Avoiding Rookie Mistakes on Your First Camping Trip

Avoiding Rookie Mistakes on Your First Camping Trip

Planning your first camping trip is exciting. You may have dreams of sleeping out under the stars and communing with nature. The reality is that many first-time campers make mistakes that can ruin their first trip in the great outdoors.

Kitchen Supplies

Assuming your first overnight trip in nature will be riverside camping Lancaster NH rather than true backwoods camping, you won’t need to pack in water. You will need to bring soap, a scrub brush and towels, however. A good trial run would be to make a simple meal entirely in your backyard on your outdoor grill with nothing available but the garden hose. Try to take everything you need out of your kitchen at the same time. Then, keep a list of everything you keep running back inside for such as a sharp knife, a cutting board and salt and pepper.

Sleeping

No matter how tired you are from your long day in nature, it’s still difficult to fall asleep on a bed of rocks. Consider bringing a blow-up mattress or at the very least, a yoga mat to cushion your sleeping bag. You may want to sleep outside, but if the mosquitos are biting or it starts to rain, you’ll be glad you set up your tent while it was still light. Pillows may seem like a luxury when you’re camping, but they’re not. Make sure you bring a good one in an old pillowcase.

Animals

It’s so fun to see animals in the wild, but don’t get lax with securing your food. Raccoons and some species of birds are very smart and will rip through your plastic wrap when your back is turned. Raccoons can also chew around the rubber of your rolled down car window to get to the food they smell food in your backseat. Pack food away in the trunk or in the securely locked back seat.

Camping can be amazing if you don’t make rookie mistakes. If you double-check your supplies, plan for a good night’s sleep, and don’t assume you can outsmart a raccoon, you should be fine.

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Rene Jimenez

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