While camping is a rather simple pastime for millions of people around the world, one of the key secrets to having a great trip is to know enough ahead of time to be skilled at it. Just knowing a little bit of information about camping can help your camping trip go off without a hitch.
When you are camping, a necessity for your gear is a survival knife. This is the most important part of your camping gear. Buy a high quality survival knife, not just the cheapest you can find, your life may depend on it. These knives are all very similar; they have a long blade serrated on one side and a hollow handle. Inside the handle you can carry fishing line, hooks, a compass, and matches as a small survival kit.
Keep an eye on the weather. Rain or other conditions may impact your travel time and your experience at the campsite. Make sure that you have gear that is appropriate for the weather conditions that you may face. Adjust your departure time as necessary to try and avoid the bulk of the bad weather, if possible.
While you have this vision of a fun-filled camping trip, many times scrapes and cuts just seem to come with all that fun. Be sure you take a first-aid kit with you into nature because accidents just happen, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Hopefully, it will stay packed safely away, but you will have the peace of mind that you are prepared if something does happen.
Figure out your new gear before you go camping. The practice does really help. No one wants to get to the campground, only to find out that they don’t know how to use something or set up their own tent. Practice with your new gear before you ever set foot on the campground.
While a campfire gives off enough light in the general area around it, you want to be sure you take along a flashlight on your camping trip if you plan to venture outside of the campfire’s glow. This is a definite safety precaution you don’t want to ignore. It can be quite dark out there in the woods at nighttime.
As a courtesy to other campers, don’t leave your lighting on overnight, if you are close to others. Pack a timer that you can attach to your lights that will automatically shut them off after a certain time. Leaving lights on overnight is a popular complaint among most American campers!
Pack and carry a survival kit on your person for the entire trip. You need to pack a flare gun, utility knife, matches and a first aid kit. For any life threatening situation, these items may be the only thing standing between you and disaster. Be sure to bring it with you whenever you leave your campsite.
Ask a park ranger or a tour guide to let you know about all the places to check out while you are camping. This is a good idea so that you know you are getting the most out of your camping experience, you don’t want to take a camping trip and miss out on a fun experience.
When you go camping, be sure to have a few activities in mind other than just… “camping”. The camping experience is enriched by hiking, swimming, exploring and things like that. Be sure to engage in some of these other activities so that you have the fullest camping experience you’ve ever had.
If your intended camping destination is known for its prowling wildlife, take more than enough precautions to secure food. These precautions include tightly wrapping your foods and storing them away from your tent. You also have to just forgo certain foods entirely. Doing so is going to decrease the likeliness of a random attack.
Make sure not to drain the batteries in your flashlight by accident. You can easily bump the power button on the flashlight while digging for things in a bag. If you put the batteries in your flashlight backwards, you can avoid this. This way, you’ll still have fresh batteries for your trip.
When going on a camping trip, it is vital that you bring several lanterns and/or flashlights, as well as extra batteries with you. There are times when you’ll need light to help you see after sundown. Adequate light can help you avoid falling in the dark, or encountering wildlife. It is a great idea to bring one flashlight for each person, especially when camping with children.
When camping out, you’re going to have bugs. Some of them are fine, and some of them; you don’t want them around you. To limit the amount of bugs you must deal with, keep your campsite clean. Bees and ants are attracted to sugary soda cans and messes, so dispose of your trash immediately.
Always keep a close eye on your kids. Kids love to explore in the woods and they can very easily get lost. Disaster can strike quickly if you aren’t watching closely.
Dress in layers when camping. You may find that the weather conditions can change rapidly. You may find the early mornings or late evenings to be very cool or cold, while the middle of the day can be warm or very hot. It can turn chilly again in the evenings. You can adapt to the changing weather over the course of any day when you have multiple layers of clothing.
A shower curtain that is past its prime is a quick and inexpensive tarp for placement under your tent. Additionally, you can use it as a place to cook or wash up. Instead of throwing away your old shower curtain, wash it and use it when you go camping.
This article gave you enough information so that you should be adept at handling basic camping events that come your way, even if you haven’t left for your trip yet! Camping is a fun excursion for everyone in the family, and if you keep the advice here in mind, your trip will be a blast!
