A Few Camping Tips from Dear Ol’ Mom and Dad

I am still pretty young (not 30 yet) and if I’ve been camping and hiking a majority of my life, my parents have at least a decade’s more experience on me, so here’s a few tips from them, separated mainly into six categories: packing, sleeping, eating, drinking, clothing, and playing

Packing

1. Be good at playing Tetris, but with your equipment and your car trunk.
2. Put the thing you’ll need first at the back of the trunk or at the top of the backpack. That way, you don’t have to take everything out and put it in the dirt to get what you want.
3. Start bagging ice from your fridge (or invest in some ice cube trays) before you leave to cut down on ice price.
4. Always pack extra toilet paper.
5. Set up your tent before you start drinking.

Sleeping

1. Consider your sleeping situation: are you in a trailer, tent? Sleeping on the ground, an air mattress, a cot, a hammock? Adjust accordingly.
2. Make sure you have sleeping bags or at least sheets.
3. Don’t forget pillows.
4. Make sleeping as comfortable as possible
5. You’ll likely rise with the sun (not a lot of walls or curtains to blot out the morning), so think about that when you decide what time to go to bed.

Eating

1. Keep it simple when you first start camping: hamburgers, hotdogs, eggs, and bacon are good starter camping foods.
2. Consider what you’re cooking on when figuring out what food you’ll bring. Are you cooking on a campfire? A BBQ? Do you have a frying pan? What kind of utensils do you have available?
3. Make sure you bring all necessary accessories: bring a grill to go over the fire, oven mitts (or welder gloves in our case), a flipper, grabbers, etc.
4. A BBQ set is good no matter what you’re cooking on.
5. Make sure everything is fireproof.
6. Grab a good-sized cooler.
7. Using containers with lids that snap shut is essential and keep ALL food in a place you can lock up, like your car. This also ensures that you always have access to snacks before a trail.
8.  Do a menu before you go so you know what kind of food you have/what meals you can make. You don’t have to follow a strict meal plan, but it’ll allow you to know what you could have.
9. Firestarters are essential. Dad makes ours by filling an empty egg carton with wax and wood chips.
10. Bring paper plates not Styrofoam, and don’t forget garbage bags. 

Drinking

1. Bring plenty of water. Mom and Dad usually bring those giant water jugs you put on a water cooler, and use two in a week.
2. Pace yourself while drinking. While you do starting drinking earlier in the day while camping, take your time.
3. Don’t throw up in the tent.
4. Regularly fill up the cooler with ice.
5. Always start the day with a coffee (with Bailey’s or Rum Charta) or a Caesar, then start drinking “promptly at 12:01, and finish when it’s time for bed.

Clothing

1. Always bring at least one hoodie and pair of pants, it gets cold at night, even in the middle of summer.
2. Pack a pair of flip flops for the shower.
3. Bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and bug spray.
4. Underwear and socks are very important. Bring extra pairs. You can re-wear shorts/pants and some shirts, but not underwear.
5. Jeans aren’t good hiking pants: they’re heavy and do not dry quickly.

Playing

1. Consider who you’re bringing with you. . .that could make the trip feel longer and affect how much booze you’ll want to bring.
2. A deck of cards, dice games, and old board games are great for a rainy day or late night.
3. Bring “redneck games” like monkey balls, lawn darts, washer throw.
4. If camping with kids (I’m talking really little, my parents were taking Brooke and me camping before we could walk), upon arrival, it’s important to make sure they’re amused. Have the more efficient parent set up the tent while the other takes the kid on a walk.
5. Tell kids to make sure they’re in eyeshot (“If you can’t see me, I can’t see you”).
6. The kennel or a trusted friend is a great option if you have a pampered or untrained pooch.
7. Always wear shoes while using an axe, even if they’re just Dad’s “safety crocs.”
8. Always look where you’re going. Dad has a habit of knocking his head off low hanging tree branches or nearly putting out his eye.
9. Always bring your sense of humor. Sometimes it’ll rain the entire week you’re camping. It’s what you make of it.
10. Roll with the punches while camping. Whether it’s dealing with annoying family members or bad weather, adapt and carry on.

In the end, the point is you’re on vacation and you should have a good time, but don’t pack for yourself. Pack as if your mother is packing for you.