Are tents waterproof?
Are you thinking about your upcoming camping trip? Whether you want to spend a week in the wilderness or just a night at the local campground, it is essential to have a plan. Keep reading to ensure that your camping trip is enjoyable and relaxing for everybody.
Bring a large trash bag for dirtied laundry, and keep it in a central location, suitable for everyone in your party. Let them pack their clothing individually, as this makes it much easier to find than if you pile it all in a community storage box or bag. Toss in a dryer sheet to any bag you want smelling fresh.
Pre-cool your ice chest by filling it with loads of ice, at least six hours prior to departure. When you are about to leave, pack up your refrigerated cooled drinks and block ice, not cubed. Popping room temp beverages will take up valuable ice-life, and the cubes will melt much quicker than a block!
To increase your sleeping experience while camping, bring a pad along that you can place under your sleeping bag. This pad acts as a barrier between you and the hard ground where twigs and tree knots may cause strange sleeping conditions. If a pad isn't handy, bring a few extra blankets that you can fold over on themselves to create some cushion.
Review your health insurance policy. Some policies don't cover you while out of state and you may have to add an extra policy. This is a bigger factor if you're traveling to another country for a camping trip, such as Canada. Be prepared in case there is an injury or illness.
Bring your cellphone with you when you go camping. Even if you are serious about roughing it, cell phones are still very useful in emergencies and should not be left at home. A cell phone is no longer a hobby, and when you go camping it can help you reach police and emergency personnel--bring it.
Bring sufficient amounts of the right kinds of foods. Depending on the length of your stay, you will want food that is not very perishable. Food poisoning will put a damper on your trip and force you to end it quickly. Therefore, it is imperative to maintain the highest level of preparation with your food.
Pack the duct tape. Duct tape is good for so many things. It can be used as a quick patch for tents, shoes, inflatables, or can be used to secure items such as your mosquito netting.
Collect more wood than you think you are going ot need. Unless you go camping every day, you probably don't have an accurate idea of what "enough wood" actually looks like. You can always leave the extra wood in a pile as a gift for anyone that uses the campsite after you.
It's important to talk with you kids about the dangers of camping. Show them pictures of plants that are poisonous so they know not to touch them.
Take along a battery operated radio when camping. A radio will keep you up-to-date on any late-breaking news and weather reports. A radio will also give you entertainment during those quiet evenings sitting around the campfire. Or if you prefer, pack a guitar for you and your campers' enjoyment.
Part of the fun of camping is cooking over an open fire or on a camp stove. To make sure you don't forget to pack any key ingredients, make a list of the meals you plan on preparing. Don't forget to take a small cutting board along with you so you have a clean surface for food preparation. Also remember to pack a couple of potholder or oven mitts to handle hot utensils, such as marshmallow forks.
When you have a campfire, be certain that someone is monitoring it at all times. Summer's weather and dry campsites bell tent platform can be potentially hazardous conditions for fires in unwanted areas. Take turns watching the flames, and be sure to keep a bucket of water and dirt handy to put out any fires.
Some of the best food options to bring camping with you are things that come in cans. While this may not be the tastiest, it is great for two reasons. It is very convenient and easy to prepare, but more importantly; wildlife will be unable to smell the food inside of the cans.
In this modern age, there is no excuse for being in the woods without some form of communication ability. Of course, no one likes to receive phone calls when they are relaxing, so leave your phone off but fully charged, just in case there is an emergency, and you need to contact someone.
If you have more than three people camping with you, take along more than 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.
A well stocked first aid kit is absolutely essential to any camping trip. It should have anything that you might need should an emergency arise. Be sure to include pain killers, bandages, snake bite supplies, aloe, tweezers, and gauze. Accidents can and do happen on many camping trips, so always travel prepared.
Always ensure you have enough clean water. Water is the single most important thing our bodies need. Always carry enough bottled water with you, especially if you don't have access to a spring. You could also try bringing along iodine packets to sanitize the water that you collect from the backcountry.
To have a fantastic camping trip, just take the advice you've learned in this article. You will find that this only touches the surface of what makes camping great, so keep your eyes opened for anything you can use in the future to make a camping trip a lot more enjoyable later on.