Archives for November 2019

Internet friends, I’m afraid I have misled you.

There’s something I need to clarify: I don’t love camping.

I will camp. I tolerate camping. I’ll do it when it’s required by our travel destination (though let’s be real, usually it’s required by our pocketbooks #noshame)

But given the option of sleeping on the hard, cold ground vs a king-sized bed made by someone else in front of a TV with cable channels? Yeah 10/10 times going to choose the king-sized bed.

When I MUST camp (which tbh is most of the time) I like to think I barelyyyy camp.

C and I are well seasoned victims of ignorance re: camping. We have endured our fair share of suffer-fests to learn what constitutes the difference between a decent night’s sleep and 8 long, dark, and miserable hours of despair. We’ve camped in tropical storms without a rain tarp, we almost suffocated ourselves sleeping in a car below freezing, and we have woken up on night one of a FOUR DAY camping trip with signs of acute hypothermia.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that C n I are idiots who learned a lot of things v fast the v hard way, and now you get to benefit from our suffering.

Because here’s the secret to camping: if you’re doing it right, it’s NOT THAT BAD and it will very quickly save you LITERALLY thousands of dollars and open so many doors to so many new adventures.

But don’t set yourself up for failure. Because it really only takes one bad night of sleep in a tent to (end a marriage jk) sour your outlook on camping forever.

So friends, straight from my misery to your eyeballs, the six camping tips we have found necessary for camping, but barely.

1. KOAs are a great option.

I think KOA stands for Kampgrounds of America, but the acronym really should be KAO for Kick-Ass Option. They’re typically a little more expensive than your basic campsite but they come with some awesome amenities like real bathrooms, a convenience shop, security, and real bathrooms (it needed to be said twice). They even have Kozy Kabins in addition to campsites (yeah okay, I know the K’s are a little much) if you prefer the “glamping” life.

The people I meet at KOAs are some of the coolest people I know. I’ve been given a beer by a guy biking across the United States, I’ve shared a fire with a couple spending their retirement traveling to the world’s most remote places in their minivan, and I’ve had my parking spot taken by someone who ran a marathon every weekend for an entire year.

If you’re not super keen on remote camping or if you’re new to the camping gig, KOA’s are a great, secure option that will still save you $100+ on a hotel.

2. Bring your pillows

I know they take up a ton of space. I know it’s cumbersome to haul them around and to try to keep them in your car with your other camping things. I know they get dirty. But please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, bring your pillows!!! C n I forgoed pillows for literally years. I’ve used sweatshirts, sleeping bag stuff sacks, and sometimes, well, C. But C convinced me (probably because he was sick of being demoted to mediocre pillow status) to bring our pillows on one of our camping trips and WOW GAME CHANGER. I slept like a baby. At home, your full-sized pillow is simply another bedtime accessory. In a tent, your pillow becomes a beautiful angelic beacon of luxury.

I AM NOT EVEN BEING DRAMATIC. Pillows are game changing.

3. Get a Sleeping Pad

All you REALLY need to camp is a tent and a sleeping bag, but there are a lot of expensive things you can buy for camping in addition to these two items. REI has discovered this and made a v successful business model out of the concept. But I promise you, your adventuresome lifestyle is NOT proportionate to the amount of money you spend on your camping gear.

However, there is one thing I would say is worth investing in, and that is a sleeping pad. For one, it prevents you from feeling every lump and bump of the ground below you, but even more importantly, it elevates you off of a very, very cold ground. You’d be shocked at the temperature difference between a night with a sleeping pad and a night without. The affordable ones are a pain to travel with because they’re huge, and the ones sized for ease of travel cost a small fortune. Pick your poison and get one.

4. AUDIO BOOKS!!!!

This was a game changer for us. You’d think that after spending a day in the fresh air wiggling around in the mountains, it would take approximately 0.5 seconds to fall asleep. ALAS that is not often the case. Sometimes, campsites are really close together and you have rowdy neighbors. Sometimes, campsites are really far apart and you’re left questioning if every last noise you hear was just the wind? Or perhaps a bear? And sometimes, your all adrenalized from an epic day of adventuring and sleep is the furthest thing from your mind.

But when the sun goes down at a campsite, your activity options are limited. Especially these days, campfires are limited, and sometimes I just don’t need to spend 10 days smelling of campfire. And beyond that, there aren’t many activities you can do when it’s dark and freezing. But what you can do when your nestled in a dark tent under 15 layers of sleeping bag insulation? Listen to an audio book.

They require almost zero battery from your phone, they don’t need data to play, and they can be set to a sleep timer so that, if after 15-minutes of being distracted from bear noises you fall asleep, the book will stop playing and your battery will be saved.

5. Desperate Times Call for Nyquil

Finna be real (remember when I said I would stop saying “finna” and then I didn’t actually stop saying “finna”? Me too, good times) even when you have a delish sleeping bag, a pillow suited for kings, and an expensive af sleeping pad, when it’s cold, you’re sleeping on the ground, and you’re protected by nothing more than some weird techy material fabric teepee, it can be very hard to fall asleep. And even harder to stay asleep.

In dire situations, C n I will use Nyquil. People always holler at me for this one and I get it, Nyquil isn’t exactly a “natural” way to enjoy our natural world. But look, if I spend multiple nights sleeping on and off in a fit of distress and wake up in the morning with MAYBE 3 hours of restful sleep, I’m not going to have the easiest time enjoying the natural world either.

Sometimes you just need some mf sleep. And in those times, Nyquil will become your bae. Everything and more. Give me Nyquil or give me death (or give me a night in a hotel room).

6. ALWAYS Get a Decent Cup of Coffee

THIS. IS. IMPORTANT. If you are a coffee drinker, getting a good cup of coffee in morning will MAKE OR BREAK your day. But how you ask?

Well here’s a couple caffeinated pro tips: The lodges in the National Parks (that cost $$$$ to stay at) are open to everyone and you can roll out of your sleeping bag and into the lodge for a cup of coffee and a minute to warm up.

If you’re in the middle of nowhere, make instant coffee your friend. You can get a cup of hot water at almost any gas station, or you can make one on your camping stove. And having your own great instant coffee is a game changer. My personal recommendation is Biodynamic Coffee by Holistic Roasters. They sent me a couple boxes to try a few months ago and I am officially hooked. All their packaging is compostable, their beans are grown without herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers and they stand behind their policy by putting more into the land than what they take out of it. HOW FITTING to sip on some eco coffee whilst enjoying the natural wonders of our beautiful planet 😊

Traveling to new places and spending time outside is so important for mental and physical health. Don’t let the fear of camping hold you back! Take these camping tips and explore away, internet friends!