Where to set up your tent
Set up your tent in the shade. Make sure there aren’t any dead or potentially hazardous trees that can fall onto your tent.
How to tell if a tree is a hazard:
- It’s dead or leaning
- There is damage to the trunk
- The trunk and/or roots are rotting
- The branches are dead
- There is noticeable cracks in the trunk and/or branches
- There are mushrooms at the base of the tree
- Holes are present in the tree with what appears to be a pile of sawdust
- Insects are boring through the tree, creating holes, weakening the tree infrastructure
- The ground is heavily saturated
Look up recent and upcoming weather conditions. Has there been a lot of rainfall recently? Storms? Heavy Winds? Go to the National Weather Service and look into past and upcoming weather. A heavily saturated ground with an upcoming storm can be a bad combination.
How to set up your tent
*If you’ve never set up a tent before, I suggest setting one up prior to your first trip, so you’re not struggling at the campsite.*
Tent items:
- Tent
- Rainfly
- Tent Poles
- Tent Stakes (a.k.a. Tent Pegs)
Setting up:
- Roll your tent out onto the tarp.
- Stake the corners of your tent down. (Use the butt of your axe, a mallet, or a large rock.)
- Take your poles and run them through their respective sleeve. (Sometimes the color of the poles coincide with the color of the tent sleeve, to make it easier to set up.)
- Attach the poles to the eyelet or key at the base of the tent. Now your tent should be standing up on its own.
- Place your rainfly over the tent and hook any lines to the rings at the corners of your tent. (Your tent, may or may not have any rings.)
- Stake out the guylines.
- Set the guyline tensioner.
After your tent is set up, put your gear/clothes inside and make up your sleeping area. Your sleeping area should consist of a sleeping mat (use an air mattress for added comfort), sleeping bag, and pillow. Bring any addition covers in case weather drops at night. If you forget your pillow, use some of your extra clothes to rest your head on.
Garbage
We set up two trash bags, usually in opposite areas. One bag we use for glass bottles/aluminum cans, the other for the rest of the trash. At the end of the day, before heading to bed, we take the trash and leave it in the car, away from the campsite.
The Remaining Tasks
At this time we have various people taking care of different tasks. We have people:
- Clearing the area
- Collecting and chopping wood
- Prepping food
- Setting up the tent(s), canopy, table, and cookware.
It’s that culmination of everyone working in unison, then sitting around the fire and enjoying everything we’ve accomplished.
Things to take care of everyday before nightfall
- Collecting wood
- Make sure you collect enough wood for the night. The rule usually goes, if you think you’ve collected enough, quadruple it. You wouldn’t think it, but you burn through wood FAST. Remember, collect only downed trees, sticks, or branches in the forest.
- Chopping wood
- Tending to the Fire
- Keeping the campsite clean
- Securing the food and trash at night
- It’s a good idea to place the cooler with the food in the car, as well as the trash bag (double bag the trash so nothing leaks).
Things to Do While Car Camping
- Hiking
- Fishing
- Swimming
- Games
- Late Night Walks
- Relaxing in a Hammock
- Relaxing by the Campfire
- Collecting and Chopping Wood
- Cooking Food
- Playing Guitar
- Writing in a Camping Notebook
- Watching the Wildlife
Packing Out Your Site
- Make sure that you picked everything up. Sometimes campers that camped at your spot had previously left some trash there, take it with you. Don’t leave any trash there.
- Make sure there isn’t any toilet paper left around the campsite.
At Home
Remember, just because you’re home doesn’t mean you can just throw your gear and stow it away till next time. Shoot over to Equipment Care for some equipment cleaning tips, so you can enjoy your gear for years to come.