Camping can easily be one of the most enjoyable ways to discover a new place or escape from reality, but there are also a lot of difficulties that can arise from being under prepared, here are a few camping tricks to help you make the best of your adventure.
Camping Tricks: 1 – Plan
One of the best camping tricks is to plan, if you go and stay in a hotel somewhere bad weather, forgotten items or illness are, for the most part, just an inconvenience. When camping, bad weather could ruin a trip and lead to health problems, forgotten items could be a nightmare – imagine an air mattress with no pump, that’s not going to lead to a good night’s sleep.
So plan, plan where you’re going, and how you’re getting there, what you really need to take and what you can pick up later? Taking a car? Great you can take extras. Travelling on public transport? Pack sparingly and make sure you can carry it. Bear in mind things like the weather, keep checking it in the run up to your trip. If you’ve not camped before pick somewhere nearby as your first trip, allowing you to see what works and what doesn’t (as well as the option to head home) before you head off on a more adventurous one.
Camping Tricks: 2
The Tent There are lots of camping tents out there and some of them are very expensive, finding the right one can make or break a trip and there’s nothing worse than paying out for a tent that in the end, just wasn’t right. Pop up tents are great for festivals, saving time and giving adequate space, but a family of four may not want to be all stuck in the same area, so it wouldn’t be right for them. A huge family tent with multiple compartments sounds luxurious, but trying to dismantle and pack it at the end of a festival may feel like the worst idea possible when it comes down to doing it. If you know what type of tent, and other equipment you need, the next trick would be knowing where to get it. I’d recommend starting your search at https://wanderingprivateer.com Think about what you need your tent to do, the purpose it will serve and how much you are willing to spend, check reviews, ask around and then go out there and get your tent.
Camping Tricks: 3
Testing sounds simple enough right? But how many times have you had it happen? You get where you’re going or you’re on your way and suddenly realize you needed something that you’ve not picked up. Turned up at the site to find no tent pegs? Remember that inflatable mattress and no pump? It’s easy enough for it to happen, so prepare in advance, test your tent especially if it’s second hand or been in storage a long time. You may want to take power banks for devices, ensure they work and are charged before you leave. Make sure all equipment is there, and working from torches to BBQ equipment, if you’re planning to take it, make sure it works. You’ll be glad you did later.
Camping Tricks: 4
Pack Efficiently It’s very easy to over prepare in some ways while being unprepared in others. In fact, often people take a lot of things they don’t really need and forget the bits that they do. So, make a list and really think about it, what do you need? If you’re just going to a campsite to relax for a few days, a couple of easy changes of clothes are far better than taking half your wardrobe. But if you’re aware that you’ll be doing a lot of different things when you get there, make sure you have the right clothes for the job. A few combinations is always going to be easier than packing for just in case, check out the concept of capsule wardrobes to help you with your packing.
Camping Tricks: 5
Pick Your Pitch This might involve getting there a little earlier than everyone else (not too early, check with the site so you know what time you can arrive from), but it’s worth the effort. Avoid being at the bottom or part way down a hill, if you have to be on a hill, stay nearer the top, to avoid rainfall swamping your tent if the weather turns. Being a reasonable distance from the toilets, close enough it’s an easy walk, but far away enough to avoid the smell makes for a much nicer trip. Details like this are often afterthoughts but they can save you from a trip that’s memorable for the wrong reasons.
Camping Tricks: 6 –
Prepare for the Worst Hope for the best. It’s a well-known saying but also a useful piece of advice. We rarely expect things to go wrong and so we often don’t plan for those moments when they do. Now you’ve packed more efficiently you have the space for more important items, a first aid kit, insect repellent, spare batteries or even a spare phone. Know your area so if medical care is required you know how to get there and how long it will take – this also allows you to look for things to do in the local area that you may otherwise have not known about it. This is also that time when going back over your original plan is wise, has anything changed? Do you need to make alterations to your plan? Take the time to think it over.
Camping Tricks: 7 –
Packing Your Car If you’re traveling by car then pack that car carefully, make sure the most important bits are packed last, so that you can access them first when you get to your destination. If you like a game of Tetris then this should be a fun challenge, but if you’re not a fan, give yourself plenty of time to pack your belongings, as this may take a couple of goes to get right. As your shoving that stuff in there, remember there’s nothing worse than being caught in the rain – or getting there late, and your tent being the hardest thing to retrieve
Camping Tricks: 8 –
Buy Local, Buy Fresh. Avoid lots of preplaced foods, it might seem convenient at the time, but piles of rubbish can make life more difficult, especially if there is nowhere to get rid of rubbish on site. It isn’t uncommon for campsites to ask you to take your rubbish away with you and you don’t want to have to head home carrying it all. Remember, fly tipping is not an option.
Consider buying most of your food locally, have a few bits for snacks when you first arrive onsite, but otherwise head out to the local shops and pick up food there, you can avoid too much packaging – so less rubbish to shift after and often nicer food. This isn’t just good for you, this is also good for the locals who will always be happy to see the campers that help make the place nicer, for them, for yourself, and for those who come after.
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