Camping: Hello Nature, Long Time No See

It’s sure nice to have an experienced camper in the family. I must say I feel very lucky that it was my father that made all of those mistakes that are transformed into a mental luggage filled with lots of experience bits – and I don’t have to go over the same mishaps in order to learn all of it. Being wise and taking all sorts of precaution is not in my character and I bet it wasn’t in my dad’s, but his love for the great outdoors has forced him to abandon recklessness and develop useful habits and camping hacks.

Last week we went tent camping together, something we haven’t done since I was a small child and boy oh boy was I happy to be in the midst of all that greenery in Mt Field National Park, Tas. Being among the tallest trees in the world made us feel like dwarves and we couldn’t stop laughing about it. Well, except for bonding over the realization of our smallness compared to that forest, we also needed to adapt to the rules of the outdoors and that was a great chance for my father to pass some knowledge down to me.

According to what his experience taught him, the most important gadget for any sort of outdoor adventure is a quality knife. Preferably that would be a Swiss army knife, but remember that any pocket knife is better than no knife at all. Dad told me to make sure that the knife can withstand beating, but, just in case, a smart camper will always bring a spare.

Besides the knife, another essential piece of outdoor camping equipment would be a flashlight. We camped all through the weekend, which meant the nights were dark and full of terrors. We didn’t need any powerful magic to defeat it, all we had were a few flashlights. I took note of the fact that one must always ensure the batteries will last for the whole trip. Also, for longer trips, a few flashlights and a lot of batteries is what every camper needs.

A first aid kit is also a must, luckily, my father and I didn’t injure ourselves on our trip. Nevertheless, my dad always takes one on all of his trips. If something unexpected happens and you get hurt, you wouldn’t want to be left without any medical attention.

Just don’t forget to pack other pieces of essential outdoor camping equipment besides knives, flashlights and a first aid kit, such as water purifying tablets, sleeping bags and snacks. I mentioned those three items because they are the very essential. They can save your camping trip from a huge failure and maybe even your life.

Finally, in order to properly determine all additional equipment you might need, do a thorough research of the area you’re planning to visit. These days that’s the easiest part because we have the internet. As my dad told me it was a lot harder to do research in the past. One would have to use maps and talk to someone who recently went to that spot. If that wasn’t possible, going without research could result in a ruined, or even dangerous trip.