When you go camping for the first time, you will be overwhelmed but you will also have alot of excitement, all these crazy thoughts come into your mind. But if you prepare yourself well for your camping trip you can have a great time and enjoy yourself.
How to camp for the first time? If your going camping for the first time it would be best to prepare yourself well in advance. Pitch your tent in the back garden and check for any problems with the equipment, test out your sleeping bag, and all your other equipment.
I have put together some tips that will guide you or even help you with your first time camping…
What do you need to go camping for the first time
Camping requires some research, what I mean by this is that you will need to research on different camping grounds and what they offer facility wise.
Then it’s about having equipment that will get you through your camping experience. When you first go camping you won’t have a clue where to start I mean when I first got back into camping I had to do some research to find out what I will need and what I don’t need.
So here is a list of things you will need:
Decent size tent depending on the amount of people going with you.
Sleeping bag
A sleeping pad that will be placed under your sleeping bag
Some toilet paper
A small towel
Some sort of torch or flashlight with backup batteries.
Minimum amount of clothing for the night and day to keep you warm
How do you prepare for camping
When your first going camping you certainly won’t be sure what you need and what you don’t need. It can get confusing on what are the main requirements and what are the non essentials.
It will be easy to think that you will need your phone, or your iPad or some really nice looking sneakers to wear.
The truth is you won’t need alot of everyday gear that you wear around your neighborhood or work etc. What you will need to do is first change your mindset a little and think survival. With trying to survive you will need basic essentials that will help you survive amongst nature.
I have listed some points to help you prepare for your first camping trip so that you can have a more enjoyable time…
Who will you be going camping with and how many
Have a first aid kit
Length of time you will be staying and where you will be sleeping
Pack the right amount of food
Have a things you need checklist
Pack a lightweight bag
Who will you be going camping with and how many
The natural thing to do is work out who you will be going camping with, and how many of you are going.
This is important because like any other trip you can work out what you will need and the amount of what you need. If there is a group of you going camping your going to need a good amount of food to last you through the trip.
If your part of a scout club, you will definitely need to get health insurance for your group just incase anything was to happen you will at least be covered. If there is a group of you going camping together it can be a good thing as you can all look out for one another.
If you are going camping on your own then you won’t really need to worry about taking out health insurance but you will certainly need to take precautions just incase the worst happens and you can at least contact someone incase of an emergency.
Have a first aid kit
It’s important to understand that your safety and health is vital when your camping. If your health is not the greatest then I wouldn’t advise going camping. However if your in good shape and understand your health and know how to look after your health then you should be okay.
To help you while your camping a first aid kit is certainly going to help. You will need to either buy one from a company that supplies first aid kits to campers or you can create one yourself. You will need the following in order to have your own first aid kit.
- A good container that is large enough to hold the items, even a zip bag would be ideal.
- Bandages, you will need different sizes as your cuts will vary.
- Sprain bandages
- Q-tips
- Any wipes that are antiseptic for any cuts
- Antiseptic creams
- Ointments that will help with burns
- Aspirin or panadol for pains
- Prescription medicine
- Sunburn cream or spray
You will need some tools aswell for your first aid kit
- Tweezers would work well
- A pair of scissors
- Magnify glass
- Safety pins
- Knife for cutting any strips
- Duct tape
- A needle and thread for any repairs that may need to be done.
- Medical gloves just in case you may need them to do any minor surgical fixes
- If you do run out of water you will need some water purifying tablets to kill off any bacteria from the river.
- Waterproof matches
Length of time you will be staying and where you will camp
You will need to have some idea on where exactly will you be camping. It’s better to research before going camping, so you can find a campsite that you might find the look of with the right facilities and a campground that is friendly for the group if there is alot of you going together.
You will also need to work out how long your planning on camping, if it’s just a weekend trip then you might want to go camping locally rather then travel a far distance only to enjoy a weekend of camping.
The length of time your going camping you will also need to know because it will help you plan your trip alot more better and know what to pack and how much packing you will need to do.
Packing the right amount of food
The essential part of camping is food, you do need energy while your out enjoying your camping experience.
You will certainly need all the energy you can get Because camping will certainly take alot out of you from activities to just relaxing and depending on the time of year You go you will require more food for staying warm.
So packing the right amount of food is going to be important. Your length of time will actually dictate how much food you will need to bring along as well as the amount of people going with you on your camping trip.
Having a checklist of things you need
A good way of being organised is to have a checklist of what you need it will certainly help you with important things you need to less important things.
A simple a4 piece of paper with a list of things you will need for your camping trip and if you don’t have most of the stuff on your checklist it gives you time to either go buy them or get them.
It certainly helps with preparing yourself before going out on your trip incase you might forget something you can always check against the checklist.
What are the benefits of camping
You might not think it but there is alot of benefits to camping. Firstly you get to spend alot of time outside in nature, and nature can help you destress from your work or your busy city life.
Secondly if you spend alot of time in the city getting fresh air is alot more difficult. Camping gives you that reason to access and breadth in the fresh air that the woods and trees produce for us to breath in and at times you will find your lungs will open up alot more then in the city.
Thirdly if you have decided to go camping with your family it’s a good way to bring the family together and build a bond together that you might have wanted to do for such a long time. Even with friends it’s a great way to bond with one another.
Does camping relieve stress
It is a known fact that the more time you spend outdoors the less stress you get. There are so many ways to destress and camping is seen as one of them.
The following are the ways in which camping helps with stress:
You become a kid again
Camping helps you become a big kid again, because your outside your amongst nature your getting fresh air and you now have to use your imagination for coming up with different camping activities.
The activities allows you to bring out that inner child as it will take you back to the times when you were a child and you felt care free, you didn’t care what you looked like what you did rolling around in the grass, sitting by the river stream if there is one nearby. If there is a nearby lake you will be swinging from the tree and rope to take a dive into the lake.
Fresh air
Being humans we need fresh air it needs to get into our lungs to help open them up, so spending alot of time outside makes a world of a difference.
We need oxygen in our bodies and breathing in fresh air gives us that oxygen. It helps release any tension you may have built up in your shoulders or back which is quite common.
Appreciation towards nature
When you go camping if you haven’t been around nature that much you will end up appreciating alot more of it.
When
You’ll walk around nature more and relax alot more and become carefree, you’ll begin to appreciate hearing the birds chirping the sounds of the trees through the light winds. The clean air that you can breath in. The appreciation will begin to kick in and you’ll soon be going back out again to camp.
Distractions from technology
The biggest distractions in our lives is technology, times have drastically changed wherever we go we as society just cannot live without our phones, iPads/tablets.
Camping helps us get away from all the technology that surrounds our daily lives. We become completely free from all of it. And it’s because we are so occupied with the different activities with camping that you won’t have time to be on your phone.
Unless you buy a data plan that allows you to have wifi even that can work out to be expensive you won’t be able to access the internet which then allows you to focus on other activities with nature and camping.
How do you enjoy camping
Camping is something that should be enjoyed without being stressed or getting stressed the whole idea of camping is to take you away from that kind of lifestyle.
As i mentioned above having a checklist with help you stay organised and on top of everything, it will help you begin to enjoy your camping trip.
Another way to enjoy your camping trip is know where you’re going to camp as in what camping grounds are you visiting the length of time your going to be camping.
Any pretesting I would suggest to do before you head off to your trip. What I mean by this is testing to see if your tent is leaking any kind of water, test to see if your tent poles are strong enough and are not bent or anything.
First time camping mistakes
When your going camping for the first time it’s easy to think that you can quite easily make a few assumptions about camping and think that you will be fine, but it’s far from the truth. If your not careful and you do not plan well in advanced you could have some serious issues that could potentially ruin your camping experience.
Camping for the first time is not just about having a few basic necessities and you’ll be fine, you need to know alot more than that and alot of preparation. I have listed some first time mistakes that can be easily made so try and avoid them if you want a better camping experience.
Picking a tent that is not right
Not preparing yourself before hand
Not preparing your food properly
Not having a list to follow
Not having the right cooking utensil (don’t rely on a campfire)
Not understanding wildlife
Not having the right clothes
Not practicing before hand
Picking A tent that is not right
It’s easy to make the above mistakes make those mistakes and you will not have a great time camping and you might not want to do it again unless you go with someone who is more experienced.
Easy meals for first time campers
Meals are just as important as we do need to eat it’s what fuels our bodies that give us energy to Carry out our days to go hiking and even walk around the camping grounds and explore what mother nature has to offer.
There are some simple preparations that you can put in straight away, for example the ingredients that you are going to use for the different meals if you can use the same ones it would make it more simpler to stock up only those products. Any flavouring your going to use as well would work well for the amount your going to pack.
As a beginner meal prepping is important rather than cooking food while your camping you would be in a better position if you precooked you meals, so that when you do get to your campsite all you would have to do is warm up your food instead of cutting your ingredients.
This would make your life so much more easier only because you don’t realise at first how much your going to be dealing with when your going camping the first time around. You will be tired it will certainly take alot out of you and the last thing that you want to be doing is cutting ingredients and cooking.
If you have meal already cooked and prepared beforehand once you have set up your campsite all you would need to do is warm up your food.
If your using a cooking stove then it would be easier to just warm up your food without having to use too much of your gas for the stove.
Once you have pre cooked your food at home all you would need to do is freeze it so that it still stays fresh and is still edible.
How do you stay warm while camping
As a beginner with camping you will certainly be surprised how cold it gets when your camping. During the summer it seems like it will be hot and during the evening it will be nice and warm if your camping during that season, it’s far from the truth.
You need to understand that during the evening and night time the temperature does drop so this will make it cooler. During the day the sun will be out but during the night it is the moon.
So staying warm is going to be vital, you will need some warm clothing to wear, I usually use roots they build some good quality clothing for camping from jackets to hoodies to bottoms. There are other brands out there for your camping clothing to help keep you warm I have written an article covering warm clothing check it out over here.
The other stuff you will need to stay warm will be a good sleeping bag that can handle lower temperatures. A sleeping pad that will keep your sleeping bag off the floor to prevent you getting cold. I have written an article on staying warm in your tent so check that out over here.