As you open your eyes, you find you need to close them again because of the sunlight coming through a thin piece of nylon over your head. Snuggling deeper into a sleeping bag, you find that cozy place you had found early that morning. You can hear people outside banging pots and pans and the flick of a match by the "fire starter" you brought on the trip. You hear the yawns and loud whispers. I am talking about camping and since the winter, many of us have been looking forward to getting outdoors, or at least as close to the wild as we like to get.
The trip usually starts one of two ways. Either it was planned months in advance with making the reservations at the camp ground, getting all the gear out, planning the meals and what will happen each day. Or you decided the night before and filled up the car with everything from the bedroom and kitchen and hope to "wing-it" if you forgot something. Although the later can sometime feel adventurous, you should not underestimate the planning stages.
Proper planning is important. We have all learned what can happen when we forget the bug spray. Planning your route, where you will be staying, and the meals for each day, the activities you will be doing are all important and dictate what you will be bringing. This becomes very important if you are staying in a conservation area or national park where help is a long ways away.
Safety is usually the last thing we think of. We as Canadians will bring beer before we bring a first aid kit to a camp ground. Having a first aid kit that includes bandages, scissors, anti-itch cream, ointment, tape, a first aid manual, pain medication, and tweezers are usually the basics you want to grip from the bathroom or closet and put into a zip lock bag. Kits can be bought that have all of this and more and depending on the length of your trip, you may want to carry a larger kit.
Meal selection and the amount can vary depending on where you are going and how long you are staying. If you are going into the outback, you may want to consider bringing food to cover the entire length of your stay, even if you plan on trapping or fishing. Just make sure you understand the rules of the area you are going to be when it comes to trapping and fishing. I usually bring some instant soup mix, some egg noodles, some dried fruit and vegetables, some seasoning and jerky. I have also bought the freeze dried foods packages. Either way, filtering the lake water and boiling it and adding these items usually makes for filling dinner. Adding a Bass fillet doesn't hurt either. The important message is don't plan on living off the land. It is better to bring back food you didn't eat, then to starve because you couldn't find anything to eat.
A fire can usually be the difference between a great camping trip and a trip you never want to think of again. Fire offers warmth, light, a source of heat for boiling water, but it also acts a focal point for everyone to sit around and tell stories, to talk about the past and to joke with the future. Fire can be reasonably easy to make. Buy a flint stick or an easy-light stick. Ensure you bring an old knife and some steel wool. When sparks from the knife and flint hit the steel wool, the wool will flame up. So make sure you have also collected small twigs, medium branches and some logs. Some like to stack the wood in a Tee-pee shape. Others use a square stack. Either way lay everything inside first so when the steel wool goes up in flames, that the small branches are there ready to catch fire. Make sure to clear the rest of the area of twigs so that any coals that jump out do not start the area on fire. If there is a fire pit, use it.
With everything else that could be brought on a camping trip, these items can be the difference between life and death or boring and fun. Take your time, bring the things you need to feel comfortable and that are functional. Don't make too many expectations and plan for the unexpected. The outdoors is for all of us to share and have fun. Have a great camping trip!
