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What to take on a 2 day camping trip?
Casually Hardcore
Once an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered User regular
Once an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered User regular
Hey,
I never really spent multiple nights outdoors. I spent a night outdoor, but never 2 nights outdoors.
So what should I bring? What are the must haves? What should I know? How much should I budget towards this?
I never really spent multiple nights outdoors. I spent a night outdoor, but never 2 nights outdoors.
So what should I bring? What are the must haves? What should I know? How much should I budget towards this?
Casually Hardcore on
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What are you doing (hiking, canoeing, etc), are you part of a group, is there any resources or tasks you have been specifically assigned, and do you need to feed yourself?
There's canoeing, and I'm sure there'll be hiking. This is part of a group and we do have a list going on. But as of now the list consists of 'Booze, food, tents, canoe' .
If you are going for an extended hike, especially if it's on an unmarked trail, confirm the plans with your group and tell someone where you guys are going. Bring a basic first aid kit if you have one. If you were going on a longer trip or one structured around the backcountry I would recommend you build your own emergency kit (small tarp, matches, foil, flashlight, etc). You can never be too safe.
Booze - Plastic bottles.
Food - Cans of food like beef stew is good, pancake mix, eggs (maybe), noodles. A lot depends on if you have cold storage or not; bacon is excellent, as is potatoes, ground meat, peppers, and onions for hobo meal. One 10" cast iron skillet is all you need. Things like salt/pepper, foil, towels may also be needed.
Tents - Do you have one? You can get an OK 3-season at Target or on-line cheaper for around $100. Usually subtract one person from whatever it says for gear.
Canoe - REI?
Extra clothes, especially underwear and socks, and put them in a ziplock bag or something in case it rains.
Bug spray, a rain poncho, a mess kit (or some paper plates/cups that you will dispose of properly)
Pillows! It sucks using your knapsack.
I may think of more stuff, but you are going to a campground so things are a lot simpler.
4x Socks, White (pairs)
3x T-Shirt
2x Pants, Cargo, Cotton
4x Underwear
1x Long sleeve hoodie
1x Light jacket
1x Swimming Trunks
1x Towel
1x Sleeping Bag
1x Air Mattress or ground pad
1x Wide Brim hat
1x Canteen
1x Life jacket
1x Rain Poncho
1x Body/Hair wash (100mL bottle)
1x Deodorant stick
1x Toothbrush
1x Toothpaste
1x Sunscreen (SPF 30+)
1x Insect repellent (I prefer Muskol, non-spray)
1x Flash light
1x Lighter
1x Alcohol of choice (recommend plastic mickey bottle)
I also recommend you put all of the smaller items in ziploc bags.
All of the clothing should be packed in a garbage bag, squished, twist-tied, then placed in a second garbage bag that's also squished and twist-tied.
Your sleeping bag should be packed the same way, garbage bag in garbage bag inside the sleeping bag sleeve.
If placed in a canoe, you pack should be tied or strapped to one of the crossbars.
All of these measures ensure that in the case of catastrophic canoe failure, you'll have dry clothes and a dry sleeping bag that won't float away or sink.
Wet tissues are good for keeping your hands (and anus) clean.
Also, campground water doesn't always taste the best, so you might wanna bring something to flavor it, like Kool-Aid or Gatorade powder.
If no one is particularly experienced with making a fire, you might wanna bring some lighter fluid.
The water is used for drinking, both straight and mixed with Tang at breakfast, lunch, and supper.
Food wise, remember that any meats will either have to be cured or consumed early in the trip. Usually on our trips, we plan for the first evening meal to be fresh meat, usually pork. We partially freeze it in a ziplock bag(s), and by the end of the first day it's about 80-90% thawed, but still cool, and we cook it on a grill over the fire. We usually have a bag garden salad and Italian dressing to start the meal, maybe some mini-carrots. The bag salads actually can usually be edible the second night as well.
Breakfast the first morning in camp usually has bacon, which we completely freeze raw before the trip. By the first morning on the trail it's thawed, and we cook it up in the cast iron pan first, set it aside in a camp pot, and pour the grease into a spare metal pan or mug, then mix up pancake batter and make pancakes in the cast iron pan, adding a bit of bacon grease between batches to lube the pan. A new small bottle of maple syrup will be more than enough for 6 of you. The next days we usually go with those oatmeal packets where you just have to add water (we mix it up in our camp mugs). Lately we've gotten spoiled and started taking a coffee percolator and making real coffee, but for years we just brought instant coffee.
Lunches for us are always basic, bread (heavy canadian rye that doesn't squish in the pack), cheese (Medium Cheddar, Jalapeno Pepperjack, swiss), sausage (precooked Garlic, Kolbassa, or Mennonite farmer sausage rings), trail mix, bagels, with tang to wash it down.
The following dinners I've used on canoe trips, and can be prepared easily on a standard Coleman 425 camp stove in a 2L (2 Quart) pot with a decent lid.
Garlic Sausage Jambalaya:
1x pack of Zatarain's Jambalaya mix
1x 300g Garlic Sausage (precooked ring)
2x tbsp oil
2 + 1/2 Cups of water
You combine the water and oil and bring it to simmer, dicing the garlic sausage while you wait, then add the diced sausage and Jambalaya mix and stir. Put the cover on and let it simmer for about 25-30 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed, then take it off the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes, stir and serve. This will feed about 3-4 canoeists, this last weekend I doubled it and it was about the perfect amount for 6 of us.
Macaroni and Cheese with Ham:
1x Box of Mac and Cheese brand of choice (not Kraft Dinner)
6 Cups of water
1/4 Cup of Milk (reconstituted from powder)
1/4 Cup of Margerine
3x 156g Tins of flaked ham
Start the water boiling then add the Macaroni pasta, it will take about 15-20 minutes to cook, so at this point open up the ham and dice it into chunks (I like to go about 1/2 inch chunks). When the pasta is ready, carefully pour off the excess water (this is where a good lid, steady hand, and practice come into play) into a nearby lake or river (don't pour it on the ground near your camp), do not return the pot to heat. Add the cheese powder from the mac and cheese kit and the milk, and stir until the sauce achieve's it's proper creamyness. At this point I also like to add some good cheese, like cheddar or pepperjack that you probably have in you food packs anyway, as well as the diced ham. Stir it up and let it sit for a couple minutes for the ham and additional cheese to heat up and marry with the rest of it, then stir again and serve. The basic version again would feed 3-4 people, most trips I go on we double it.
Anyway, I'm going to use that jambalya ingredient! Maybe the mac and cheese one too. Thanks.
Toilet Paper.
Also, a small first aid kit is great to have. You never know wtf might happen, especially if you're also bringing booze and using fire.
Am I going to be doing a lot of physical work? If yes, then bring ibuprofen. Will there be bugs? If yes, then bring bug spray or itch cream. Am I a fussy sleeper? Am I OK with dirt? Can I sit on the ground?
Whenever I go camping I make sure to bring enough that I will survive the experience, which generally means a first aid kit and food. That's the important stuff. The rest is to make it an enjoyable experience, such as chairs, stoves, tents, utensils, fire things, etc.
The most important thing to bring camping is not ingredients for smores. Which means that if your group of friends is talking about who's bringing the stuff for smores, you probably don't have much to worry about. Figure out where you're sleeping, how you're sleeping, where you're eating and how you're eating. Camping is basically an exercise in logistics.
For comparison, when my family went camping when I was a kid, my mom would essentially pack the kitchen, which means you need to camp not too far from the car. If you're close to the car, then just think to yourself "ok, what am I doing on friday" and then "what am I doing on saturday" and then "what am I doing on sunday morning."
Camping Supplies List
1. Lantern and/or flashlight (I prefer lanterns for nostalgia, but flashlights can be handier)
It is always nice to see things at night and the campfire isn't always enough light
2.Hatchet
Cut wood, cut rope, cut cobs of corn in half. Hatchets are great
3. Tent
Obviously some sort of shelter.
4. First aid kit with bug spray and alcohol
Rubbing alcohol. Booze is a personal choice
5. Candy bars
You may burn the food and you will need a snack. Anything high in carbs is good. Also, make s'mores.
6. A tarp
Before pitching your tent put a tarp down. Even if the ground does not look wet it can be damp and it is nice for that cold to not seep into your sleeping space.
7. Map
Yes a map. A paper one. Cellphones do not always work when camping so having an analog map is a spiffy idea.
8. Lots of socks
No one likes wet feet. Be prepared.
9. Toilet paper
Seriously bring it. That leafy plant over there that you are eyeing up to use? Poison Ivy. Yeah.
10. Food!
Consider if it will spoil before bringing it. Dry goods are a nice option as well.
11. Cooler with a lock!
Racoons are smart. And hungry. They will open your cooler, they will eat your food. If you can't find a cooler with a lock then lock it in your car when you are gone or asleep.
12. Cast Iron skillet
Use it for everything! Wash by pouring water into the skillet and bringing it to a boil. Helpful at home as well
And earplugs
sunscreen
kindling and matches in a ziploc
check the area that you are going to be staying for what is required. Most places, in the NW at least, require bear proof canisters. You'll need some rope to haul that up to a tree as well.
Also, its been mentioned a bunch, but: have a first aid kit and know how to use it. For that matter, having someone who has taken a basic first aid course is a good idea, but that's harder on short notice
Either way more water than you think is reasonable or a way to purify water you find.
For a canoe trip, consider what stuff you need to have waterproofed and what is ok if it gets a bit wet. Depending on how much crap you are bringing, you may need to a way to get it secured in the canoe.
I'm not sure where you are in the country (or, actually, which country) but plan for wildlife causing problems.
Rope for suspending your stuff from a sturdy branch 10ish feet from the trunk is the usual suggestion I believe. Whenever possible, clean anything that smells like food. Trash goes up the tree too.
Depending on your area, you may want bear spray. If you are bringing it, put some thought in to where you are putting it and how that will affect things if you need to use it.
That's why I was asking if it was car camping or river camping. Not all campsites have places to store your bear canisters especially when it's just an area off of a river.
And for the love of god, don't take your cellphone, kindle, ipad, DS, PSP, or anything like that.
For entertainment, when you have downtime in a tent or later, bring a book or a DS.
- Water - Is there clean water or do you have to bring it?
- Food - Bring more than meals, snacks like trail mix disappear quick
- Something to cook the food with - matches for fire or small stove or have all dried food
- Tent
- Sleeping bag / blankets / pillow - whatever you need to sleep in and crash. I know friends when they car camp, just sleep in the passenger seat
Everything else is just to make your stay more comfortable but I would suggest
Changes of clothes - I usually bring +1 of the # of days I'm gone
Hat
**PLAYING CARDS** different people know different games and can teach others
Flashlight
Bug spray
Sunscreen
Tylenol
Chair