What Do I Need for Camping
Replies
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extra pair of dry shoes, and warm coat.0
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^^^ seriously, consider raccoons.
They're smart, they have hands, and they never give up. They know how to work Tupperware. They can open coolers. If you're camping in a campground where people regularly camp, outsmarting the raccoons that live their lives robbing campers can be quite the ordeal.
Good god yeah! Crafty little buggers, they are. All of the plasticware my parents had had claw and bites marks around the handles from them trying to open it!
When camping in cool weather, I take my dog as a raccoon deterrent. One year, they got into our cooler anyways. Either they made friends with the dog, or they were so sneaky, they didn't even wake him up.
My vote's for befriending the pup. They're so gosh darn cute, how could you not want to be?!
My dog isn't very smart. I imagine the conversation went something like this:
raccoons: "Hey! We see you have a black mask. We have black masks too!"
sausage-for-brains: "Oh boy! You must be small Saint Bernards!"
raccoons: "uh, yeah. And we're hungry. Do you mind if we get into this cooler?"
sausage-for-brains: "If you do, they'll call you 'Bad Dog' and you'll feel bad and pee on your own feet."
raccoons: "Oh, it's okay because...um...the people said it was okay."
sausage-for-brains: "Ok. Have fun!"0 -
Pegs and a washing line for wet clothes xx0
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Oh, and a mallet for hammering in your tent pegs.
Oh my gosh, this on so many levels. When we were in South Dakota, we forgot to get a rubber mallet and it took forever to get our pegs into the ground. Most of them we could only get half way. I've noticed that a rubber mallet seems to work better personally.
oh wow! I usually just look for a big rock to use. :sad:
-Headlamp
-extra contractor grade garbage bags - good for garbage, recycling, or last minute rainwear0 -
We also take a 5 gallon bottle of tap water for washing and cleaning and just leave it in the car.
Another trick is I wet and soap washcloths, then seal them in ziploc baggies and throw those in. With just a few drops of water to rinse, it's a great bath-in-a-bag. If you want a REAL treat, you can also pull out one of those soap towels, roll it, then wrap tin foil around it tightly (think super-wrapped burrito, twice)... then drop that little silver roll into a pot of boiling water... and then you have a WARM soapy towel to clean your face and hands.0 -
^^^ seriously, consider raccoons.
They're smart, they have hands, and they never give up. They know how to work Tupperware. They can open coolers. If you're camping in a campground where people regularly camp, outsmarting the raccoons that live their lives robbing campers can be quite the ordeal.
Good god yeah! Crafty little buggers, they are. All of the plasticware my parents had had claw and bites marks around the handles from them trying to open it!
When camping in cool weather, I take my dog as a raccoon deterrent. One year, they got into our cooler anyways. Either they made friends with the dog, or they were so sneaky, they didn't even wake him up.
My vote's for befriending the pup. They're so gosh darn cute, how could you not want to be?!
My dog isn't very smart. I imagine the conversation went something like this:
raccoons: "Hey! We see you have a black mask. We have black masks too!"
sausage-for-brains: "Oh boy! You must be small Saint Bernards!"
raccoons: "uh, yeah. And we're hungry. Do you mind if we get into this cooler?"
sausage-for-brains: "If you do, they'll call you 'Bad Dog' and you'll feel bad and pee on your own feet."
raccoons: "Oh, it's okay because...um...the people said it was okay."
sausage-for-brains: "Ok. Have fun!"
:laugh: Sounds like mine except she'd join in for the food heist! 0 -
Oh, and a mallet for hammering in your tent pegs.
Oh my gosh, this on so many levels. When we were in South Dakota, we forgot to get a rubber mallet and it took forever to get our pegs into the ground. Most of them we could only get half way. I've noticed that a rubber mallet seems to work better personally.
oh wow! I usually just look for a big rock to use. :sad:
-Headlamp
-extra contractor grade garbage bags - good for garbage, recycling, or last
OR, don't forget your pegs. One year my aunt forgot the tent, the next she forgot the pegs. The year we forgot the tent, we used a tarp and just put all of our things under it (and it did end up raining) and we slept in the back of the van. The second year, we took the tarp thing that covers the tent, put the pole underneathe it and popped it up on the bed of the truck. Worked out pretty good, actually lol.
But...it would've been nicer just to have a tent...0 -
Take the first aid kit apart - know how to use it. Make sure you have blankets. Know how to make splint, deal with dehydration, wasp stings.
Depending on type of hiking / camping take a gps, a communication kit, keep your phone charged and off. Buy a dry bag/box.0 -
Soap for handwashing. A find a small nail brush really useful to get really good and "scrubby" clean. One of those water containers with a tap on it is really useful for handwashing. (And washing dishes, if you're going to be out long enough to do that.)0
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ziplock bags. No kidding. You wouldn't believe how much crap we end-up sticking in the ziplock bags ! They "keep" all your crap together. My kids were forever finding cool rocks, or needing to put stuff safely away from weather. We also used them to make our own trail mix to shove in our pockets for the longer hikes or bike rides. We have a big camper now, but we used a 3 dome (room) tent for over 20 years with our kids. Have Fun !0
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Oh, and a mallet for hammering in your tent pegs.
Oh my gosh, this on so many levels. When we were in South Dakota, we forgot to get a rubber mallet and it took forever to get our pegs into the ground. Most of them we could only get half way. I've noticed that a rubber mallet seems to work better personally.
oh wow! I usually just look for a big rock to use. :sad:
-Headlamp
-extra contractor grade garbage bags - good for garbage, recycling, or last minute rainwear
Oh rocks were for sure used, but where the campsite was, it was pretty much solid rock with a little bit of dirt here and there haha. Many stakes were bent that day. 0 -
Lighter fluid to start the campfire...matches and twigs work, but lighter fluid makes it go a LOT faster!! Esp when it's 15 outside.
Rather than using flammable liquids, use fire starter sticks. Much more safe, work in any temperature and available most anywhere.
LOVE camping!!! Another option for starting fires... Melt down a few candles, fill paper dixie cups with wood shavings (any kind, I've used hamster bedding before), set the cups in a pan/tray and pour the melted wax over them. Make sure you soak them good. These work great and will burn even if it starts to rain a bit.0 -
Check out the camping guides on Instructables.com
what to bring
how to start a fire
how to build a tent
easy fire starters like lint with tin foil
even how to make some of your camping gear
which is what this website specializes in
tutorials with pics of how to make stuff
you didn't know you wanted to make,
but now you do lol
I always forget the most obvious things. best tip I got was having a container for all your camping gear.
even separate can opener if you can,
that way you're always ready to go next time
if this is a reg. thing. if not, then guess it's not that important.
there's also great websites about finding camp sites. in my area, the local state parks had the cheapest rates. even cheaper if you don't need electricity, I realize this time is prob. just in the backyard, but for next time.
also, have some back up methods of cooking your food. if you plan on cooking on the camp fire.
in case of bad weather, it's just not working out, or if there's wild fires near your state they won't let you cook on the fire.
Happy camping! I would hike everyday if I could 0 -
More thoughts....tin foil. I use it for everything when I'm camping. Haha!
Make a meal plan for the days you'll be out and see if there's stuff you can prepare at home then take along in coolers. Stuff like chopping onions, carrots or bell peppers can be done at home (and can be kind of a pain out camping when you're very hungry!)
I like to make a breakfast burrito mix the day before. Then easy peasy, reheat it and stuff some tortillas for a really quick but hearty breakfast.0 -
On my list of things is:
Tent, sleeping bag, flash light, batteries, pads for sleeping bags, lantern, Coleman stove and propane, cutlery, knives, pots, pans, and coffee pot or instant coffee, fishing poles, bikes, food, cooler, clothes, chairs, wood for fire, first aid, bug spray, and guitar. That's it, right? What am I missing? Any thing obvious?
We took a 21-day cross country road trip where only 4 nights were spent in a hotel, the rest was camping. We have a tent big enough for an air mattress so that we would be comfortable and be able to walk in the morning. The ground is hard and a pad may not be good enough to save your back and hips. This grill (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Fold-N-Go-Grill-with-Bonus-Griddle-Bundle/19397275) was a life saver. Its compact and you can cook ANYTHING on it. As for cutlery and dishes, go with plastic/paper so you can throw it away and not have to worry to much about doing dishes. I took my regular coffee pot as I will not be a happy camper without my coffee in the morning but it proved to be a lot of trouble. You can get a camping coffee pot that can go right on the grill which would have been a life saver. Depending on your length of stay, prep your food before hand. Meat can be frozen and will keep well in the cooler with ice and although side dishes can't really be frozen, they can be refrigerated and will keep well with ice. Most tents come with cheap plastic pegs and you may want to purchase some metal ones just for the safety of know your tent is secure. Make sure that you can have a fire in the part that you are going to. I know there are some places that restrict fires because of drought issues. If you can have a fire, buy wood before you go, the camp sites tend to jack up the prices. Water is very important as well as the concern of having power or not. Bottled water isn't going to cut it, by gallons. Even though they say there are no bears, just assume that there are and as someone else mention, raccoon could be a problem and so could wolves or coyotes. Make life simple on yourself by doing as much prep work before you go and have a blast.0 -
Rope to hang between trees to dry off towels etc. Also works great to get food and other items up off the ground from furry critters. Double check on taking your own wood. Here in Wisconsin, you are not to take wood further than 50 miles from home to burn due to some beetle infestation.
Look into getting pudgy pie makers. They are great for around the fire for desserts and making breakfast.0 -
also, have some back up methods of cooking your food. if you plan on cooking on the camp fire.
in case of bad weather, it's just not working out, or if there's wild fires near your state they won't let you cook on the fire.
For sure the others, but make sure you find out ahead of time about this one, even to find out if roads or certain areas of where you're going would be closed. Thankfully we found out ahead of time that no campfires were allowed when we went to South Dakota, but we still ended up living off sandwiches and hot dogs for over a week.
Where are you planning on camping? That might help give us an idea of what you need. 0 -
cellphone just in case since you're taking kids. 0
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Wellies - easy to pull on if you need to get up in the night. And if its dark it doesn't matter if you don't see a puddle!
Extra blankets to put between the ground and your mattress or air bed - really makes a difference when the temperature drops at night.
We have two windbreaks that we put up to make a little enclosure at the front of the tent - nice and protected from the wind to sit out.
A couple of glow sticks hung or in the ground outside the tent - helps to find it in the dark or to mark the guy ropes so you don't trip over them.!
In the uk there is a trend to string up fairy lights outside the tent!! We have a battery run set of led ones!0 -
Rope to hang between trees to dry off towels etc. Also works great to get food and other items up off the ground from furry critters. Double check on taking your own wood. Here in Wisconsin, you are not to take wood further than 50 miles from home to burn due to some beetle infestation.
Look into getting pudgy pie makers. They are great for around the fire for desserts and making breakfast.
I was just going to mention that about the firewood (hello fellow Wisco
). But usually gas stations and locals will have firewood available to buy if you're in a popular "camping" town.
And hurray for pudgy pies! My family wouldn't have survived if we couldn't make pudgy pie pizza and cherry pies! 0 -
Activities for the kids: decks of cards, books, notebooks and colored pencils, scavenger hunts, bikes to ride around the campground. Look into hiking or biking trails. Lots of parks offer guided hikes or activities for kids. I guarantee the kids will proclaim "I'm bored" with in about 20 minutes. Be ready with the next activity before they get bored. It doesn't have to be elaborite either. One of my favorite memories of camping as a kid was going 'fishing for chipmunks.' we tied a cheeto to a string and hung it from a stick, then sat back very quietly so the chipmunks would come to get the treat.0
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We've discovered a powdered milk here in the uk that tastes really good.
http://www.nestlenido.com/Public/Default.aspx0 -
We had terrible rain, so I'd say as many pairs of shoes as you can carry :laugh:0
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Wow. Thanks everyone. Great suggestions. I think my plan will be minimal, but necessary. I think games for the kids is a great idea. We'll be near a river, so there's water activities and great hiking. Also, it has shower facilities and we can make fires. So, we're good there.0
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I like to cook over an open campfire, so I would recommend a grill or rack that goes over the campfire, and also a cast iron frying pan and/or dutch oven.
Steak and fried potatoes cooked on a campfire are perhaps the best foods in the universe!0 -
My favorite way to make coffee while camping is in a percolator over the campfire.0
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baby wipes!!!! I have always carried them when camping and they are a life saver and easier to carry than toilet paper.0
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A Bible if you're in New Jersey's Pine Barrens. We have The Jersey Devil. It's pronounced New Jerzee.0
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a basin to wash dishes in??0
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Whatever you decide to bring, make a list. I get made fun of for being a list maker, but I don't care becasue it keeps us organized. A few weeks before we go camping (or have a party or go out of town or whatever) I make a list of things we need to bring and I break it down by category, such as cooking supplies, tent and gear, paper products, etc...Then I write down what we need to bring from each section. Then every few days I look at the list again and usually end up adding to it here and there with things I had forgotten to put on it. Then when it comes time to pack, I use the list to make sure we haven't forgotten anything. This list craze started 5 years ago when we took a 5 hour road trip to visit family and left a cooler full of prepared baby bottles in the fridge at home and didn't realize until we were 2 hours on the road. We had to stop and buy bottles on the wayand quickly becasue by the time we realized we didn't have the bottles, it was because our then baby daughter was starving! This wouldn't have happened if I had made and followed my list 0
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