Ready For Camping This Season?

Time to shake the cobwebs off of your camping gear, air it out and get ready for yet another year of camping adventures.

Camping is fun but be prepared. Here are some helpful tips that we've learned (the hard way) through our "no husband" " no "boyfriends" all girl camping trips (you can have kids if any).

1. Hang lantern in tree not at table. Otherwise every flying creature will emerge from the darkness and attack.
2. Arrive at campground before dark and start your campfire while it's still light out. There is a special hell for campers who arrive after midnight and shine their headlights into your tent.
3. Bring wet wipes! You will find 101 uses for them, we promise.
4. Make sure everyone has their own flashlight and camping chair . If not, it will get ugly. Don't say we didn't warn you.
5. Bring small hand broom to clean up tent and car. Or a hand vacuum if you're really anal.
6. Try and avoid setting up camp next to stagnant water, which is home to biting insects.
7. Pack your clothes in garbage bags. It will keep your clothes dry if a sudden storm blows up and it can serve as a laundry basket at the end of your trip.
8. For ice to keep your food cold for a long period of time, fill either a gallon milk jug or a 2 liter pop container half full with water and freeze. Make sure you do not put the lid on the container when in the freezer.
9. Give kids camp chores and rotate them. Hahaha! No really.
10. Check in with campground host/ranger and ask them about the area. No flirting allowed...
11. Your good looks may be enough to get things sizzling when out on the town, but, unfortunately, in the woods they don't count for much. Make sure at least one of you knows how to set up the tent and that someone has lit your stove to make sure it works.
12. Stock up on drinking water . This stuff is like liquid gold after the first few days of camping.
13. NEVER leave a campsite with a fire still burning.
14. During a thunderstorm, don't take a shower or use a sink, including washing dishes.
15. Have car keys within reach at night so that you can press the alarm if an emergency arises. And no, a deflated air mattress is not an emergency.
16. Do not assume that every campsite still has their grill or that it will suit your cooking needs. Plan to bring a grate to put over the fire.
17. Meals that can be cooked ahead of time at home and travel well in a cooler will save a lot of time especially on the first night of your trip.
18. Relax and enjoy yourself!

Don't leave home without these items:

1. Bug Spray/Benadryl (Homemade bee traps the girls invented)
2. Head Lamp or good Flashlights( not firefly)
3. Extra Batteries
4. Air Mattress/Sleeping mat
5. Hat for those bad hair days
6. Zip Lock and garbage bags
7. Bring a back-up or rainy-day activity
8. Camp chairs
9. Cooking Stove
10. Sunscreen!
11. S'mores
12. good socks
13. Hiking boots or a good pair of trail runners
14. I get tired very soon what tonics should I take?
15. Chapstick or chapstick with sunscreen
16. Bring internal tampons instead of external pads (you never know what happen and where it happens!)
17. zip-loc baggies(great help)
18. Your favorite pillow
19. EARPLUGS!!
20. DO NOT FORGET aluminum foil and marshmallows.

Leave home without these items:

1. Anything that uses electricity. Um yeah, that includes the hairdryer or hair straighter.
2. Try not to bring too many re-chargeable toys. That sounds -kind of bad, but think G rated.
3. No perfumed product (they attract mosquitoes)
4. Cell phones - Might not work anyway, or just leave them in the car.
5. Makeup - Ok, that's a hard one with teenage girls. Save the foundation, as you are likely to sweat it all off.
6. Moodiness.
7. Your plaid shirts.

I can't wait to go for camping this season. What about you?

Travel Well!

Maryam Naqvi
(Journalist and freelance writer)
Web Development, Web Design Solutions

See Also : Best Camping Lanterns LED Lantern Reviews