What do you call a campsite without a tent?
When done well, camping is among life's true pleasures. Before embarking on an outdoor adventure alone or with friends and family, it is important to familiarize yourself with tried and true camping tips and advice. The article that follows offers just the start any burgeoning outdoors enthusiast might need to plan their next outing.
Select your sleeping bag with the weather, season and location of your trip in mind. Bringing a winter bag camping in summer can cause you to roast all night. On the other hand, if you bring along a light-weight bag in the winter, you may feel like you are freezing to death. You could even experience hypothermia.
Purchase a quality tent. It can be tempting to score a good deal on a tent, but you want to find something that can hold both you, your family members and your belongings. Try visiting a store that specializes in outdoor gear. They tend to have well-made products that will last for a while.
When you bring your dog on a camping trip, make certain he has adequate tick protection. Bugs thrive in forests, and many flea treatments do not extend protection to include ticks, so ask your vet before departing if your dog has everything he needs and what you should do for proper tick prevention and removal.
When you reach your campsite, the first thing, you should do is to start collecting wood for your fire. You won't feel like it later on, and if you wait until dark you will have a harder time finding the kind of wood you need to keep a fire going. Do it right away.
When planning for your camping trip, don't forget to pack the sunscreen. Just because you are not on the beach doesn't mean that you don't need protection from the sun's burning rays. A sport sunscreen can be a smart choice if you will be doing strenuous physical activities during your trip.
You can easily start campfires using dryer lint as a starter material. Start collecting the lint about a month prior to your trip from the filter in your dryer. Simply hang a plastic bag near the dryer and stash the lint in the bag as it collects. Just grab your bag of dryer lint and go on camping day.
When it is time for you to go to sleep, it is a good idea to put the coolers that you brought along into your vehicle. Bears have become quite savvy these days and have figured out that these coolers usually carry food items and this will attract them to your campsite.
Take something to entertain yourself when you have some downtime. Bring some board games for the whole family, or bring a book in case you wake up before everyone else. This is a good idea so that you know you are entertained throughout your entire trip and there isn't a dull moment.
If you have special drinks that you like, take them with you camping. It is easy to forget things like green tea, hot cocoa or your special blend of coffee. You can even take wine if it is a romantic camping adventure. Just don't forget to pack a corkscrew.
Flashlights, lanterns and a few extra batteries must be taken for every camping trip. There will be times when you will need to see clearly after the sun goes down. A flashlight can prevent a fall and scare away unwanted wildlife. If you have children with you on your camping trip, a smart thing to do is to give each of them a flashlight.
Pick out all of your clothing before you go camping. Consider how many outfits you will need for the number of days you plan to be on your trip and add in a few extra in case of bad weather. Always bring temperature appropriate clothing for your campsite. You should pack at least one pair of durable closed-toed boots.
Make sure you always have a source of clean water with you. When camping, you can't always trust that a natural water source is clean enough to drink from without boiling the water first. So keep a canteen filled with water at your side during any daily adventure. In the evenings, boil any spring water for ten minutes to create clean water reserves for the next day.
If you have more than three people camping with you, take along more than tent platform kit one tent. You are going to want to have some privacy at one time or another. The additional tent will make it possible to get some "me" time while at the camp site. It also gives you additional storage to keep animals out of your supplies.
Never forget to pack ample toilet paper on your next camping trip. If you take care of business in the woods, toilet paper is imperative to have. Leaves are not something you want to wipe with, since you can get poison ivy and a host of other issues. Pack toilet paper.
One great tip for anyone who is planning a camping trip is to bring along plenty of 550-cord. This cord is extremely useful for many things like staking guy-lines, installing tarp and hanging bear bags. It is always better to bring to much chord than too little and find that you really need it.
If you are going camping with a tent you have never used before, put it up in your backyard before you leave. When you get to your campsite, it might be dark and raining, and you might have to go on feel and memory pitching the thing. So, it helps to have done it at least once before.
Seal all the seams when pitching your tent. If tent sealer was not provided with the tent, you can purchase some at a sporting goods store. Sealing your tent will keep out rainwater and unwelcome critters.
Armed with the advice in the piece above, you ought to have a good feel for what you should consider prior to your trip. Camping is not intended to be an intense event, but there is a bit of know-how required to make it stress free. Apply what you've just learned, and have a wonderful trip.