Camping Basics Tips for the Novice Camper

April 27, 2008 - 4:28pm — GettingOutside
Camper_Woman.jpg

At its most basic form, good fun camping can be had with minimal comforts and minimal investment. Grab a couple blankets on a nice night and head outside. Of course with a few accoutrements, you can add a great deal to your experience. Just remember the gadgets aren’t the most important point.

Camping starts with the right frame of mind. If you’re not in the right mood for roughing it, it doesn’t matter if you’re sleeping under the stars or in a million dollar RV; you’ll be wishing you were someplace else. (This goes for your kids too.) However if you’re in the “right place” mentally and spiritually, you’re in for some real fun.

What’s the right mindset for camping? You have to slow down. Take a deep breath. Leave the clock-watching and benchmarking at home. Remember why you wanted to get outside in the first place, to get some peace and have some fun. Take it easy.

What can you expect? Every camping experience is different, so keep an open mind if you haven’t gone to a particular campground before. Like most things new, it might make sense to start out easy and work your way up to more difficult camp outs. For instance on your first camping trip, you might want to stay at a drive-up campsite that has running water and showers nearby, as opposed to a primitive site that you have to hike 5 miles to get to.

Kids, Pets and Safety Considerations

Commonsense will take you a long way in the outdoors, but there is nothing that will replace preparedness. Plan ahead and think. Kids and pets are an important consideration. When it comes to kids, my experience has been that if you can keep them busy they are usually pretty open to the whole camping experience. Don’t forget… ...that there are some genuine things to prepare kids for.

You’ll be outside, and most authentic campgrounds have wild animals of one sort or another. From chipmunks to bears, you’ll want your kids to be thoughtful and respectful when it comes to wild animals. Keeping a safe distance and NO feeding are a must, and are somewhat obvious. No food of any kind in the tents is critical, and not always obvious to the newbie. Note all warnings and rules when you arrive. And follow them.

Water is another child magnet. If you have children that don’t swim, avoid campsites that are right on a lake. Leave them for people who will enjoy them, rather than be worrying about your kids the whole time.

Find out in advance if pets are allowed in the campground you are staying in. Know your pet. And keep your pet on a leash as much as possible. Even the nicest dog has been known to get lost in the wood chasing a deer. With all that said there are a million and one things that you could prepare for and worry about.

Remember, use commonsense. Ask the campground personnel and rangers if you have questions. They are usually very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Get to know them as soon as you arrive. Now relax. You’ll be safe. There’s nothing to worry about… well maybe mountain lions… OK. Just kidding… :-)

Basic Equipment

For a full list of camping equipment and other supplies you should consider, see our camping checklist. Print it out and use it as a guide for packing.

Tent. If you’re not going to rent or buy an RV, you’ll want to buy a tent. I’m going to confess my preference for the tenting experience, but to each his “calzone.’ While it’s beyond the scope of this discussion to go into all the elements of tent purchase, if you’re relatively new to camping, buying your first tent is relatively easy. There are just a couple questions you need to ask yourself... Are you going to follow the suggestion above to take it easy and camp at a drive-up campsite? If so, how many people will you want in your tent at one time?

My general rule of thumb is that you want to have enough room for yourself and another, so get a 3-man tent, at least. Stay away front giant monstrosities. 8’x8’, more or less oughta do it. Make sure it’s an easy to assemble dome tent. Before you go camping, you’ll need to set up the tent and seam seal it. My suggestion is to use the toxic, death-to-the-planet seam-sealer (just this once). Nothing ruins a camping trip faster than water in the tent, and the eco-friendly stuff just doesn’t cut it.

Also, you’ll need a ground cloth for under your tent. Use a small tarp. Fold it so it is about 4” or 5” from the edge of your tent. (Not hanging out from the edge. The tent should completely cover your ground cloth with 5” to spare. If the ground cloth is visible, water will collect under your tent.) In your tent, throw a blanket or two down on the floor of your tent - not touching the edges or condensation will get in – maybe put down a mat or two, and you’re set. Add a sleeping bag, rated to the temperature your sleeping in, and a pillow, and you should be quite comfortable. (Did I say NO food in the tent?) OK. So the tent is a fairly obvious piece of equipment.

What else do you need? How about a tent-fly for over the picnic table? Trust me. This is a fairly inexpensive thing, and you will thank me again and again, if it rains or even if it’s a hot day and there’s no shade on the picnic table. You could also go and get a few extra tarps. They’re cheap, and I’ve never heard anyone complain that they had too many tarps.

Lighting and Coolers.... It’s going to get dark out there, so you’ll need some light. I personally do NOT like propane lights. They are rudely bright. If you’re scared of the dark, maybe now is the time to overcome your fear. How about bringing several tiki torches and flashlights with you? They give off a much softer light than the propane lights, and a little citronella might scare away a bug or two. Also there are some decent battery powered lamps that are nice, and you can use those in the tent. Don’t forget to bring a and extra batteries, especially if you have kids.

If I was going to purchase a new cooler, it would be big, well insulated and have wheels. Also brings jugs for water (regular, plastic gallons of water will do) and a big bucket, like the kind you can find at home stores. You will find dozens of uses for the pail, from hauling water to cleaning dishes to sitting, and you'll have uses around the house too.

The Nitty and the Gritty

These are just a more few tips. There are tons of things you can bring, but these should be somewhat helpful and maybe not found on a run of the mill list.

Grill Top. Find a big, cheap grill top. Some campgrounds only have fire circles with grates that don’t cut it for grilling. A grill top could make your trip.

Umbrella. A beach umbrella has served me very well on many a camping trip.

Saw. When you bring a saw for cutting, you’ve arrived. There is a lot of free wood laying around out there, but only a saw will get it cut up for you. I bring a saw and a hatchet.

Mallet or Claw Hammer. You have to stake your tent, and then you have to get those stakes out of the ground when you leave. A tent mallet usually has a stake remover attached to the handle.

Folding Chairs. There are some really nice folding chairs out there that fold up and store neatly in a bag. After a day of hiking or choping wood, they make sitting by the fire that much more enjoyable. This ought to get you started. There’s a million ways to enjoy camping, and a million and one cool tools and toys you can utilize to make your experience that much more fun. Go! Be yourself and go camping.

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