Getting Ready For a Camping Adventure
Most of us have read Enid Blyton’s Famous Five as kids. The lovable and daring five – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and their dog Timmy are always falling into adventure when they go camping in their school breaks. Enid Blyton beautifully captures the sense of adventure and the simple joys in things like camping, picnics, lemonade and simple wholesome food. Many readers, including myself felt the urge to go out there and find adventure. Camping turned out to be as close to exciting as the stories. In fact, it was the Famous Five that got me involved with camping. No matter how many camping trips I have been on, each one has been unique and fun.
Camping is all about making do with what you have with you, in a Survivor kind of way. Before you go on a camping trip you need to plan out all the activities and equipment you are going carry with you. If you plan on going hiking you need to distribute the load according to each person’s ability. Go through the equipment you have and make a note of what you are going to need. Ask a friend if you can borrow the equipment you do not have. Buy cheap equipment wherever you can spare on quality because you are bound to forget something behind. No point in feeling bad later.
A camping tent is your primary shelter when you go camping. The type of tent you are going to need depends on a number of factors. First of them is the climate of the region where you are going camping. Tents are available in the market for a variety of climate conditions like desert, sub zero and tropical. A tent designed for sub zero conditions is insulated and the anchor spikes are not suited to tropical or desert soil. If you try using such a tent in the wrong conditions the tent will not hold up.
The next factor is the number of people going to occupy the tent. Naturally, the more the people, the larger the tent. If you are going hiking I suggest you carry a tent no larger than that designed for two people. The height or headroom to the tent is also important. If you are a large person, you are definitely going to face a headroom problem. Ask the salesperson to show you can check out a tent on display. Explain the height problem to him or her. They will be happy to assist you since that is their job and they desire to make a sale.
Do not hypothesize or extrapolate on the size of a tent that you have not tired out. Tents manufactured by different camping gear outfits are never of the same dimensions. If the demo tent you have tried out is a little short for you, do not follow logic and ask for the next size. Tent manufactures do not make tents in variable sizes, but the capacity of the tent. Large tents are not only heavy and burdensome, but are also a pain to setup.
