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camping advice tip#1

So you've decided that you're going to go and give it a try but you would like some camping advice before you get started. Excellent thinking! I've got advice for you.

First things first, you need to make a list of what you want to bring with you. Make the list with plenty of time to make changes to it because you can bet you're going to think of things to add or remove from it. Personally, I think it's a good idea to start with as little as you can and work your way up in terms of the number of items you wish to bring. You're going to need a tent, sleeping bag(s), sleeping pad(s), food, matches, first aid kit, change of clothes, a means of cooking, cutlery... you can see that it won't take too long for your list to grow so try to start small.

camping advice tip#2

The next bit of camping advice is to decide on a site or if you're going to hike or paddle and camp at multiple sites. It's a good idea to have a plan because you can make somebody aware of your itinerary before you leave, that way in the unlikely event of something happening to you, people know where to begin to look. Of course if you're camping with your family at a well known family camp site then that becomes somewhat less important. These sites are usually patrolled by their owners or site employees. If you're camping with your family then that's a good thing as they help to keep in check rowdy teenage parties and such that may occur. If you've decided to strap on a back back and hike or paddle a canoe to your location then for sure, plan your route and clearly communicate it to somebody. It's not likely that anything will happen to you but it's sure nice to know that if you don't make it home in a certain time frame that there's somebody out there that knows enough to send for help and they know where to send it.

I have a couple of aquaintances that were each part of separate camping groups. They were each going on a paddling trip in the same vicinity but were going a day apart. The first guy began his trip with his group against very adverse conditions. It was the first week of may in northern Ontario and the waters were unimaginably cold. They pushed on anyway against the wind and bad weather. Well the lake conditions became so bad that the waves were several feet high, causing them to have a very difficult time paddling. Of course they ended up upsetting their canoe and swimming for safety.

If you've never swam in ice-cold water then you don't appreciate what an impossible chore it can be. Water that cold takes the breath out of you, makes it nearly impossible to inhale, and you lose control of your muscles strength. Basically you end up flailing and trying to get safe. You need to calm down, get your wits about you and then try to get safe.

They swam for safety but guess what? All their gear blew across the lake and left them standing on shore with nothing but the soaking wet clothes on their back. Fortunately these guys had planned their trip and new a safety plan was a good idea. They had one of those foil emergency blankets in their pocket. They rounded up a bunch of cedar boughs to sleep on and made a sort of wind break with them as well. They ended up spending the night under this emergency blanket.

Guy number two comes paddling along the next day. Luckily the two men had spoken to each other of their plans and guy number one knew enough to keep an eye out for the second guy. Guy number two was able to help retrieve whatever gear they could find and gave them food and hot coffee and such.

I know that's a long winded story but it does illustrate the point nicely, have a plan and make sure someone knows it. When you're in the back country camping advice like that is well heeded.

camping advice tip#3

My next bit of camping advice is to pack your stuff. I don't mean pack it and go, I mean pack it and repack to try to find the most efficient way to carry stuff. You will always have your tent and sleeping bag but some things will disappear on you, like food for example. pack your stuff with that in mind knowing that your load is going to get lighter as you go.

Food is not too much of an issue if you're caming in an RV but if you're camping in a tent, whether it's at a faimly site or in the back country then plan what you're going to eat when. One of the best pieces of camping advice I evr received was to buy a food dehydrator. These wonderful devices allow you to cook very satisfying soups and chili and past sauces at home that you can take on the trail with you. This process is beneficial in a couple of ways. One is that it removes all water from the food making it lighter and smaller to carry. Another is that the food won't have a tendancy to spoil. I also believe that it doesn't smell as strongly which in my mind may help keep animals away.

Food is best kept away from the reach of animals. If you're at a family campsite, keep it in a cooler in your car. If you're in the back country, run a rope between two trees as high as you can get them. Tie your food to a second rope and hang it from the middle section of the first rope as high off the ground as you can get it. Most animals can climb so you want to make it as difficult for them to get as possible. Most animals look for the easiest food to get. Never leave food in your tent. At family campsites animals are used to people being around and may not be frightened to go into a tent. It doesn't matter if it's a racoon or a bear, they get used to people being around, so don't invite them in! The same thing applies to soap and toothpaste and deodorant and anything else that smells nice, get it out of your tent.

That's about it for camping advice for now. It should be enough to get you thinking on the right track for a successful trip.

camping advice tip #4

Another one of the best peices of camping advice I can give you applies mostly to back country campers. That advice is to buy a water filter. If you have to pack bottles of water you're carrying far more weight than you need to and are really only going to succeed at tiring yourself out. Water filters are a little slow but they work. They give you nice clean safe drinking water without the need to carry any. There are also iodine tablets available which are even smaller, as far as carrying goes, however a filter will get rid of even the yellowish colour of lake water where iodine does not. I have used both and would far prefer to clip a water filter to my pack than use the tablets, the water even looks cleaner.

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