Camping for beginners: the ultimate guide to your first campout

Are you a nature lover? Then camping is for you! Camping is an outdoor recreational activity away from urbanity and an adventure into the middle of nature, often with wildlife as a company. You can enjoy this wonderful pastime to be inspired by mother nature’s beauty and resilience, as well as have an experience that you’ll never forget.

As a beginner, you need to prepare some gear and skills to enjoy the camping experience fully. Camping doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive. All you have to know are the essential equipment and must-knows to survive in the wilderness.

Choose a perfect tent

First thing’s first, you got to choose your tent. With tents, size does matter. When you’re shopping for you and your partner for your first camping trip, and the tent is labelled a 2 person tent, you might want to buy a bigger one, a 3 or 4 person tent. The extra space will be the storage space for your clothes, bedding, and gears. You might also want to consider if you want extra space for your friends, a child, or even your pets. Remember that there is no standard for tent sizes that defines the per person size tent dimensions, and a comfortable space would be decided by you. A larger tent like a 10-person tent would be more challenging and takes more time to set-up.

• The weather is also something to consider. The most popular tent is the three-season tent as it can be used during heavy rain and cold weather. If you’re camping in summer, choose a tent that consists of lightweight material as it provides a lot of ventilation to ease you from the summer heat. When it comes to winter camping on majestic snow, you need to have a winter tent to give you more warmth and versatility.

• You should also shop for a sleeping bag and a sleeping pad for a comfortable night’s rest. There are also different kinds of sleeping bags fit for any weather, summer or winter camping. Don’t forget your cooking tools and other essential knives, a lighter or night light.

Learn to build your temporary home

Once you reach your location, set your tent, so you don’t have to rush building it when the evening arrives. You should definitely try setting up your tent on your garden, backyard, or lawn to practice the main event.

• Choose a leveled ground and remove twigs, rocks, and other debris. Lay a tarp made of plastic or vinyl or a water-proof barrier between the earth and the tent’s bottom to prevent it from gathering moisture. It should be slightly smaller than your tent as you don’t want it to collect water if ever it rains.

• Put your tent above the tarp. Make sure to put the windows (if you have any) and the door in the direction you’d like. It’s preferable to know the location of where the sun will rise and the direction of the wind.

• Start connecting the poles of your tent. Make sure to read the instructions on the particular tent you bought as tents have different set-ups. Try not to force bars as they might break significantly when raising your tent.

• Secure and stake the tent on the ground. There are metal stakes provided in the tent you bought, which you need to push through the corners of your newly built home to the ground. This will help your tent not to roll over or be driven away by strong winds. You can also cover your tent with a tarp to make it more water-resistant when it rains. Just secure it and tie it around the poles so it doesn’t fly away.

Setting up your cooking area and the fire at your campsite is crucial for your safety. Don’t make it too close to your tent as it might catch fire.

Prepare your food and water.

For an easier job, you can prepare your food and store it in an icebox so that all you have to do is quickly heat or warm it up on the campfire or your handy portable stove. If that’s too much work, you can go with canned goods and bring packaged snacks that are ready to eat. Instant coffee is a comforting thing if you’re a coffee-lover.

• Throw all your trash in a sealed-up garbage bin, and don’t leave it out unattended, especially at night. Saving mother nature is also essential to enjoy more of her wonders!

• In storing water, you need to consider how much water you’ll also use in rinsing and washing your cooking utensils, pots and dishes. It’s better to bring more water than less as you never known how much you’ll be thirsty once you finish your hiking, sledding, or other outdoor activities when camping.

Clothes to wear during camping

Don’t miss out on the activities when camping. They’re fun! Depending on where your location is, you can hike, sled, or even go kayaking. With these activities, the perfect gear would be essential.

• It’s best to wear clothes that are not white or easily stained. It’s preferable not to use cotton-based shirts or clothes as they make you cold even in fair weather.

• Make sure to bring your coats, extra underwear, gloves, socks, and protective headgear like beanies and hats for the bite of cold during night time. In case of rain, raincoats and umbrellas are handly as it can protect your from the flu because of being wet and cold.

• When it comes to shoes, the best ones are closed shoes or comfortable hiking shoes that are not slippery. Slip-on that you can use when having a temporary entrance and exit from your tent to the campfire or bathroom can also make your camping more comfortable.

Partake in recreational activities

As said previously, activities are fun! Camping isn’t just about sleeping in the wild for a day or two. You can also enjoy and have fun to add to your memories! Depending on where you decided to camp, you can go hiking, kayaking, lake swimming, board games, card games, campfires, crafts, reading, rock climbing, star-gazing, sports like badminton, volleyball, knot-tying.

Additional essentials for your camping adventure

• Bugs, especially mosquitoes, are rampant in the wild. Make sure to purchase your bug-spray or your mosquito repellant.

• In case there are medical emergencies, especially from the outdoor activities, bringing your portable first aid-kid will do wonders and your safety.

• Always keep in mind to bring your cutting tools as it is useful in fire-making, cooking, or even when you need to cut a piece of fire-wood.

Enjoy nature!

The essence of camping is admiring the beauty and wonders of nature! Try to put down your electronics just once and have a relaxing meditation or view of what nature has to bring you. There is something therapeutic and relaxing about sleeping while being imbued with the sounds of nature. Listening to the sounds of birds, insects, and water or even the cool breeze can help re-energize you.