My first test run with camping.

[Mal the Wolf]

I live in wv and every year we go to a place called Canaan Valley. Only 3 hrs away and tons of outdoor stuff to do( caveing, hiking, waterfalls, bike rideing). Have been going here all my life once a year and we usually rent a large house for all the fam. If you are ever in wv its a must go.
Now that im a father I would like to take the fam there more often, but cant afford it. So camping would be great and cheap option.
This year instead of sleeping in the huge house with the rest of the fam, I camped in the woods just beside it too test run my gear and skills before bringing the kids into it. This would be my test run for March when just me and the kids will be camping.
Between that week and reading on this forum I realize that I made bad and in some cases pointless purchases.
I cannot find the balance between packing for a real ruffin it trip for days packin everything on you ,and the suburban campground pack where extras are ok

[Mike]

Re: My first test run with camping.

Well, Mal, the answer to your question about "to Ruff or not to Ruff" is an easy one.

When you camp with the wife and/or kids, you don't rough it. You make it nice and comfy. That includes fluffy toilet paper on rolls with the core still round on the inside.

When you are packing, hand each kid an empty pillow case and tell them they can bring any toys or books or games they want as long as it fits in the pillow case.

Skip dinner and go straight to the S'mores.


... and of course, Dad has to have fun too, so when it is really dark at night, tell the scariest stories ever told in the history of the whole wide world and make the kids scream and cry and hide in their sleeping bags..... and the next night they will beg you to tell them more scary stories!!

[GlitterHiker]

Re: My first test run with camping.

I think finding the right balance takes time and a few outings - likely you won't strike the right balance for "you" and your family on the first outing.

More suggestions though: Canaan Valley in March is going to be cold at night. So don't skimp on the bedding supplies.

More importantly though: Bears. if you haven't already, teach your family to keep an ultra-clean campsite. Do not bring any food, snack, personal care smelly items into your tent. Make sure your food is in your car, in a heavy duty cooler. I camped last year at Green Ridge State Forest in Maryland (also in the Appalachians) and the rangers were suggesting bear canisters and hanging food as bears in our area are becoming knowledgeable that food could be in the car. But if you're living in WV, you're probably already well aware of all this.

[sarahspins]

Re: My first test run with camping.

I cannot find the balance between packing for a real ruffin it trip for days packin everything on you ,and the suburban campground pack where extras are ok

You will - part of it just involves making mistakes, or having a few experiences where you know for certain what you'll do different "next time". We forgot to bring flashlights the very first time we camped as a family (we had them, they just got left behind - pointing out that our system of organizing/packing needed much improvement!) and that made for some interesting after dark experiences when we kept hearing critters right outside our tent but couldn't "see" them. Plus, what works great for one family may just be absolutely absurd for another, and one person's idea of "roughing it" may be someone else's idea of luxury camping - we're all different, and we all camp differently, so you just have to figure out what works for you. Last summer we camped everywhere from a $6 national forest campground with vault toilets and no available water to a KOA in the middle of a city because we were too tired to find something else and we knew they'd have showers... all with the same gear, so it is possible to be very adaptable without lugging a lot of extra stuff around.

If you have a backyard, a "trial run" sleeping in the tent and pretending to camp can be fun - without the stress of being far from home if anything goes wrong. It will give you time to think of things you hadn't considered before (camping with kids is much different than camping alone) as well as an opportunity to see if you really need some of the things you thought you'd need.

Mike's suggestion to let the kids bring their own goodies is a great one - my kids all have small backpacks they get to fill up with whatever they'd like. It's their job to bring their own entertainment for the trip, I have long since given up on that - I tend to bring more things (games mostly) that they're just not interested in while we're camping.. they want some of their own toys from home, their own choice in books, etc. The only exception is that I usually bring some paper and map pencils (crayons will melt when it's hot), scissors, and glue sticks in case they decide to get creative... there has yet to be a trip where those don't get used, but they aren't things the kids usually think about bringing on their own.

[Mike]

Re: My first test run with camping.

That's a tough problem you have Mal. It can be expensive trying to have gear for both solo primitive camping and family car camping.

You don't mention your kid's ages, but one way to attack this problem is to make everyone in your family build their own backpack and basically be a self contained unit by themselves. Each backpack contains it's own sleep system along with an individual mess kit. You'd still have a few community pieces of gear like a stew pot or a canopy but this would be split up amongst the adults. The key is to make each person assemble their own pack so they can take ownership of the pack's failures and successes and improve upon it themselves.

With a system like that, you can go very cheap. Start with a simple rucksack or even just a bedroll with rope tied around it. Use hammocks which can be had for less than $20. Use wool blankets instead of sleeping bags. Give everyone a metal cup and that becomes their drinking and eating vessel. Each backpack fully setup could be assembled for anywhere from $25 to $50 each.

In a way it would be like turning your family into a scout troop and it's probably the cheapest way to get a group out the door and into the campground.

If you go this route, and keeping everyone's pack weight around 15 pounds or less, you'll be able to camp in mild weather - say March through September. For other times of the year you'll need more substantial equipment but that's something you can grow into.

Dave Canterbury has a 7 part series on putting together a discount setup of gear. You might want to watch these if you decide to go this route. Here's a link to part one and links to the other six parts should be visible in the sidebar...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAPNt...ABFF3E9D7186CB

Other than that, if you put out more specifics like what type of car you own, how many people you have, your kid's ages, and more information about the location you camp in (how far away is the water, does it have a bathroom, etc.) I think you'll get some really good responses here on the forum.

Wow, Hogsnapper. You are a cool cat. Great practical advice once again.

[actad]

Re: My first test run with camping.

Canaan is one of the few places open in March. I was considering it as well for spring break.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: My first test run with camping.

The ghost stories will need to be age appropriate. There is nothing like an scared kid to make for a long night. What are the kids ages? And what items do you all ready have? That will help us a bunch. Your main focus should be on the comfort of the kids (and wife). Cause if they ain't happy, your not gonna be. The first is a good, warm, comfortable nights sleep. Sleep pad's, good sleeping bags, and extra blankets are gonna be required. Food, if it is just gonna be you and the kids, keep it simple. Maybe hot dogs over the fire? Speaking of food, what do you have to cook with?
Entertainment. I would keep the kids stuff minimual at best. If there is stuff like you say, the bring along stuff should be limited to maybe a teddy bear or doll. Leave the phones, Ipod's, playstations etc at the house. Kids are pretty resilent, and can handle a lot, but try and make sure you have enough for a good nights sleep and warm food.
The purpose of the backyard campout is to do a test run. Make a list of what you want to take, and pack up like you are going camping. If you have to go back in for something, make sure you really need it, and if you do, put it on your camping pack list. If you can get by without it, don't go get it.

[Mal the Wolf]

Re: My first test run with camping.

Thank you all for the great responses. I really love the pack their own pack idea and also the bring their own entertainment. To give an overview of my situation I am 32 and my kids are 14yr girl, 12 boy, and 11 boy. I am still new so my gear is not yet up to snuff. As for cookin Im lost, all I got is 1 mess kit and enough water bottles for every one. I would always hang the food bag, not so much for the bears but the raccoons. I have already bought a fairy tale book and a ghost story book for fire side reading. Also I drive a 12 Malibu and it has a surprising amount of room.

[Mal the Wolf]

Re: My first test run with camping.

The good buys that worked for me: The aluminized ground clothe thing I got off ebay for $10. It rained and this did help. The Eton hand crank radio worked perfectly. The colman blow up checker table got alot of use. And the coleman cot and sleeping bag was better than my own bed at home.
Bad buys: Ozark Tent this thing sucked I had a mystery leak that left a puddle in the middle of the tent, the mesh ventalation at the top was not small enough and the small bugs got in.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: My first test run with camping.

Keep an eye out for deals on Craiglist, goodwill and other thrift stores. What is your budget? I have a camp chef explorer stove and love the thing. I run it off a grill gas tank, and I can put two 12" skillets on it. So if I use that I can make a big breakfast of hashbrowns, a ham steak, and biscuits and gravy (when I make the biscuits in my dutch oven). Kinda over klll, but my family enjoys it, and I have never served them cold cereal to start the day when camping. The coleman 2 burner stove is a smaller way to start. You can pick up cast iron skillets rather cheap at Wally World, or get used at a thrift store. I doubt you would want to take your kitchen skillets on a camping trip. Here is a couple of links to the stoves that I was talking about.

Camp Chef. I picked mine up off craigslist for $50. New in Box
http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Expl...+chef+explorer

Coleman
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-200000...=coleman+stove

[actad]

Re: My first test run with camping.

The good buys that worked for me: The aluminized ground clothe thing I got off ebay for $10. It rained and this did help. The Eton hand crank radio worked perfectly. The colman blow up checker table got alot of use. And the coleman cot and sleeping bag was better than my own bed at home.
Bad buys: Ozark Tent this thing sucked I had a mystery leak that left a puddle in the middle of the tent, the mesh ventalation at the top was not small enough and the small bugs got in.

If you like the Eton hand crank radio, you might like their hand crank Road Torq flashlight. It has eliminated the need for me to bring a lantern.

[jdinflatables]

Re: My first test run with camping.

Great Idea thanks for the info..!

[Mal the Wolf]

Re: My first test run with camping.

[Mal the Wolf]

Re: My first test run with camping.

[Mal the Wolf]

Re: My first test run with camping.

Here is an image dump from the trip. The girls in the pics are my daughter(darker hair) and her friend