What Do I Need for Camping

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

We had terrible rain, so I'd say as many pairs of shoes as you can carry :laugh:

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!

baby wipes!!!! I have always carried them when camping and they are a life saver and easier to carry than toilet paper.

a basin to wash dishes in??