Camping Tips for the Inexperienced

Hey y’all! A few weekends ago I went on a camping trip – my first ever camping trip! Yup, I’ve never actually gone camping before in my life. And what’s more, I’ve never slept in a tent. I’ve only hiked 2 or 3 times. I’ve never sang around a campfire. I’ve roasted hot dogs over a fire at max probably 7 times.

Let me just say, it took a lot of courage to sign up for this.

And now that it’s over, I’d like to share with y’all some camping tips for you inexperienced campers, like me. Here’s what I’ve learned on this trip.

Wear Comfortable Tennis Shoes – I knew my tennis shoes were getting too small for me and starting to fall apart, but I didn’t think anything of it. Oh well, I thought, I should be okay wearing these. Nope! I walked around our block the night before, and my mom realized my shoes were falling apart. So late at night, we went to Walmart to get some shoes for me. Although our hike got canceled due to rain, it was supposed to be a 3-hour hike (both ways), and I would have been miserable in my old tennis shoes. So, get comfy shoes and make sure to wear them a few times before you take them camping, because they will hurt your feet a bit during the first few uses.

Bring Flip Flops – whenever I got out of our tent to go play a game or dodge lightning bolts with the group (it stormed pretty much our whole trip!), I had to put on my tennis shoes. And that was pretty annoying. So, if you’re going to hang out in one spot, bring flip flops.

Pack Lightly – I cannot stress this enough. Eliminate every extra thing in your bag. Bring lighter clothing. Your back will thank you.

Bring a Small Pillow – I was going to bring my full size pillow, but my mom suggested for me to bring a smaller pillow. And I’m glad I did, because a large pillow would have weighed my bag down even more.

Keep Your Lunch in One Bag – my brothers and I made the mistake of splitting our salami and crackers in 2 different bags. It wasn’t fun to have to run to get different bags from different tents during pouring rain. And make sure your lunch is in a lunch bag, not your back pack.

Pack Extra Socks – I was just going to wear a pair for that Saturday and a pair for the next morning, but I chose to pack 2 extra pairs anyway. I am glad I did, because I wore them both!

Pack 2 Towels – with clear skies and no showers in the evening, 1 towel is sufficient. But in our case, it rained and we had to take showers in the evening! Cleaning up dirty water and then drying off from the shower with the same towel is pretty yucky. So bring 2 towels.

Don’t Sit On Logs – I did, and the bugs were eating away at me. At the end of the night, I was itching terribly and almost jumping up and down. So, stand or sit on a chair.

Bring Bug Spray – my family does as much as we can the natural way. So, we just took bug repellant bracelets and essential oils, and thought that we’d be protected enough. WRONG! We were covered in bites. So use bug spray if it’s the most helpful thing for you!

What are some of your camping tips and tricks? Comment below!