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How to Conduct a Camping “Trial-Run”
If it’s been a while since your last jaunt in the woods, it’s fair to say that your camping skills are, shall we say, a bit rusty. You won’t necessarily be able to start the fires and set up the tents with the same speed you did years ago – unless you practice. You never know what kind of challenges you’ll face until you actually go camping, which is exactly why you’ll want to conduct a camping trial-run to make sure you’ve got everything planned for. Here’s how to do it.
First, set aside one day and one night before you go camping, preferably not too far in advance of the actual camping trip. You’ll be using this day and night to conduct what is essentially a camping simulation. Set up your tent, bring out your own water, and even so far as to avoid using the indoor bathroom – unless you’re in a highly urban area. (Note: If you live in a city apartment, find the closest camping spot and simply use it for a night.)
The goal is to avoid civilization for an afternoon, evening, and through the night so that you’ll know what it’s like to be camping again, without access to a hotel or restaurant. Make sure to take a notepad and pencil with you so that you can write down anything you’ve forgotten to purchase; make sure to pack this with you when you actually head out camping with your family and/or friends.What skills do you want to work on? Try to gather wood and start your own fire, hopefully bringing a tripod grill along with you so that you can cook any meat you packed in a cooler. You’ll also want to make sure you know how to build your tent – some tents are more complicated than others and require a little more effort. Also, keep note of how you clean yourself – if you’re feeling stinky and dirty by the following morning, there’s a good chance you may want to invest in a device like an outdoor shower.
The key is to treat your trial-run as finding your blind spots. You probably wouldn’t be able to plan for everything while sitting at home on your computer, but if you actually go out and experience what it’s like to camp, you’ll finally see where your blind sports are and what you need to do in order to make sure they don’t detract from your camping experience.
Photo Credits: jaygooby
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Selecting a Camping Location
Regardless of which tiny little piece of land you choose for your camping location, the one that you should know is that the options are endless. What do you prefer to do during your next big trip? Go fishing, hiking, or boating? Many camping locations offer that and then more. But, just because there are many spots available for camping, you shouldn’t just pack you’re camping accessories to run off to the first camping spot you come across. Lots of thought goes into choosing a camping location.
One of the first things that you will need to know is the accessibility to the camping spot. This is even truer if you camp with an RV. Consider how you intend to get to the camping spot. Will you be parking and then walking or will you be able to drive right up, these are very important considerations. If you have to park and then walk, you might want to find out how far you are going to have to walk considering that you likely brought a lot of gear with you.
The view can also be taken into consideration as there is no use going camping in a spot where there is no view when there are many beautiful camping spots around you! After all, you didn’t go camping and put forth all of this effort to not have the best view possible. Remember to check if there is access to clean water for you to use during your camping trip. If there is no water, you will have to pack all the water for your needs and to put out the campfire that you make.To make a fire you are going to need firewood. Inquire about firewood when you either make reservations or when you check in. You will want to make sure that there is ample access to firewood at all times and one where you don’t actually intend to carry all the wood to the camping spot! Look for a camping site that has plenty of dead wood around to make it easier to build a fire.
Most important, avoid the ‘uncharted areas’ when choosing a camping location. It can be both difficult and dangerous to camp in spots which are not established. There are many reasons for this but the most important reason is bears. If you do decide that you are the adventurous type then you should certainly make sure that the area around you is level and free of rocks. Check while it is light out to see if there are any drop off points and such. These things are already taken care of at an established camping ground. This is to make sure that you are safe and when you walk around at night that you don’t tumble down a hill or something worse.
The best places to look to choose a camping location would be in the local state parks, national forests, conferring with friends who have gone camping, and of course through the Internet.
