And if No to both; What's some solid and basic advice for a complete camping noob who wants to go solo camping? Cheers and God bless.
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steele2 on scored.co
14 days ago2 points(+0/-0/+2Score on mirror)2 children
>advice for a complete camping noob
* If you're buying new boots, break them in NOW. Start wearing them instead of normal shoes to get them as comfortable as possible. Otherwise you risk horrific blisters, open wounds on the back of your heel. Wearing two pairs of socks will help if you're feet aren't used to long hikes.
* Many people make the mistake of over-packing and as they become more experienced hikers, they take less and less gear... which is important if you have to carry everything on your shoulders and hips in a rucksack.
* If you're hiking and camping for a few days, take a thick, salable bag for your dirty laundry and use it as a pillow. A thick, waterproof sealable bag is preferable to a normal garbage bag if you don't want to smell your musty damp dirty clothing during the night.
* Take some iodine or chlorine pills to treat river water if you're unsure if it's safe to drink, but it's best not to take chances and treat it anyway. You can last weeks without food, but only a few days without water. Water is your most important concern.
* Don't forget to bring a foldable poo shovel, some toilet paper and two thick sealable bags to double-bag your nasty used shovel in. Some hikers / campers carry their poo shovels attached to the outside of their rucksack on a hook or loop - I'd recommend against this because you risk losing your shovel if one of the fasteners fails.
* Bring at least a small sealable bag of LARGE, medium and small bandaids in case you fall and scrape or cut yourself. If you're hiking or camping for a few days, I'd also recommend some anti-diarrhea medicine if you get "sick" from contaminated river water, food or mishandling your poop: this will help you get back to civilization and prevent you becoming dehydrated.
* [Consider bringing a headlamp if you're planning to setup or take down your tent before sunrise or when it's dark. Something cheap will be fine. Headlamps are also useful if you need to poo during the night.](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71fIWs4-QUS.jpg)
* NEVER leave your shoes or food outside your tent at night. You DO NOT want an animal stealing your shoes. I carry a small cloth or thick plastic bag to put my shoes on / in inside the tent to keep the inside of the tent as clean as possible, especially if it's muddy outside).
* If you're traveling in extreme cold conditions, consider keeping your batteries and any liquid medication you need inside your jacket inner pocket to prevent them draining or freezing.
14 days ago1 point(+0/-0/+1Score on mirror)2 children
>NEVER leave your shoes or food outside your tent at night
I'm not super-experienced but I've always left the food outside the tent to keep animals from trying to get in. I use a ratchet strap to seal my food container shut and attached to something (usually a tree).
Best practice probably depends on which part of the world you're camping in.
If you're in bear country, I'd eat far away from camp to take no chances.
Hanging supplies from trees is a great old-school trick, but I've never done that because I'm unsure if rodents / chipmunks / possums would find it.
I always use two sealable bags when keeping food in my tent overnight.
I've never tried sealable airtight plastic containers because I'm almost always hiking with a rucksack, so I'm trying to minimize volume... but I guess I could store things like my first-aid bag inside the container during the day. The container would need to be durable. It's a good idea.
14 days ago1 point(+0/-0/+1Score on mirror)2 children
Thats a lot of stuff to keep in mind, thatll keep me busy though so thanks. To be honest though i'm more looking at camp site camping for now to get the hang of it. Cheers, God bless.
14 days ago1 point(+0/-0/+1Score on mirror)1 child
Don't let it get complicated. If you just want to enjoy a simple night in the woods all you need is a tent, sleeping bag, inflatable mattress pad, headlamp, and food.
If I'm able to camp close to my car I'll bring ingredients for cooking because I can leave all the food there, otherwise it's easiest to just bring canned food, animals won't try to mess with cans.
Have fun brother. Oh yeah I also recommend some fire starter, something like those pucks made out of sawdust and wax or just a bottle of lighter fluid. It sucks struggling to get a fire going if you're not experienced or all the wood around you is damp.
* Watch a few Camping with Steve episodes. He specializes in fun stealth-camping but also has plenty of videos where he's doing regular camping, cooking with an open fire and cooking with a gas cooker. I recommend Steve's channel because he's very minimalist (doesn't rely on fancy expensive gear) and generally explains everything he's doing.
https://www.youtube.com/@campingwithsteve
* Consider packing thermacell insect repellent. Steve Wallis uses this, but I never have because when I'm camping, I'm asleep just after sunset so I can pack up and continue hiking before sunrise. If you're planning to sit around a campfire then the insects might seek you out.
* Find out if the campsite has an office and when it closes - to know when it's open if you need supplies like more firewood... but always bring your own just in case.
* Bring a sturdy-fold-out chair if you're planning to sit around a campfire.
* Bring bear spray if there's even the slightest chance of bears. Your dinner might attract bears, so I'd recommend considering cooking and eating your meal fairly far away from where you sleep and leaving the dishes out until morning, just to reduce the chances of attracting bears.
* Consider cooking a range of campfire meals at home to experiment to see which is best. The Steve Wallis videos are a good inspiration for this because he cooks something different every time. I'm usually hiking so I bring scone mixture and instant noodles because I never bothered to buy a dehydrator... but if you're not hiking then you can consider cooking something far nicer such as classic campfire meals. Write down your camping recipes and email them to yourself so you can find them easy for your next camping trip.
* Consider buying a tripod for your camera or smartphone so you can take some timer-longer-exposure photos of the campfire and the night sky with you in the photo. Consider doing some reading on how to take nice night and campfire photos using long exposure. If you don't want a tripod then consider using the 2-second-timer delay so the initial act of pressing the button won't move the camera and blur the image, but give you two seconds to get ready to hold it still.
* If you're buying new boots, break them in NOW. Start wearing them instead of normal shoes to get them as comfortable as possible. Otherwise you risk horrific blisters, open wounds on the back of your heel. Wearing two pairs of socks will help if you're feet aren't used to long hikes.
* Many people make the mistake of over-packing and as they become more experienced hikers, they take less and less gear... which is important if you have to carry everything on your shoulders and hips in a rucksack.
* If you're hiking and camping for a few days, take a thick, salable bag for your dirty laundry and use it as a pillow. A thick, waterproof sealable bag is preferable to a normal garbage bag if you don't want to smell your musty damp dirty clothing during the night.
* Take some iodine or chlorine pills to treat river water if you're unsure if it's safe to drink, but it's best not to take chances and treat it anyway. You can last weeks without food, but only a few days without water. Water is your most important concern.
* Don't forget to bring a foldable poo shovel, some toilet paper and two thick sealable bags to double-bag your nasty used shovel in. Some hikers / campers carry their poo shovels attached to the outside of their rucksack on a hook or loop - I'd recommend against this because you risk losing your shovel if one of the fasteners fails.
* Bring at least a small sealable bag of LARGE, medium and small bandaids in case you fall and scrape or cut yourself. If you're hiking or camping for a few days, I'd also recommend some anti-diarrhea medicine if you get "sick" from contaminated river water, food or mishandling your poop: this will help you get back to civilization and prevent you becoming dehydrated.
* [Consider bringing a headlamp if you're planning to setup or take down your tent before sunrise or when it's dark. Something cheap will be fine. Headlamps are also useful if you need to poo during the night.](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71fIWs4-QUS.jpg)
* NEVER leave your shoes or food outside your tent at night. You DO NOT want an animal stealing your shoes. I carry a small cloth or thick plastic bag to put my shoes on / in inside the tent to keep the inside of the tent as clean as possible, especially if it's muddy outside).
* If you're traveling in extreme cold conditions, consider keeping your batteries and any liquid medication you need inside your jacket inner pocket to prevent them draining or freezing.
* Bring a sealable garbage bag for your trash.
Any questions, just ask.
I'm not super-experienced but I've always left the food outside the tent to keep animals from trying to get in. I use a ratchet strap to seal my food container shut and attached to something (usually a tree).
Is this bad practice?
If you're in bear country, I'd eat far away from camp to take no chances.
Hanging supplies from trees is a great old-school trick, but I've never done that because I'm unsure if rodents / chipmunks / possums would find it.
I always use two sealable bags when keeping food in my tent overnight.
I've never tried sealable airtight plastic containers because I'm almost always hiking with a rucksack, so I'm trying to minimize volume... but I guess I could store things like my first-aid bag inside the container during the day. The container would need to be durable. It's a good idea.
If I'm able to camp close to my car I'll bring ingredients for cooking because I can leave all the food there, otherwise it's easiest to just bring canned food, animals won't try to mess with cans.
* Watch a few Camping with Steve episodes. He specializes in fun stealth-camping but also has plenty of videos where he's doing regular camping, cooking with an open fire and cooking with a gas cooker. I recommend Steve's channel because he's very minimalist (doesn't rely on fancy expensive gear) and generally explains everything he's doing.
https://www.youtube.com/@campingwithsteve
* Consider packing thermacell insect repellent. Steve Wallis uses this, but I never have because when I'm camping, I'm asleep just after sunset so I can pack up and continue hiking before sunrise. If you're planning to sit around a campfire then the insects might seek you out.
* Find out if the campsite has an office and when it closes - to know when it's open if you need supplies like more firewood... but always bring your own just in case.
* Bring a sturdy-fold-out chair if you're planning to sit around a campfire.
* Bring bear spray if there's even the slightest chance of bears. Your dinner might attract bears, so I'd recommend considering cooking and eating your meal fairly far away from where you sleep and leaving the dishes out until morning, just to reduce the chances of attracting bears.
* Consider cooking a range of campfire meals at home to experiment to see which is best. The Steve Wallis videos are a good inspiration for this because he cooks something different every time. I'm usually hiking so I bring scone mixture and instant noodles because I never bothered to buy a dehydrator... but if you're not hiking then you can consider cooking something far nicer such as classic campfire meals. Write down your camping recipes and email them to yourself so you can find them easy for your next camping trip.
* Consider buying a tripod for your camera or smartphone so you can take some timer-longer-exposure photos of the campfire and the night sky with you in the photo. Consider doing some reading on how to take nice night and campfire photos using long exposure. If you don't want a tripod then consider using the 2-second-timer delay so the initial act of pressing the button won't move the camera and blur the image, but give you two seconds to get ready to hold it still.