Camping
In general, you want to bring the things you would bring to go camping at your typical state camp site. The one difference is that you should bring a fuel based cooking device, like a gas grill, if you need to heat your food. If you forget something, the closest store is only about 10 minutes (8 miles), so it is not that big of a deal if you need something you didn’t bring. Here is a partial list of items you might find helpful:
Campsite gear
- A tent with a rain fly, ground cloth/tarp, stakes
- Portable/folding chairs
- Portable table/tray
- A couple of rubbermade tubs for storing dishes/pots/pans/food/etc (they make great wash basins for dishes)
- Sleeping bag/air mattress/pillows
- Extra tarp in case of inclement weather
- flashlights/batteries
- Extra blankets
- A towel of course (some people will get that)
Clothes
- Walking/hiking shoes
- Clothes for day, night, and sleeping (we don’t judge…we know you have that unicorn onsie you use in the winter)
- A light jacket in case it rains
- A hat
Other items
- Your event receipt
- Toys
- Duct tape… a real multi-tasker
- Good stories
- After care supplies
- Extra blankets
- Safe sex supplies
- Sharps containers
Kitchen
- LP stove and fuel
- Matches/ligher
- Pots/pans
- Can/bottle opener
- Trashbags
- Cooler/frozen water bottles/dry ice
- plates/bowls/utensils/cups
- cutting board/knife
- bio-soap
- cooking utensils
- cleaning supplies
- plastic food and trash bags
- spices
- coffee making supplies (unless you want to see zombies)
- Something to wash dishes in (like a rubbermade storage tub)
Personal items
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellant
- Small first-aid kit
- Prescription medication
- Toiletries
- Soap
Extras
- Small campsite outdoor rug
- Solar panels/chargers
- broom/dush pan
- small hammer
- binoculars
- books/notepads/games
- mirror
- ear plugs (yea… we know some of you snore)
- A small fire extinguisher is always a good idea
Coordinating with several friends can help make camping even easier. I know what your’e saying: “But I have no friends… “ Well, I can’t help you there… be nicer. In any case, reach out to people attending and see who you can partner up with so that you don’t have to bring as much stuff.
Food
For seasoned campers this will be old hat. For folks that only do it once in a while, this might be useful info.
Preparation makes a world of difference. Its a lot easier to do finish cooking or reheating than making from scratch.
For example: you can pre-make spaghetti sauce and pasta at home. Freeze the sauce to help keep things colder in your cooler. When its time to eat, boil some water. Place the bag of frozen sauce in the water to heat it. Once heated, quickly dip the pasta in the boiling water to heat it as well… but wait, there’s more. The hot water can be used to clean up afterwards.
Since more of the cooking was done at home, there is very little actual cleaning that needs to be done, leaving more time to do fun stuff… unless you like cleaning in which case you will have to make a bigger mess to have fun.
The more you do at home the easier it is while camping. Another bonus hint: Freeze a flat of water. Put that in the bottom of your cooler. Each day, move a few to the top so they defrost. If you keep your cooler in a shady spot, this will often last 4 to 6 days. Everything stays dry and you have something cold to drink.
Need to chill your cooler down fast, get a few pounds of dry ice. Place it in the bottom of your cooler and cover it with water bottles. Just remember not to seal your cooler too tight or you could damage your cooler when the dry ice heats up.