5 Things To Do Before Your Trip

5 Things to Do Before Your First Camping Trip

By Roy Scribner

So, you have made the decision to try camping and you have picked-up something to sleep in, something to cook with and an ice chest for your food and drinks, but there are still some important things that you should do before you head off on that first camping trip.

• Setup your shelter. Whether you are camping in a tent or a million dollar motor home, it is important to set everything up at least once, before you attempt to do it at a campsite. Discovering problems beforehand will provide you with plenty of time to replace that missing tent stake, or figure out how to remove the winterization bypass on the hot water heater.
• Plan your meals. There is nothing worse than running out of eggs or pancake mix, one day into your three day camping trip. Put together a menu that covers breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner for each day of the trip. There is no need to get extravagant here; keep the meals simple and try to use as many common ingredients as you can.

• Pack appropriate clothing. A common mistake many new campers make is not bringing enough warm clothing. Whether you are camping at the beach, the mountains, or the desert, when the sun goes down the temperature drops rapidly and it will feel a lot colder than the thermometer might indicate. Also, if you plan on swimming or showering at the campground, be sure to pack sandals and towels.
• Pre-chill your ice chest. One gallon milk jugs of frozen water work very well for keeping your ice chest cool all weekend. To keep the water in the milk jugs frozen all weekend, pre-chill the ice chest a day in advance with ice or additional milk jugs. Also, pre-chill all drinks before putting them into the ice chest, so that they do not raise the interior temperature, melting your ice, when you first load it up.
• Make a list. If you categorize your list by packing location, there will be no confusion about where an item is located and it will be easy to check items off the list, once they are packed. Common packing locations are the ice chest, “John’s backpack” or “John’s duffle”, “tub #1”, etc. If you are not backpacking, storage tubs are great for camping supplies.

Camping is all about relaxation and stress reduction. Ensuring that you have the appropriate gear, and that you know how to use it, will make your backcountry adventure enjoyable and worry-free.

Happy camping!

�2008 Roy Scribner.

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