Make Friends, Learn and Embrace the Dirt Under Your Nails

In Part 1 of my Ten Camping Tips we talked about getting started, unplugging (you must try it sometime), exploring, checking the weather and eating good food (duh). Read on to learn even more juicy insight to make your next camping trip the best ever.

6. Improvise and learn.

  • You’re going to bring too much crap and you’re gonna forget something you’d really like to have. C’est la vie. Camping teaches you to improvise – a great lesson you’ll find quite handy in life.

7. Embrace being outside.

  • Embrace the dirt under your nails, the grass in your hair, the smell of your body (you don’t have to embrace it, but at least be OK with that last one)… that’s the beauty of it. How often can you run around like a dirty school boy in your normal life?

8. Be cool to your camping neighbors.

  • Camping is a great reminder that everyone is different. Don’t judge when your neighbor pulls outs an industrial-strength blowtorch to light their campfire, you just might borrow his ketchup tonight.

9. When in doubt, ask the camp host.

  • These folks (who are usually retired and serve as volunteers) know the lay of the land – what animal you heard howling last night, where the nearest gas station is and whether that plant is poison ivy. And a lot of them travel the country in their RVs, so they have good stories too!

10. Be patient and have a positive attitude.

  • It all sounds fun and gravy, but the tent will be a b**** to put up, the sun will go down before dinner is ready, the wood will be wet and you’ll get a hundred mosquito bites. It’s all part of the experience. Don’t forget to take a deep breath, sit back and savor the quiet.

If you’re still not convinced, check out Buzzfeed’s “34 Delicious Things You Can Cook Over a Campfire” – once you’re drooling, you’re ready. Now get out there and stir up an adventure!