Not a camper and going on a camping trip? Here’s a guide for survival!
1stthing to know in order to survive – there will be BUGS…BE READY!
4ht of July weekend I (Alex) went camping in East Hamptons at Cedar Point National Park. You may think ohh the Hamptons, that’s easy and not true camping; well you’re wrong! This was my first camping experience and let me tell you it was actual camping. I slept on the ground, had to walk to the bathrooms in a localized area, didn’t wash my hair for 3 days, lived off lantern light, pulled ticks off bodies…actual camping! If you’d ask me would I do it again, I’d say yes despite the items I just listed. There are key things I learned from this trip that I know for next time and I’m sharing them with you today this way you will survive your first camping trip.
- Pack bug spray
- Like I said before there will be tons of bugs, so if you’re someone that tends to get bit a lot, bring spray.
- Bring a pillow / sleeping bag
- This is something we forgot, and it wasn’t pleasant. I ended up sleeping on my rolled-up blanket for the beach. Anything to make your sleeping more comfortable in the wild will make all the difference…I promise you that.
- Bring multiple towels – beach, shower & extra
- Another key item to bring. You’ll want multiples in case it’s damp where you are, and they aren’t drying. Also, one may be filled with yet again BUGS after hanging it to dry.
- Make sure you have bags / containers that zip shut
- BUGS will get into anything, but you can try and make it as hard as possible for them by having a good suitcase for clothing that you zip shut after opening every time. Also, for food storage and utensils, we stored it in a clear container that was in a bigger storage box and everything was fine. Not to mention it was so much easier to pack up when it was time to leave.
- Centinela lanterns & candles
- We had one small candle for the table, and it was fine, but we saw other campers surround their area with the lanterns. I thought this was a great idea and made a mental note to make sure have that for next time. This will help with the bugs immensely as well as give extra light around your camp ground and not worry where you are stepping or what noise is coming from the woods.
- Two sandals
- why two options? Well one should be for the showers and one should be for around the camp grounds. One is fine also just make sure you have something for the showers and make sure it’s something that can get wet.
- Socks
- Socks are key for again people that are prone for getting bug bites. They are great for hiking and for night time when I suggest tucking long pants into them.
- Firewood
- There’s something about sitting around a camp fire at night with your crew. So if you enjoy that, bring your own or else you’ll pay $1+ a piece for it there. Also building a fire will help with bugs and give light around your grounds as well.
- Canister for fire
- Most grounds have a rule that if you do make a fire it need to be contained somehow (make sure to check the parks rules).
- Fire lighter
- Don’t forget a lighter or two too if you plan on having candles and lighting a fire at night.
- Paper towels
- I’m a clean freak so having towels to wipe away anything just helped me feel at ease but in general have them to wipe your hands, cuts, eating area etc.
- Wipes to clean surfaces & garbage bags to keep your space clean
- Again being a clean freak this helped when it was time to eat and we wanted to wipe down the table.
- Hand held lights
Always good to have different size options as well. A small one in case you have to go to bathroom at night and lanterns to light up the different areas of your grounds.
- Water
- Hydration is key on these trips so make sure to have plenty and drink plenty.
- Games
- This is another item we saw other campers participating in. a bunch of people had corn hole or other rope games and it helps pass the time but also just fun to do with your group. We meant to bring cards and of course forget them.
- Music
- We didn’t forget the music though and it was fun to just listen as we ate and hung out at our camp site. We also played it at night to scare away any animals, if there were any.
- Hat
- Protecting yourself from the sun is important but really its for the bugs in this case. You’ll be under trees and ticks will jump in case you didn’t know. It’s just good to have extra protection.
- Grill
- No one should live off canned food or garbage. Get yourself a portable grill it will make a difference. Each night we had grilled protein and veggies and it gave us the fuel we needed to do activities the next day.
- A 4+ start tent
- Don’t cheap out on this if you want to get some sleep. Pay attention to the reviews. Find something that has good ventilation incase I’s supper hot. Find something that has good reviews with rain. No one wants to get wet or be worried about their items in the rain. There are great options and awful options out there, choose wisely!
- Tarp
- In addition to the tent make sure to get an extra tarp. This will hang above the tent and provide extra shade and protection from bugs and the rain.
- Rope
- Extra rope is essential as well. You can use it for the trap when you hang it above the tent. You can also make a clothing line between tents to dry your clothing.
- First aid kit
- You never want something bad to happen but accidents do happen so make sure you have this on hand
- Cooler
- Just like the tent, don’t cheap out in the cooler. This is where you will be storing your food to cook and eat and no one wants to get sick from spoiled food.
- Fan
- If you have the luxury to get a small generator, I’d recommend that and yu can hook up a small fan inside the tent. You can also get small hand held fans to cool down the tent and yourself.
- Rake
- This is something I would of never thought of but would of made a difference when we got there. We could of brushed off some of the leaves in our area and we could of minimized the bugs in our area.
I could keep going but I feel like I hit the top 25 key items to survive your first camping trip. I would also highly recommend this site. It was well kept, beautiful beaches that we took full advantage of and we saw hiking trails that we want to go back and do. Also if you want to camp but don’t think you can deal with all the items I listed they do have glamping and it views the beach. That is also on my list to go back and try. Lastly it’s only a 20 min drive back to town so let’s say you ran out of coffee and needed some it’s an easy drive. You can also just reconnect because did I forget to mention you will have spotty service there. So get ready to disconnect as well!
