Choosing to go camping is not as simple as merely deciding and acting on it willy-nilly. Often, the idea of going for the great outdoors implies the need to prepare first, particularly of the things you need to survive a night or two outside the safety and comfort of your home.
Here are the essential things you should consider before heading out there for camping:
Test the Waters First
The world is a far more full place than just the corners of your abode. As soon as you step outside of the door, you’re already taking a step to a vast expanse whose fraction also makes for a potential camping ground.
If you’re genuinely a total beginner and is keen on going for an experiment, it’s recommended to use the backyard as a testing ground first. With this as your first official overnight staying outdoors, regardless of the setup, it’ll provide you some insight into what it feels to be more up close to nature.
Decide on your Camping Location
When you’re already confident to set out for the wild, consider first the location where you would want to be in. Whether it’s the nearby beach, the bushes, the national parks, the private grounds, or even something as close as the backyard, these places add to the overall selection.
But note that each of these locations poses different conditions that may or may not appeal to your preference. It’s best that you weigh in the pros and cons beforehand.
What to Carry
There are always two kinds of campers that you could fall into—the adventurous, minimalist kind or the cautious, heavily-equipped kind. But, whether your preference for camping involves only the essentials or going full-on in ensuring that your camping is as convenient and comfortable as possible, what it all boils down to are the essentials. Click here for more.
These include:
- Tent: Essentially, a temporary shelter while you’re outdoors.
- Sleeping bag: A place of rest, especially during an overnight stay in a field.
- Lights: Proper luminescence against the otherwise pitch blackness of the night.
- Cooking utensils and food: Critical tools and ingredients, ideally raw and fresh, to making food.
Everything else is optional but may be very handy to have around, such as:
- A Car: As the essential stuff are hard to carry in any luggage, not even in a backpacker’s bag, it may also entail the need for a ride that’ll lead you to your destination and back home. So, a car is indeed a necessity if you’re considering taking your adventures in a faraway place and having all the essentials with you.
- Pet: If you cannot fathom to survive your lonesome in the middle of somewhere, you can also bring along a pet, too.
For a more comprehensive look into camping, consider checking out outdoorcommand camping guides.
What to Wear
Your entire getup should be appropriate to your intended destination, as well as the climate or weather of the place. For instance, you cannot expect to bring over a winter jacket in a place that is normally hot and humid, unless that place has a way of moving between extremes in temperature on day and night. Conversely, you cannot anticipate wearing something light when your temporary home of stay is cold, possibly during winter.
Camping is a kind of survival where you would expect yourself to move around to have the place settled up for your stay. You would want to wear clothing that’s as comfortable as possible. The idea means not wearing fancy and expensive dresses while camping.
Even if you’re to wear this kind of apparel, leave it until you’re already on your way back home after all the camping experience is done.
Don’t Forget Your Hygiene
Deciding to go on camping doesn’t necessarily force you into becoming a caveman that you’ll have to forego cleanliness in favor of the overall nature-centric experience. Campers are still civilized people who understand that neglecting to brush the teeth and the mouth as well as not taking a bath is likely to cause you undesirable stench. That is why we recommend you to check out the best camping showers. Also, make sure you know how to wash a polyester backpack if you have one, it’s trickier than you think.
Although, as a caveat, the idea may work during your stay at your campsite. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the case if you come fully prepared for all the things that’ll keep you covered hygiene-wise.
Final Statements
When it comes to adventure, the idea of camping may seem like an unusual choice for some. But that is indeed what it is all about—to experience something unique and first-hand which we would otherwise only see on TV or other electronic devices. It does not also have to be a lonesome experience as you can even tag along another person or group of persons to share the experience.