Grounds for Camping

Once Jack Frost has finally scurried back to his summer home at the North Pole, it’s time to maximize your enjoyment of the summer. One great tradition in many families is the summer camping trip.

Unfortunately, most of us still resent our parents for dragging us along, so there may be a stigma attached to the idea. But if you can manage to repress those memories, getting back to nature can be a great way to bring your family closer together (so long as you remember pack your deodorant). Of course, not everyone was, er, privileged enough to grow up with this tradition. So if you’re new to the idea of family camping, or if your psychiatrist just recommends that you don’t think too much about that particular chapter from your youth, here is a simple guide to preparing for the trip.

The first step is to decide when you want to go. Holiday weekends are often the easiest to plan, since you may have an extra day off of work, but they come at the cost of dealing with packed campgrounds. And outhouses are bad enough without having to actually wait in line for the experience. Therefore, I recommend taking your camping trip the weekend before a major holiday, because most people who would have gone that weekend will put it off one more week (this also works for Disneyland trips). If you’re lucky, your boss will even let you switch your day off. It’s amazing how much work you can get done on a holiday without all your coworkers around the office.

Next, you need to figure out where you want to go. There are state websites with recreation information, of course, or you can just pack the car and drive up into the mountains, stopping whenever you get lost or run out of gas. If you’re not quite that adventurous, though, there are some important considerations in choosing a campsite. As you consider where you will camp, remember the acronym WASTE.

Water is essential, and bringing your own will take a lot of space in your vehicle. So it’s best to make sure your designated campground has a source of drinkable water (unless you want to camp out in the latrine instead).

Animals in the area can be fascinating to watch, but they also carry disease, so you don’t want them rummaging through your food or sharing your sleeping bag. So be sure to look for reports of animals in the area; otherwise you might find a skunk in your tent one evening like my dad once did (seriously).

Shade is very important for a summer campsite. When you park the car and climb out for a look, it may seem like a pretty clearing, but once you get your tent set up in the summer heat, without shade it will become an oven that will only magnify the fact that you haven’t bathed in days. Trees also give the advantage of breaking up the wind, while only marginally increasing the risk of a squirrel dropping acorns on your head as you come out in the morning.

Toilets are one of mankind’s most important inventions, and as such should not be overlooked in the search for the perfect campsite. While flushing toilets are relatively rare in campgrounds, an outhouse with a door is still better than digging a hole behind some bushes which may or may not be poison oak.

Ease of access is also important to consider, especially with gas prices today. You might be surprised at how many campgrounds can be found an hour away or less from civilization, which is also handy when one of your children eats a stinkbug on a dare and you need to go call the doctor.

Once you have the time and the place selected, you can sit down and create a packing list. Obviously you need to make sure you pack enough food for the family, but don’t forget that you also need a way to cook it. This includes pots and pans, a camp stove, and also dishes and utensils (scooping hot chili from a pan with your hand can leave scars—just ask my cousin Chet).

As far as clothing goes, just remember that the higher up you are, the colder it will get at night. You might want to pack a few extra sweatshirts and blankets if you have teenagers who are too cool to bring anything but shorts and T-shirts. Being able to say “I told you so” is just as satisfying on vacation.

Don’t forget to pack adequate entertainment, especially for the kids. Just because you can sit and listen to the chirping of birds all day doesn’t mean a ten-year-old can. Try to bring books and games, even if you have to conveniently “forget” the extra batteries for the electronics the kids will inevitably bring (which reminds me: when selecting a camping site, try to find a place without cell phone reception, so the kids don’t spend the entire trip sending text messages to friends).

Well, there you have it. Just follow these simple steps to ensure that you will have a camping experience that’s just as memorable as the ones you had when you were young, but without the post-traumatic stress disorder. And remember: the more you rough it on vacation, the more luxurious your whole life seems when you return.