Comfortable Camping
Camping is a great activity to do with friends and family. It takes you away from the busyness of modern life and allows you to spend time meaningfully with your loved ones. It also allows you to relax within nature and all of its offerings. However, many people are turned off from camping because of the common misconception that camping means roughing it out. This is completely false. Camping can be an enjoyable and comfortable time. It just requires the right planning and gear. In this article, we will be discussing how you can make camping more comfortable. So, let’s get into it!
1. Always Plan In Advance
When it comes to camping, you’ll always want to plan in advance. It might be tempting to be spontaneous for camping. However, this is only really enjoyable if you don’t mind roughing it out and are experienced at camping. Otherwise, you’d much rather stick to planning things out in advance. Planning in advance means that you shouldn’t have moments of “oh no, we should have…”. Instead, you’ll have accounted for most possibilities and will be ready to simply enjoy your time. Planning in advance refers to picking the right campground and the right time to camp.
First and foremost, you’ll want to plan where you’re camping at. Are you camping at a club or camping ground facility? If so, what amenities do they have? Does it sound good to you? How’s the weather like there? Can you handle the weather? If this is your first time camping, you might want to camp somewhere that is familiar to you. This would be less jarring for you and you would probably have less difficulty in adapting.
Secondly, you’ll want to think about when you’re camping. This is important as you’d want to take into account the season and its weather. If you’re someone who hates the cold, you’d want to avoid camping during the colder months. And, you might also want to stay at a lower elevation to escape the cold. If you’re someone who hates the heat and humidity, you’d then want to avoid summer and spring. Therefore, think of when you’re camping and plan accordingly to what suits you the most. Along with that, knowing the weather of when you’re camping will also allow you to know what to pack and what to prepare for.
2. Make Sure You Pack All Your Essentials
The next important thing is to ensure that you pack all of your essentials. This is one of the most important parts of preparing for a camping trip as you wouldn’t want to be lacking equipment halfway through a trip. Therefore, always try to imagine your trip and what you’d need. If you aren’t sure of what you’ll need, you can always consult others or the internet for what items to bring. However, a short guide to camping essentials would be this:
- Tent – make sure that the tent you bring along is big enough to fit everyone.
- Sleeping Bag – make sure that your sleeping bag is appropriate for the temperatures that you will be sleeping in.
- Sleeping Pad – A sleeping pad can help make sleeping much more comfortable. If you are camping in the cold, this will also serve as a good insulation from the cold ground.
- Lighting – As it gets dark, you’ll definitely need lighting to move around your campsite. This can range from flashlights, head torches to lanterns and fairy lights. At the end of the day, you should pack what you’d think you need most. If you are unsure, you can always consult the internet.
- Cooking Gear – Camp cooking is one of the specialities of camping and you’ll definitely need the right gear to cook at a campground. The basic equipment you should have is a stove, gas, cutlery, plates and pans. If you have anything else that you like, you can include that too.
- Water and Water Storage – Depending on where you’ll be camping, it might be hard to find a source of clean water. Therefore, it’s best to bring a good supply of your own water and storage for the water too.
- Camping Furniture – This is up to you, however, you might want to bring some furniture for camping, such as camping chairs, hammocks or tables.
- Insect Repellant – As you’ll be out in nature, you can expect to encounter bugs and insects. Therefore, you should bring repellent to protect you from them. At night, these bugs might be even more annoying and prevent you from sleeping.
Aside from the above list, there may be other items that you’d wish and need to bring. According to your needs and abilities, you should bring them. If you are driving, it will be much easier to bring everything with you. However, if you are hiking or cycling, you may have to be more discerning in packing your bag.
3. Choose The Right Food To Bring Along
Another challenging part of camping is eating. You wouldn’t want to bring foods that require lots of preparation to cook. You’d much rather something easy and simple to prepare. Additionally, you wouldn’t want foods that cause you to feel bloated or nauseous. Therefore, you should definitely plan ahead and choose the right food to bring along. Choose foods that are light and easy on the stomach, and that wouldn’t take much time to cook. This will make camping more enjoyable for sure!
4. Always Visit The Toilet Before Bed
If you’d like to sleep uninterrupted, you should visit the toilet before bed. This ensures that you won’t have to wake up halfway through the night to use the toilet. If you have to get up, you’d probably have to walk through the dark and cold to use the toilet and this journey could wake you up significantly. Thereafter, you might have a harder time falling asleep again.
5. Stay Clean And Safe When Camping
Lastly, you’d want to stay safe and clean whilst camping. Getting injured or rashes when camping can significantly impair your experience and you’d want to avoid that. Therefore, do be prepared with whatever you’d need to freshen up each day, such as soaps, wipes or towels. To stay safe, you’d also want a good first aid kit to treat anything from cuts, blisters, burns and insect bites. This will for sure make your trip a better time.
Camping is a fun activity and it is definitely one that many can enjoy. All it takes is some forward-thinking practices and preparation to ensure that your camping trip goes well. If you follow along with the suggestions in this article, you will surely be able to have an enjoyable camping trip.
Hi, I am Amy I have two loves in my life camping and writing. When I am not writing for The Expert Camper, I am usually camping. Lake District is one of my favourite spots, but really anywhere in the UK under canvas I am happy.
