray, extra food, and medications. It’s extremely important that you bring any medication that a family or friend needs in case they have any issue during the trip. You should also bring a first aid kit as it’s very easy to be injured by falling or possibly by an animal in an extended visit.
Plan Ahead
Perhaps the best thing you can do before going on your camping trip is planning ahead. Plan things like where you’re going to camp and for how long you’re going to stay. This planning should include both of the previous items, watching the weather and considering the essential supplies. It’s important that you think of any possible problem that can occur while you’re camping and be ready to address it accordingly.
Use Common Sense
Not using common sense is probably the cause of most problems that occur in the woods. Don’t attempt to do anything that could be potentially fatal, and make sure you follow basic camping guidelines such as leaving food out near or inside of the tents. With a little common sense it should be easy for you to avoid any problems that you could experience.
If you follow the above advice it should be easy for you to plan a fun and safe camping trip for you and your family.
Photo Credits: Omer Simkha
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Holiday Camping Tips
Camping trips in mountains, forests and beaches is a great group activity for all ages. The experience of sleeping, cooking and eating out in the open is a great way to explore the outdoors. Camping require more equipments and preparations compared to many other outdoor activities.
Some examples of the equipments needed are tents, fire starters, cooking utensils, first aid kit, maps and compass. It is important that you are familiar with the use of these equipments before the camping trip. Learning how to set up your tent before hand will save you a lot of time and trouble during the trip.
Make sure there are enough tents for all campers. A 4-man tents means that it can fit 4 persons at maximum capacity. If you assign four persons to a tent of this size, each of them will have to sleep lined up next to each other like sardines in a tent. For a comfortable fit, two persons should be assigned to every 4-man tent.
Flashlights and portable nightlights are also very important in camping trips. At night, even if there is a campfire, you will need a flashlight to perform many activities such as going to the too and checking on your tentAlthough it is very popular to cook food over open fires, portable stoves provide a convenient alternative. It may be a little bulky, but having a portable gas stove guarantee hot meals during camping. If you opt to build your own fire, make sure you have plenty of fire-starters, matches and have a little knowledge on how to build a fire from twigs. Check with the local authorities if it is permissible to build a campfire and if there is a designated areas to build them. Building a fire may take some effort and time, but it is a fun activity that adds to the rugged experience of camping.
It is always a good idea to bring along lots of canned food for convenience and hygiene purposes. Cooking raw foods takes a little more time, and if not well cooked, may cause tummy-upsets among your fellow campers. It case it rains, make sure you are well stocked with ready-to-eat food and snacks so that you don’t go hungry.
If you are camping in the wilderness, it is important that you pack and dispose your foods properly. Foods should be well packed in plastic bags and be kept away from the tents where you sleep. Wild animals like bears are attracted to the smell of food, so the placing of food away from the main camping area will prevent any unpleasant encounters with these animals.
When choosing your camping site, make sure that you are aware of where the nearest, police stations, hospitals and other local authorities are located so that in case of any emergencies you will know where to go for help. Make sure that the site you have chosen fall within the camping zones of the park.
During the camping trip, it is important to obey all park rules and clean up well after camping. Outdoor activities such as camping and hiking take a toll on the environment, so we should do all we can to minimize the damage that we cause during such activities.
Photo Credit: the left-handed robot -
Selecting a Camping Destination that Fits Your Needs
Since camping is a recreational activity, it sometimes takes some playful reminding to campers that it should remain that way. Camping isn’t about going into the Great Outdoors and slapping at mosquitos until you can’t tolerate it enough to be outside – it’s about enjoying a fresh, earthly experience that many of us with indoor heating and air often ignore.
Of course, if you don’t plan on slapping at mosquitoes all night, it bears mentioning that camping is a more inclusive activity than most, and ill require a larger degree of preparation. This preparation is designed to put all of your work on the front end, so that once you’re out in the wilderness, you can finally enjoy the comforts and amenities you planned for even while living in the woods.
Selecting your camping destination will be an integral part of preparing for your overall camping experience – in fact, it might as well be the first thing you do. The camping destination factors in different variables, such as the people you plan on camping with, the style of camping you prefer, your starting location, and how long you’d like to stay.
The first factor to consider in selecting a camping destination is the people you plan on camping with. Are you bringing a family – the spouse and kids? You’ll definitely want to stay away from the challenging, more rustic places. It will also help to choose a campsite where many of the amenities you might need aren’t far away – this might be on a state park or a well-set-up camping ground. If you’re camping with just adults who take their camping more seriously, you might want to be ready for more adventure.The next factor you’ll want to look at is what kind of experience you want to have – and the experience you want to gain. If you’re looking to become a more dedicated camper, go ahead and challenge yourself by finding a more remote place. If you just want a little bit of outdoors experience with none of the loss in comfort, a campgrounds where other people might be camping might be an ideal place.
The most important factors to consider, again, are who’s camping. What would you enjoy? What would your friends enjoy? What would your family enjoy? Start with those questions and narrow down your choices.
If you’ve whittled down your choices, you should be ready to decide if you want to go to a more “civilized” campground or if you simply want to find a spot deep in the woods somewhere. After making this choice, be sure to do some research about different options you have.
When I went camping in the Wisconsin Dells, my friends and I considered three camping sites, and put it to a vote. We had done a little research and ultimately chose a camping site that, while not too rustic, ended up being enjoyable for all of us.
Find a location near to civilization – such as a small town with small shops for supplies and food – and you’ll be set. Finally, run a typical day at this campsite through your mind and see if there’s anything you haven’t considered you might need. This will help you realize if you’ve made the right or wrong choice.
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What is the Best Season for Camping?
For many people, the vernal equinox is a signal that it’s time to get ready for warm weather and outdoor activities. For others, going out in the summer is the ideal time – and for others, autumn means it’s time for one last chance! But which is the best time to go out into mother nature and set up camp? Let’s take a look at the individual seasons and see.
Spring
Spring is a beautiful time of the year for many people who live in cooler areas – it means the snow is melting, birds are flying north again, and it will soon be time to turn off those heaters. Leaves are starting to bud and everything is getting greener. But for those who have gone camping too early, spring doesn’t always seem like the ideal time.
Early spring months like March and April can still be muddy and rainy, which doesn’t make for the most pleasant camping experience. Leaves from the previous autumn are still on the ground and grass hasn’t grown enough yet to provide a solid turf. However, people who go camping in spring might be able to take advantage of less traffic in both camp sites and on fishing lakes.Summer
Summer is the most popular time of the year for camping, which can actually be a disadvantage in and of itself: it means you’ll encounter the most crowds. For some, this isn’t so bad, as they enjoy the socializing that comes with going to popular camping sites or heading outdoors, but for others, it makes it harder to re-connect with nature on your own.
Summer often makes for the best weather, particularly in cooler states where summers are mild and not too humid. It’s also the best time to go swimming, as lakes warm up and feel refreshing against the sun throughout months like June, July, and August. Summer also happens to be when kids get out from school, so this is often the option best for families.
Autumn
As the months move on, summer gives way to autumn, which means cooler air, leaves falling, and school back in session. But autumn can be a great time to go camping – mild temperatures can be perfectly comfortable and lakes still need more time to cool back down to winter temperatures. For many people, going out on Labor Day is also a way to kick off the transition to autumn – or the end of summer, depending on how you look at it.
Which is the best season for camping? For many the best season is summer, but it will depend on your own individual perspective.
Photo Credits: gmutt
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The Hiking and Camping First Aid Kit
While the hiker who’s a trained doctor is a rarity, most doctors would agree that it’s better to self-treat when out in the wilderness and encountering an emergency medical situation, rather than not to treat at all. For this reason, when you’re hiking or camping, constructing a quality first aid kit that adequately prepares you for the challenges of the outdoors will be one of the most important stages of your preparation.
First aid kits can only carry so much, but if you know what to carry and how to use it, you can help those materials make the greatest possible impact on the positive health and safety of yourself and those you’re travelling with. Here are some items to include in your hiking or camping first-aid kit.
-Bandages.
Covering up cuts and scraps will be crucial for preventing infection and promoting the healing of your dings and dents, and will be especially crucial for deeper knicks and cuts. Carry a variety of bandages, including a bandage roll for taping, triangular bandages, butterfly bandages, and an assorted variety of adhesive bandages, in a range of sizes.
-Disinfectants and alcohol swaps.
Again, preventing infection is often one of the highest priorities in outdoor medical situations, and treating cuts or marks the proper way will go a long way toward preventing infection. Before even dressing a wound, being able to apply disinfectant of some sort, fighting against bacteria, will be a key issue.
-Medicine.
This seems obvious, but what kind of medicine? Many recommend Aspirin or ibuprofen, so those might be good to carry. But also consider a possible attack of diarrhea or other stomach sickness that will require some ideal digestive medicine to help ease suffering and get the recovery process going more quickly. Consider medicines for treating diarrhea, especially, as an essential element, even if you carry small amounts of that medicine.
-Gauze and wipes.
Gauze and wipes are important to carry because you don’t exactly want to clean wounds with leaves while you’re out there. Gauze is very lightweight, so it makes sense to carry plenty without adding any burden to what you’re carrying on a hike, and it might just come in handy.
-A Swiss Army knife.
A Swiss Army knife already has plenty of tools for working in the outdoors, but scissors can prove especially useful in medical situations, helping cut through clothing to get to a wound, or helping to dress and replace the bandages on a wound.
Be sure to look at first aid kits and check out the local situations of each hiking and camping opportunity to make sure that your first aid kit is customized to your needs.
Photo Credits: gregor_y
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4 Things to Do During Camping ‘Downtime’
Let’s face it: even on your most active day of camping – fishing, hiking, boating, building fires – there’s still going to be some downtime. After all, even the U.S. Marines enjoy a certain amount of free time every day. If your day has been active enough, you might only want to spend your downtime eating and resting, but if you have a little bit of reserve energy, you might just feel a little bored. Here’s how you can cure that boredom out on the campsite.
- Constellation spotting – Constellation guide books are easy to buy. If you’ve never really done any serious stargazing, you should feel free to take a gander up at the stars and try to identify as many constellations as possible. If you’re exhausted from activities all day, you can even do this on your back. Just be careful that you don’t fall asleep outdoors! Stars are clearer out in the country, where there’s less light interference here on Earth to drown them out.
- Roasting marshmallows – This is perhaps the hallmark camping activity. Roasting marshmallows doesn’t take a lot: a fire, a stick, a marshmallow, and of course some graham crackers and chocolate bars to go with it. You can even make S’mores for everyone else if they’re too tired to do anything, seeing if you can get your marshmallow at just the right temperature.
- Talk – The campfire is one of the greatest places to have a conversation. Not in it, of course, but around it as everyone gathers. There is a certain psychiatrist’s-office effect in looking at the fire and not directly at anyone else: after all, it might be dark anyway. Talking around the campfire is usually done with friends, so the conversations tend to get a little deeper than smalltalk. Of course, there is nothing more engrossing than a good conversation, and you can do it while sitting in a chair under a blanket.
- Play cards – A flat surface and some willing participants are all you need for this easy activity. Oh, and a deck of cards, of course. A quick game of poker can be great for just before bedtime, and nighttime means that it will be harder for others to see your cards.
The spirit of “downtime” usually means that people aren’t exactly willing to volunteer for a lot of exercise-heavy activities. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself while sitting down or even lying down.
Photo Credits: parl -
How to Stay Fresh While Camping
The words “fresh” and “camping” usually don’t go together, least of all in our imaginations. But if you plan ahead and have a good source of water, you should have no problem staying fresh and clean even on an extended camping trip. To do so, you’ll need a little foresight, preparation, and of course you’ll need to be armed with knowledge. That’s why this article will explain how to stay washed up even while camping.
Find a fresh water source.
Whether you’re near a large lake or a clean stream of water, setting up camp near a fresh water source will be crucial to staying fresh and clean. If you have bathrooms and showers nearby on your campsite, then it’s needless to say that you’ll have no problem staying clean. But when you’re opting for the more rustic experience, you’ll need to use the lay of the land itself. Be sure to set up camp not far – but not too close to – a fresh water source.
With your fresh water source, you should be able to wash yourself and your hair. It’s often a good idea to bring a two-in-one soap and shampoo bottle that is easy to carry – this means simply bringing one bottle with you to the “shower.” There’s nothing quite like changing into some dry clothes after a good wash when you’re out camping to make you feel at home.Maintain consistent bathroom habits.
If you’ve built a successful campsite, you should have a nearby bathroom that’s out of site and out of…smell. Try to keep your bathroom habits localized to this one bathroom area, and be sure to bury your waste. This means you’ll want to find an area where the soil is relatively soft for a quick burial.
Definitely bring toilet paper. There’s nothing that can upset an otherwise fresh and clean-feeling day like the absence of toilet paper. It’s light and you’ll probably only need to bring one roll, depending on how many people it’s for. Even if you want to have a very rustic experience, having toilet paper will make everything else seem much more pleasant.
Keep up with your usual routine.
It’s very comforting when you can stick to your usual hygiene routine out in the woods, including your shower, shave, and teeth-brushing. The closer you can stick with your usual routine, the better you should feel. Try to prepare in advance so that you can do this, such as by bringing a travel pack of shaving and toothbrushing equipment.
Photo Credits: UNC – CFC – USFK
