Your First Successful Camping Trip

By Ian Kurz.

So you’ve decided you would like to get out camping with your friends for a weekend away but aren’t sure how to go about it? Never fear, the answers are always there for you if you know where to look.

I personally am a big fan of camping and love to go any chance I get. It’s great to get out with my friends for some serene, tranquil escapes from reality. To get away from work and traffic and other people in general is a break that is truly refreshing and it doesn’t take too long for you to become aware of how refreshing it is for your spirit.

It’s just as great or better for me to take my kids camping, and watch them experience nature and help build a fire and cook. I can remember doing this stuff with my parents when I was just a kid camping and I like to think that my own kids are going to remember the good times in the same way.

Now it’s time for you to go for your first trip. You’re excited right? You should be, it’s going to be great. Let’s talk about some things you may not have thought of to make things more enjoyable.

You’re obviously going to need a tent and sleeping bag, otherwise you’ll have no place to sleep so we won’t mention them any further. Instead we’ll expand on these two items.

A tent is going to do it’s obvious function of keeping you dry if it rains and keeping you away from the bugs, depending on the time of year you’re going camping. They should keep you dry but if it’s really raining on your trip then you can bet you’re going to be challenged to keep things inside dry. This can be a problem in cooler weather camping because things don’t tend to dry out too easily. What I’ve found to be an excellent remedy for this situation is to bring along a tarp and some spare rope. By lashing it to trees in the area and by ensuring the tarp is larger by area than your tent, you create an “exclusion zone” where the rain will not fall. This keeps the area around your tent dry and this helps to keep the inside of the tent dry. The other advantage is that it can provide an area for you to sit outside of your tent during a rainfall. If a tent does not have adequate foul weather venting then they can become quite stuffy and humid inside and that’s just not enjoyable.

I bought two tarps that I bring on my camping trips. Mine are quite small when packed and take up hardly any room at all. They’re about 6 feet by 9 feet when opened. They’re made of a similar material to what most tents are made out of these days. They were somewhat expensive because I bought them from an outfitter, but considering how usable they are as “ultra-light camping” goes, they were worth every penny. I set one up over my tent and than I have a spare that I can set up as either an eating shelter, or use as a windbreak if the wind is cold. Tarps have been an idea that I promote to everybody that asks me about camping. During the hot times they give you a place to escape the direct sun.

Here’s something else to think about. A sleeping bag is only going to keep you warm at night in the warmest weather. If you’re camping in the spring or fall, a sleeping bag by itself will not keep you warm. For this weather you need to get yourself off the ground and in my opinion, the best means of doing that is by purchasing a self inflating air mattress. By self inflating I don’t mean the ones that have a device to blow them up by themselves. I mean an insulated sleeping pad that inflates itself by means of a foam core expanding. These things are only about an inch thick but they offer excellent insulation value and believe it or not good comfort too. Air mattresses that you blow up are too noisy in the night when you toss and turn and I’ve never found them to be that comfortable or warm. The self inflating sleeping pads are designed with camping in mind. They’re warm, comfortable, and they pack well. Not to mention that they’re durable as well. They come in different lengths and sizes so be sure to buy one that fits your body properly. If you’re using the sleeping pad to stay warm then be certain to buy a full length pad, otherwise you’re body will be warm and your feet will freeze. I have experienced that situation myself and I can assure you that it’s not pleasant. If you have several cold nights in a row then you’ll be losing sleep for sure as you try to find a way to keep warm. The ground will suck the heat right out of you if you don’t properly insulate yourself from it so be sure you have you’re sleeping pad with you.

The author, Ian Kurz is an enthusiastic camper and loves to share stories and information related to camping. Be sure to visit http://www.everything-about-camping.com for more information and gear selection tips.

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