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How to Fix a Broken Tent
[The following is a guest post from How to Fix. There you can learn How to Fix a Dishwasher, how to fix a flat tire as well as how to fix a toilet]
Having a tent is an absolute necessity when you’re out in the woods – that is, unless you can find some other form of shelter. Tents keep moisture out, protect you from the elements, and separate you from the wild, even if the separation is a thin one. So if your tent breaks or tears while you’re out camping, you’ll probably recognize when it happens fairly quickly. The only question that remains is simple: how can you fix it without buying a new one?
There is no one answer to this question, because there is more than one way that a tent can be broken. But in this article, we’ll handle two of those ways:
Your tent tearing: If your tent tears, then duct tape is your best friend. It’s generally a good idea to keep some basic tools in your car – duct tape is one of them – around for just this kind of situation. Duct tape won’t only help re-attach the two sides of the tear in your tent, but it will continue to seal out moisture and its adhesive will generally keep the duct tape where you put it. It’s generally a good idea to use more duct tape than you think you need rather than less; don’t be afraid to go a little overboard. After all, you’re not going for beauty here – you simply want to keep your tent working. So make sure you have duct tape with you. The next time you head to the hardware store, buy a couple of rolls of duct tape and put one in the back of your car. It just may come in handy.Tent poles breaking or bending: The structure of the tent is generally held up by loosely-assembled tent poles. These aren’t always the most sturdy foundations to have with you, but they make for light packing and generally an easy tent setup. If one of them breaks, you’ll want to consider your situation. Can you possibly bend the pole back into place, or is it lost forever? If it’s totally broken, you may simply want to toss that pole out and keep your tent up with the rest of the poles. Your tent may be a little uneven because of this, but at least it will stay up, continue to shelter you from the weather, and will continue to work. Worry about a replacement pole or tent once you’re safely back to civilization.
Photo Credits: bgautrea
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The Pros and Cons of Family Hiking
You’re out there on the trails, enjoying the feeling of an early-morning breeze and wondering why you don’t get out more often. When you look back to see the companion(s) you’ve brought with you, what do you see?
If you pictured a friend or a spouse, you may not have thought about how fun it could be to take your entire family hiking. And if you imagined your entire family – spouse, kids, and all – with you, you might have what it takes to be a great family hiker. But should you always bring your family with you on a hike? Here are some pro’s and con’s to help you consider the possibility.
Pros
- Exercise for the entire family – If you can get your kids hooked to physical activity at an early enough age, you won’t have to worry as much about their health and fitness. NOt only is exercising good for you, it’s good for the entire family, and promotes a sense of bonding that you can’t get at home watching television on two separate TV sets. Exercising is good, clean, honest fun – and it’s good for you, too.
- Teaching basic skills – the more hardcore family hikers will be able to relate certain skills to their children – survival skills and principles, the right mental attitude for tackling obstacles, and when they get older, even medical skills. Of course, in order to teach these skills, you have to know them yourself – why not making your childrens’ education a great excuse?
Cons
- Loss of solidarity – If you have a busy job that takes a lot out of you, sometimes a jaunt through the woods is exactly what the doctor ordered. As long as it’s alone. Some people simply need to get away, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing: if you arrive back home re-energized and in a better mood, it will have been worth it. Sometimes you deserve to treat yourself to a good exercise session.
- Whining! Let’s face it: kids aren’t always angels. And when you’re trying to enjoy a camping trip, having two teenagers whine at you isn’t exactly what you envisioned. That’s why you’ll want to make sure you don’t force anyone into doing something they’re violently opposed to.
For many people, the positives of family hiking will far outweigh the negatives. For others, the negatives will outweigh the positives. Ask yourself what kind of experience seems most appealing to you.
Photo Credits: Yatmandu -
Five Essential Items For Your Camping To-Do List
Have you ever gone camping before and felt, well, terrible at it? Sure, you might have packed well, but when your feet actually hit the great outdoors, you’re in a whole different world, especially if your experience is going to be truly rustic. Good camping comes with good experience, but it also comes with the right kind of knowledge.
If you ever feel lost camping, this article is for you. Here’s your checklist to kick off your camping trip right:
1. Shelter first. I was recently on a camping trip with some friends and we arrived in the twilight hours. Luckily, we followed the idea of “shelter first” by setting up our tents with the limited light we had left. By the time we were done setting up camp, it was dark out and we were getting our fire ready. If we had built the fire first, putting up the tents would have been a major nuisance.
2. Get a fire going. If you’re camping with others and you finish your tent first, you can help them with theirs, but you can also start gathering firewood. A fire is useful to cook your meals and have a supply of warmth around for when night rolls around. If you brought a fresh supply of water with you, you don’t have to worry about that.3. Get warm. The fire is useful for keeping warm at night, but you’ll also want to be ready for sleeping out under the stars. Even on summer nights the temperature can drop drastically and you’ll want to make sure you’re properly insulated. Bring some heavy flannel clothes even for camping in the summer and be sure you have a sleeping bag that really traps heat well.
4. Plan for the next meal. If your shelter is up and you’ve got heat taken care of, plan for the next meal – even if it’s tomorrow’s breakfast. Check your cooler and make sure you have all of the utensils and goods you need. When you wake up tomorrow, you should be ready to start a fire and get the bacon crackling.
5. Set up your wants. The three needs of survival in the wilderness tend to go like this: shelter, water, food. With all of that taken care of (you brought fresh water, right?), set up your “wants.” Have the DVD player ready to go in your tent. If you brought an outdoor shower, make sure you found a suitable place to put it, and that it’s filled.
Photo Credits: tranchis
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Hiking: Should You Bring a Light Backpack or a Heavy Backpack?
When someone is going for a hike, they inevitably run into a decision to make: should they pack heavy and be sure they have plenty of supplies, or should they strip down to the minimum and carry a lighter load? It doesn’t take much thought to imagine that the heavier your bag is, the more supplies you’ll want to keep (such as food and water to remain hydrated and fueled). Is either strategy better than the other one? Let’s take a closer look.
Bringing a heavier bag will sometimes be necessary. If you’re going on a long hike, there are certain supplies you’ll need that you wouldn’t carry on a short hike. If you’re going on a weekend backpacking trip through the hills, you’ll want to carry supplies for camping at night, as well. If you’re just going for a quick jaunt up the hiking trail, you’ll only need a first aid kit, and some food and water.
But what if you want to strip down your backpack for a light experience even when you’re on a long hike? Can you still enjoy a light backpack?General wisdom amongst minimalists who like light backpacks suggests that the lighter your load is, the less you’ll need to carry. To consider the alternative of wearing a heavy backpack, we’ll have to consider the benefits that adding extra supplies might carry with it.
Ultimately, the things you bring in your backpack should either be necessary for your survival - first-aid, food, water, etc. - or should make your life easier in some way. This brings us to the idea of technology.
Some gadgets, such as GPS navigation devices, can really make your life easier. However, they aren’t always totally necessary. The decision ultimately comes down to enjoying the convenience of a heavier load against depending on yourself with a smaller amount of supplies.
It’s recommended that you bring everything you need to keep safe, and work to keep it as simple and light as possible. For example, a GPS watch is easy to carry. Make a list of all of the things you’ll want to bring hiking, and then narrow it down to the bare necessities, or the excellent conveniences that don’t add too much weight to your load.
Ultimately, experience and skill will help determine how little you’ll be able to carry. Even if you want a very light load to carry, try going on a brief hike to see what kind of supplies are and aren’t necessary. Good hiking starts with you.
Photo Credits: rebonnett
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Fun Things to Do On a Camping Trip
In this digital age many people have no idea what they can do for fun on a camping trip in the great outdoors. There are so many possibilities for fun, whether you are a family with young children or a group of young adults, there is something that everyone can enjoy doing. This article will outline a few of the choices you have for having fun on your camping trip.
Fishing
If you go camping anywhere near a lake or body of water, why not try your luck in fishing? Many people find fishing relaxing and some people even find it to be a competition. ESPN has even aired shows where people are competition to catch the largest bass. You can teach your children how to fish, or you can turn your fishing experience into a competition of who can catch the biggest fish for dinner.
Go Exploring
Preferably if you’re camping you picked a location that is somewhere that’s not right next to a road. One of the biggest appeals to camping is the sense of adventure that you feel being alone outdoors. Kids and adults alike can appreciate exploring and finding neat animals, trees and streams in the woods. It is amazing how something like a climbable tree can go from being just a tree to being a discovery.
Scavenger Hunt
Can’t find a way to make your kids enjoy going for a hike? Why not try a scavenger hunt. All you have to do is compile a list of things that you want your kids to locate and watch as suddenly a boring hike turns into a fun game for them. Be sure to make the difficulty appropriate based on their age. If they’re young make it easy, and if they’re a little older make sure you make it appropriately more difficult.
Campfire Games
When it gets dark out that’s when there are all sorts of opportunities for fun games. You can tell ghost stories by the campfire or you can play flashlight tag out a ways. Be careful when it’s dark, however, as people can get hurt or even lost very easily in the woods. This is much more important if you’re camping in a habitat that supports animals like bears or any animal that poses a threat to humans.
With a little creativity you can turn a boring camping trip into a fun experience for your family or friends. Remember to keep the activities safe and make sure that everyone wants to do a certain activity; don’t focus on what just you want to do.
Photo Credits: wili_hybrid
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Is It Safe to Camp During Winter?
For camping addicts who live in the northern states, the winter months can cause you to go through “camping withdrawal.” But is that reason enough to try and venture out during the coldest season? Recently, a blizzard swept across the northern part of the U.S., dumping untold amounts of snow across several states. What if you were camping during these blizzard conditions? Is camping outdoors in the winter safe?
As is often the case, the risks will depend on you. Just because the calendar says December doesn’t mean you can’t camp safely. If the temperature is high enough, maybe there are some instances in which you can head out and enjoy a good time camping. But that also doesn’t mean you can treat winter camping the way you’d tread summer camping. It’s an entirely different animal.
For one, winter camping will require plenty of planning, especially as it relates to weather. How cold will it be during your trip? Will the temperatures drop on a specific day, or will wind make things worse? You’ll want to avoid snowfall, drops in temperature, as well as wind, which can make the temperatures feel drastically colder. If you’re not an experienced veteran of the winter season, it will help to get some cold-weather experience under your belt before you go camping.If you’ve been able to find a relatively warm and stable window in the winter weather, this is the time to go camping. Low winds are also very important. If you do decide to go camping during the winter in these occasions, then you’ll want to pack like you usually do, but with an increased emphasis on insulation, protection from moisture, and being able to build fires. Dress in layers that insulate you while also keeping moisture from snow out. If you can stay dry and warm, then you’re doing it right.
It will also help to have a good escape plan if necessary, as well as a cautious eye. You don’t want to get caught in a snow storm, so it’s a good idea to head for non-camping shelter as fast as possible if you perceive a threat. Don’t try to “rough it” because you could potentially compromise your safety. Make sure that you stay close enough to civilization that you can easily get out of a blizzard should one arrive.
Photo Credits: Rob Lee
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Three Essential Camping Safety Tips for Families
Depending on just how daring you are, your camping trip with your family might or might not fraught with potential hazards. These hazards don’t necessarily refer to the minor inconveniences that come with bug bites or sleeping on a harder surface – instead, the more recklessly you camp, the more you expose your family to real danger. That’s why you’ll want to make sure you camp the right way from the first time on. These three camping safety tips will help you be prepared for camping hazards, hopefully leading to a safe and enjoyable camping trip for you and yours.
- Tip #1: Set clear rules for the campfire.
- One of the most obvious hazards involved with campfires. If you have smaller children who are in the stage of their life when their legspeed far exceeds their common sense and they feel like they have to explore, you’ll have to make it explicitly clear that the fire pit is not the place to explore. The campfire serves both practical and aesthetic purposes -it doesn’t need to be played with.
Once you’ve established clear boundaries for your children, give them viable alternatives to enjoy when it’s time to light the fire. Toys, stories, and even a portable video game can help them keep their mind occupied – and away from the fire. Remember to be acutely aware of where your children are once you light the fire.
- Tip #2: Scout out water yourself first.
If you’re near a new lake, pond, or river and aren’t exactly sure about issues like water depth, temperature, or potential hazards like animals or insects, you’ll want to take a dip yourself to make sure that everything will work well for your children. In destinations with higher traffic, this won’t typically be an issue. If you’re a little further out into the American frontier, however, you’ll want to make sure to act as the scout for your family.
- Tip #3: Make sure your children are aware of the dangers of provoking animals.
Even seemingly harmless creatures might carry diseases, so it’s important to make sure your children know how to react when they come across an animal. Larger mammals like raccoons can be potentially deadly – don’t just leave these situations to nature. Even if animals are generally scared away when they detect human activity, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t let your children know about animals. Don’t send them into situations where they might confront a dangerous animal.
Photo Credits: Joi
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Making Your Camping Bed (And Sleeping In It, Too)
It’s no secret that one of the purported miseries of camping – as espoused by the willfully-sheltered folk who happily name themselves “indoor types” – is that sleeping on the ground is no fun. In fact, it can be downright painful. The experienced camper, however, knows that sleeping on the ground would be like eating a camping diet solely comprised of almonds and hot dogs: with a little preparation it’s not necessary. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can make your camping bed and actually want to sleep in it, too.
But once you’ve decided to bring a device like a cot or an airmattress, that isn’t the whole story. A bed should keep you warm, insulated, and dry. If your airmattress has a leak in it, don’t be surprised to wake up in the morning with your back on the ground. If your cot isn’t adequately insulated, you may find yourself wishing to be in your bed back home.
First, understand your options. An airmattress will keep you off the ground, but so will a cot, a futon, a foam pad, and even something home-made. So many people think about sleeping on the ground outdoors that they forget it takes very little action in order to rectify the problem: simply buy something for your bed that you can bring with you.That’s why you’ll still want to bring that camping staple so many enjoy: the sleeping bag. Most sleeping bags come with zippers that allow them to fold out like blankets. You can use this feature to spread out the sleeping bag like a blanket on your airmattress or cot.
Why not just use a regular blanket? Regular blankets work well, but they’re not designed for the outdoors. Sleeping blankets usually have lining on the outside that keeps them dry, sealed off from insects, and insulating well against the cold. You’d be surprised how much heat you can still trap with a sleeping blanket that’s been folded out.
Once you have your gear ready, simply bring a comfortable pillow or two from home. If you really want to stay luxurious, you can even bring sheets; it will feel like you’re still in your bedroom. Make sure to keep your pillow and sheets in a safe, dry place (such as the back of your car, if it’s nearby); exposing them to the elements can mean bugs, sticks, and moisture. Make sure to put together your bed after you’ve set up your tent: when bedtime arrives, you’ll be ready to slip in the covers right away, just like at home.
Photo Credits: Felipe Skroski
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Are You A Backpacker?
When we think of the term “backpacker,” we probably get a particular image in our heads: someone walking solo through Europe, going from town to town after graduating from college and hoping to discover something about themselves.
Okay, maybe our image of the backpacker isn’t that specific, but we do know one thing: being a backpacker isn’t limited to the profound. Backpacking is also about integrating hiking and camping into one enjoyable, relaxing activity that helps you get out of the world for a few days and cut loose. Spending the occasional weekend on a backpacking trip doesn’t mean you’ve mentally checked out; instead, it means you’re simply recharging your batteries.
With that in mind, ask yourself a few questions to determine whether or not you have the personality of a backpacker, and you’ll understand in a few minutes whether you have it within you.
-Do you function well alone, or at least feel the yearning to get away from things?
You might have a busy and active social life, but sometimes taking “time off” doesn’t only refer to work. Spending a day or two camping by yourself can be totally reinvigorating, especially if you’re used to the hustle and bustle of a highly active social life. If a break from “people” sounds as welcoming as a break from work, you might want to spend a weekend backpacking, if even just to try it out.
-Do you enjoy camping?
You don’t need to enjoy being alone to be a backpacker; often, you can spend a backpacking trip with a friend or loved on. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, you come to another question: how much do you really like camping out under the stars. To some people, the novelty of sleeping directly under the clouds or under a tent is refreshing and welcoming. To others, they can only think about how many canisters of bug repellant they’ll have to bring. If camping out without breaking the bank sounds good to you, you might have the personality of a backpacker.
-Do you want to learn self-sufficiency?
Sometimes, you don’t need to be predestined as a backpacker; you can develop those skills by backpacking! Learning self-sufficiency is a great skill, especially to people entering college or the work force. For you youngsters who want a taste of what it will be like to depend on yourself for your livelihood, a simple “one-weekend trial” can be a big step forward.
Do any of these personality types sound like you? If so, consider giving backpacking a try. You’ll enjoy your own cooked food, clear summer nights, and sometimes a more developed relationship with a loved one.
Photo Credits: Mat Honan
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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
