Camping is a great way to escape the drudgery of city life;
for me a weekend camping trip can be more refreshing
than a entire week of vacation in the city.
This post will focus on Car camping rather than hike-in camping.
If you have never gone camping before I encourage you to give it a try, if you are a seasoned outdoors-man I hope that I have at least one fresh tip that will help improve your experience.
Plan Ahead, Scout Locations (Google earth can be a great help for this)
A good location makes all the difference, if you know there will be inclement weather seek a spot with good tree cover and spots to attach tarps, if you are worried about bugs seek a spot with lots of wind, and direct sunlight.
Some people like wide open communal party spots, some people very much prefer seclusion and privacy it ultimately comes down to personal preference.
Here in British Columbia there is a service that list potential campsites:
https://www.campingrvbc.com/camping/
If such a service is not available where you are internet forums / message boards for your area should provide something good, you could also try asking employees in the local outdoor equipment stores or see if they carry a camping/RV guide for your area.
You can do all the planning you want but eventually you are just going to have to drive around and try a few different spots to see what suits you the best.
I have had a few times when I drove all the way out somewhere untested prepared to camp only to find the site recently became inaccessible, shut down or in disrepair, just the risk you take sometimes trying to find 'the best' spot. It is best to have a backup site prepared if you are trying somewhere new.
If the location you choose is managed and requires reservation make sure to do that well ahead of time, some reserve months ahead if it is for a popular site during the busy summer season.
Essentials (Most are familiar with needing these items)
Knife, Flashlight, Chair(s), Tent, Sleeping Pad, Sleeping Bag and or Blankets, Pillow(s), Cooler(s), Food, Drinks, Snacks, Condiments, Cutlery, Ice, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Soap, Toothbrush / Floss etc.
Those planning to have a fire should bring a large axe for splitting logs and optionally a small axe or hatchet which is easier and safer to use for making kindling, it is also a good idea to bring newspaper or some other way to help start the fire.
It can be satisfying to start a fire with just wood and flint & steel etc… but can get old fast if you didn’t bring an alternative, and can be nearly impossible in poor weather.
I prefer to use a bit of alcohol if a liquid fuel is needed as there is not much smell / smoke, compared to gasoline for example. The majority of the time properly prepared kindling and a little bit of newspaper is more than enough to get a good fire going.
Extras
-Rake: You may be surprised but a rake is now essential car camping equipment for me; it’s a sad truth that many who enjoy the outdoors will have no respect for others and litter the site with garbage, bottle caps, broken glass etc. which is a hazard if you intend to go barefoot or if you fall down, also your pets feet! Not only is a Rake good for clearing that up but also for making a nice clean spot for your tent, and clearing debris from around the fire pit for safety.
-Work Gloves: Great for collecting and working with firewood and general work around the campsite.
-Paper Plates: Did you take a trip to relax, or to do dishes at night in the forest? Do yourself a favor and try paper plates.
-Head Lamp: Very useful around the camp site allowing you to work with both hands in the dark, convenient and safe.
-Glow Sticks, or glow stick style flashlights: Great for marking your territory so to speak and possibly (it will happen anyways) prevent drunken zombie campers from crashing into your tent at ~4:30am in the morning.
-Extra long hot dog stick: One of the best parts of camping for me is enjoying the fire and roasting food over it. You may plan to find a stick to whittle down and use, which can be fun, but more often than not it just becomes a pain to try and find something appropriate when you need it.
Keep in mind that if your campsite is unsupervised, and probably even if it is, there will inevitably be a group that totally disregards the site rules regarding loud noise after a particular time (usually 11pm) not a big deal for me as I stay up quite late and don’t mind the noise but if you’re a light sleeper or plan to sleep early for a day of activity you may want to bring earplugs.
Comfort
Your trip could be ruined by poor sleeping or seating comfort, I have converted to using foam pads over inflatable after being let down dozens of times. If you plan to use an inflatable bring a back up, patch kits usually work pretty well but there is also generally a curing time and as most leaks are discovered just before you go to sleep this can be a problem.
The other big way to be uncomfortable is environmental... getting wet or cold. The solution is obvious, bring adequate rain gear / tarps and warm clothing as even in summer time it can get surprisingly cold at night, especially if you’re camping near a cold river or lake.
Another problem with cold nights is they can partially deflate your mattress leaving you thinking you have a leak, but it’s just the air in the mattress being much colder than it was when you filled it. If you haven’t used your inflatable in a while the material will stretch a bit causing it to seemingly deflate a bit shortly after using, you can somewhat prevent this by inflating your mattress as much as you can as soon as you get to Camp rather than right before you go to bed, this way you can check for leaks early on and the material will have a chance to stretch out, you can top off the air / pressure just before sleep when the air is cooler.
On that note electric air pumps are great but they can be very annoying to other campers especially if it’s needed in the middle of the night.
I also find it helpful to bring at least 2 different chairs, no matter how good of a chair you have it will inevitably get downright painful after a few hours sometimes just switching it up to a different chair for a while is all that’s needed to stay comfortable the entire time, also provides a backup in case of primary chair failure.
Another thing that will ruin your trip is being overwhelmed by mosquitoes or other pests, it has been so bad in the summer a few times that I’ve practically worn a beekeepers suit to try and stop them... it didn’t help.
I’ve tried every spray and cream I can get nothing seems to work very well at all, killing them is also fruitless... using various methods I killed thousands one trip and it made no difference at all.
The green mosquito coils, or the torches sort of work unless there is a slight breeze, which there always seems to be.
Keep in mind they can get you through bug netting and thin clothing if it is against your skin.
The only thing that I’ve experienced that keeps them totally at bay is very strong winds which introduces other problems but it’s worth it, they also somewhat avoid direct sunlight unless you are on the water.
Also winter camping, but more on that at the end.
Safety
Should an accident occur, assuming you even have a way to contact them, it may take emergency services hours to reach you if you are camping far down a logging road or well outside of town, it is a good idea to bring A well stocked first aid kit and know how to use it.
The worst injuries I’ve seen have been from people messing around while chopping firewood, small cuts and burns or insect bites and stings are much more common but usually not very serious (with the exception of allergic reactions); an axe can do a lot of damage if used carelessly.
It is also a good idea to bring anti-inflammatory medication to help relieve any soreness from overexerting yourself, or having a sore back from a bad sleep for example; You want to stay comfortable.
Forest Fires!
As mentioned above a rake is ideal for quickly clearing debris leaves twigs etc from around the fire pit, keep a shovel and or a bucket of water nearby in case things get out of hand.
If alcohol / drunkenness is going to be involved play it extra safe and build the fire very far from anything flammable and create a huge (maybe 10’ radius) fire break around the fire pit clear of debris.
I have seen drunken groups nearly create a major forest fire on several occasions, if you want to party hard that’s your business but please don’t burn the forest down while you doing it.
Food
What food to bring is entirely your preference, obviously, but make sure to keep it out of reach of animals while you sleep or are away from camp by hanging in a tree or locking in the car, some sites provide a bear proof metal food locker for that purpose.
Also keep in mind you have to do the same with food garbage.
The wild animals do not need your food, do not feed them; If you feed a bear you basically just killed it, forest services will sometimes attempt to relocate but most likely will just kill a bear that learns to expect food from people and stalks campsites.
Wild Animals
Most dangerous wild animals like bears and cougars will totally avoid busy campsites unless someone is feeding them or leaving food out.
I will also note that “bear bangers” (exploding flares) are totally useless, in my experience.
One time I was camping and an over aggressive bear had to be scared away by a forest service ranger shooting him with rubber bullets from a shotgun, it came back in the morning to try again... the bear ultimately had to be killed unfortunately.
Bear spray was effective at keeping the bear at a safe distance ~20-30’ away but would not drive it off (medium sized black bear) bear bangers as mentioned above as well as making noise / screaming did absolutely nothing.
Interestingly the only thing that actually scared the bear (other than the rubber 12ga) was when we finally gave up trying to drive it off and started trying to take pictures, the shutter sound of the DSLR camera was scary or just unfamiliar to the bear and could be used to drive it off for a short time. It would come within 20' of bear spray but not within 150' of the camera!
If you have small dogs or other small pets they may be in danger from large birds like eagles, be careful.
Taking Photos / Video
Some people get so obsessed with taking pictures and video of their trip that they forget to actually enjoy the scenery themselves, just something to keep in mind.
That being said one of my favorite night time activities camping was astrophotography as it was rare for me to be in such low light-pollution conditions.
Winter Camping
Aside from the obvious cons there are a few benefits to Winter camping:
-less or no drunken revelers.
-no fire bans.
-no mosquitoes or other pest insects.
-the outhouses don’t stink.
-many pay campsites are free in the off season.
-no random police check-ups or road blocks, as can be common at popular sites during summer.
-less chance of attracting bears, who should be in hibernation.
-if you are a star gazer / into astrophotography you can get a completely different sky view than in summer time, and more night hours, obviously.
.
.
.
I tried to keep my post (first post btw!) as clear and organized as possible but it still probably looks like a big mess...
I also heard it was good to use pictures, so that is the reason for all that.
I hope you have a chance to go camping this summer, and thoroughly enjoy yourself.
If you think of anything I forgot, or noticed something I’m completely in error about please leave a comment; actually don't because than I'll look like a jackass.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
-RYN