Tag: montie’s guide to family camping

On your first trip, I’m sure you’d like to avoid going out and spending a lot of money on expensive gear, but keep a couple of things in mind. If you’re in a commercial site where there are many other campers around and you’re ten minutes from a bustling town and you have no plans to venture anywhere else, then you don’t need to purchase a lot of camping clothes. On the other hand, if you’ll be in a remote area far from others, then you have to be prepared for anything.

Keep in mind the high and low temperatures.

When we are home, we are used to a seventy-three degree house during the day and sixty-eight at night. When you’re outside camping, you can easily see a ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty degree swing over the course of the day. I will say it depends on where you are. Usually the largest fluctuations occur where it’s dry, because there’s less moisture to trap the heat, as well as at higher elevations where you find a bigger temperature swing at night. Say it’s seventy during the day, and forty at night. That’d be a thirty degree difference. We have seen swings from 85 to 30 many times in the mountains, especially in the high desert.

Stay warm. Stay dry.

The way to remain alive is to stay warm and dry. It’s very important to keep yourself in a situation where you can stay alive, because the number one killer of outdoor activities is hypothermia.

You can get hypothermia at seventy degrees. If you are wet at seventy, you’re not going to be able to maintain your body heat. If you are wet at seventy in the shade and the sun is about to set, you will also struggle. Keep in mind that very young children or older people can’t sustain their body heat at some of these temperatures if they don’t have the appropriate clothing. In those cases, hypothermia is a real threat.

Rules of three.

You can survive three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, and three weeks without food. There’s a little bit of a variable in that equation, but it’s pretty accurate. In three days you’re going to be suffering from massive dehydration and your body’s going to start shutting down. In three minutes you’re going to suffer from oxygen deprivation and brain damage can begin.

How a 9-1-1 search can start.

Generally, if you are lost you’re going to be rescued within two or three days. And if people know where you are, you’re probably going to be found in twenty-four hours. But, let’s say it’s three-thirty in the afternoon, and your kid goes for a walk and gets lost. You don’t realize your child is missing until five-thirty when Mom’s calling everyone to the campsite for dinner. It may take awhile to discover a child is missing. There may be calling and searching before you realize your child is lost and you call 9-1-1.

By the time rescue personnel arrive and gather the facts, it may be dusk. Depending on weather conditions, they might wait until morning to search. One of the dangers rescue teams have is the risk of walking over uneven terrain at night. It turns into the rescuer needing rescuing. Many times when someone is lost, they won’t be found until the following day because of darkness, so the more prepared they are, the better chance they’ll survive.

Stay dry. I mean it.

If you are conscious and dry and warm, then you’ll be fine. You can live without food and water overnight. You may feel cold, but you’ll survive. The key is to remain dry.

What if it rains? Either huddle under the canopy of a large tree or gauge what direction the wind and rain is landing and put yourself in a situation where you can remain as dry as possible.

If you get wet in a rainstorm, use the rays of the sun when it reappears to

allow your clothing to dry.

Example of wet clothing in cooler temperatures.

When your clothing is wet, your body loses heat very quickly. The cotton T-shirt or hoodie you are wearing is useless, because the water conducts the heat away from your body, and cools you off. So now all of a sudden, its say seventy degrees, but your body can’t maintain that temperature because of the heat being lost.

Your body maintains a temperature of about ninety-eight degree. Let’s say the air’s seventy, and your body’s producing energy so maybe it’s seventy. But, once you are wet you’re not okay. It is now dark and you have to spend the night in a place where you don’t have a way to dry off. When wet you lose more energy than you’re creating; this is when hypothermia could begin to kick in. People think that would never happen to me, but unfortunately hypothermia is one of the big outdoor killers.

Hypothermia defined.

Your body needs to keep organs at your normal body temperature. If your body is losing heat, the first thing to happen is your extremities cool off. Your fingers and toes get cold; as long as you don’t develop frostbite or the digits don’t freeze, then not a huge deal. It’s not uncommon for your skin to reach fifty degrees.

But, eventually you lose so much heat that your body starts to get cold inside. Your organs are not comfortable with being at those temperatures. So, in protection mode, your body begins to reduce the amount of blood flow to the skin. One way your body saves heat is to tighten your capillaries. But, your internal organs—liver, lungs, heart, they are all starting to get colder and eventually shut down. Next, your mental capacity goes down as well which is why people may start hallucinating. In advanced stages of hypothermia, they may stop talking or may not be able to communicate any more. At that point you have a serious medical condition. The only way to fix it is to warm the person up.

How quickly does hypothermia set in?

If you are lost and wet and can’t maintain your body temperature; hypothermia will set in. If you are a young child or an older person, it is more critical. The colder the air is the quicker hypothermia starts.

For example, say you fall into the Bering Sea which is about thirty-two degrees; you have about two minutes before hypothermia sets in. Or say you tumble into a seventy degree lake, you have about three hours. The basic concept is if you don’t warm up, you’re going to die.

Let’s say you aren’t wet. Or you are wet but the temperatures aren’t extreme, you are in for a long night. Hypothermia might not set in, but it will be a miserable night. It would also be a reason for someone never to go camping again. So, it’s more than just keeping track of your kids; its preparing them because things can happen. But, there’s hope. Read on for tips to prevent hypothermia and getting lost.

Simple things we can do for safety.

Help the people in your group understand where they are and how to return to the camp site. Also, train them in what to do if they become lost. If they don’t have equipment or proper waterproof clothing, there are still a number of things they can do.

Remind them to stay dry and warm, and make sure they know why this is important. Another thing is don’t move around after nightfall without illumination as it is easy to fall and injure yourself. Next thing you know you’ll be lost and hurt. It’s best to sit down after dark sets in.

You can also teach the people in your group about the terrain. If you’re camping halfway up a mountain, give them a landmark they can go to, that way you’ll know where to find them if they are lost. For example our place in the mountains has two peaks; one is on our property and the other on the neighbors. Everyone knows if they are lost to walk uphill until they can’t go anymore, that is where we can easily find them if darkness sets in and they don’t return to camp. Think about whether there are terrain features you can give simple directions around, so even a child can understand how to get to a place where it’s easy to find them.

Example: not lost, just hurt.

Let’s say you are out hiking alone, and you fall. You’ve broken something and you can’t make it back to camp. No one can hear you yelling and darkness is settling in. If you’ve left camp prepared, then you can rough it for a night with the pack I’m about to tell you about.

Equipment everyone needs.

Knowledge is power, but when camping, proper equipment can rule the day. If everyone is prepared with a pack when they leave the camp, that one simple thing can help prevent bad situations.

One item everyone should have is a waterproof jacket. The best kind is one with breathable fabric, for example Gore-Tex, but there are other good ones. If it is warm and you don’t need a jacket, tie it around your waist or stick it in your pack so you are prepared.

Of course, you should have water with you and some type of food, perhaps a Cliff bar or trail mix. It’s also smart to have a flashlight. If it’s going to be less than eighty overnight, bring a hoodie with you.

It’s really nice if you have a piece of plastic you can use to make a shelter. It’s also wise to have a way to create or build a fire. Both those aren’t necessarily essential.

Those are the basic things to put in your pack. Now you’ve filled up a small backpack. But, keep in mind many backpacking backpacks have a removable top section where you can store these items, so when you go for a side hike, you drop your bag and take these other things with you and you’re good to go.

Don’t panic.

If someone does get lost, the first thing they should do is sit down, take a deep breath and think about where they are and where they’ve been. It may be that if you can keep from panicking, there is a simple solution to return to camp without a lot of difficulty. If you’re panicked, you might be fifty feet from where you need to be; but you head off in the wrong direction and two miles later you’re farther away from where you need to be. Things like roads and rivers and unique trees or bushes are all solid landmarks to help people find their way back to camp.

Don’t rely on electronics.

Any electronics or something with batteries eventually dies. If you give someone a handheld GPS receiver or a compass and a map, they can probably find their way back, assuming they have the skills. A GPS is handy, but the batteries on a map and compass never die. Knowledge weighs nothing. Being able to find your way with a topological map and compass is a guaranteed way to know your way home. You can receive basic orienteering skills in an afternoon, time well spent.

With a GPS, you can set up a waypoint and use the GPS on your phone. Then you can compare the point where you’re camping to what your phone says, or the handheld GPS receiver, and make your way back to camp.

You still need to have the ability to survive on your own without technology, because batteries can die, or maybe you lose your signal. GPS signals can be hard to find in the mountains with trees or in a heavily forested area, even. So, it’s important to keep in mind that the phone is a wonderful thing, but there are a lot of places where it might not work.

A non-cellular GPS can have issues because of trees and terrain as well. GPS can fail for a lot of reasons. That’s why it’s so important to have self-reliant skills in case the batteries die or there is no signal. Your kids may look at you funny when you ask them to take a handheld GPS receiver, but it might save their life if they have to spend the night somewhere.

How prepared do you need to be?

Now this goes back to where are you in your camping experience. If you have a one-year-old and you’re not going to leave the campsite, then you probably don’t need to spend two hundred dollars on a waterproof jacket for everybody.

I’m a big believer in preparedness, so I’m probably a little more prepared than most. But if this is your first trip, with people and help nearby, then keep it inexpensive. Take some sweatshirts, take whatever gear you’ve got, maybe an umbrella, and keep it simple and economical. Don’t have a thousand dollar credit card bill. And don’t go in debt to go camping. Just have what you need if you get lost.

On the other hand, if you’re going to the middle of Wyoming and you’ll be a hundred miles away from the nearest help, that’s a totally different trip and you need to be prepared.

Many lost individuals are found very close to camp. Some have died from hypothermia, as close as ¼ mile from safety. So always be aware of your surroundings and how to find your way home. Do use proximity to others and safety as an excuse for not being prepared.

In general, what to wear.

Because it gets cool in the evenings, carry a hoodie for everyone. Depending on weather, bring a rain coat or umbrella. Also, since you’ll be outside all day, wear sunscreen or a hat, your skin isn’t used to having sun beating on it all day.

Now I don’t have any hair so I have to wear a hat. On the other hand, my wife has a lot of hair but she normally wears a hat. Another item to think about is sunglasses; they can keep the sun out of your eyes.

Wear comfortable clothing, shorts during warmer weather. Consider whether you might come across poison ivy. If you are allergic to poison ivy, bring an EpiPen. Bring anti-itch cream. Depending on where you are, you may want to add bug repellent as well. These are basic things to make you more comfortable.

You need to have rugged footwear, unless the plan is to exit the car and set up camp and not leave, then you don’t need to invest in expensive boots.

Have fun.

The goal is to keep everybody warm and dry sitting around the campfire. That makes for happy campers and you’ll have those wonderful moments. Keep track of everyone in your group and help them understand what to do if they do get lost so they’re crystal clear of what to do. Train your campers!

Check out my books on camping

Let’s tackle where to go camping and what to do when you get there.

Picking a campsite.

If you choose a campsite at ten thousand feet overlooking half the state, well, that’s awesome. But there’s probably not a lot to do up there unless you’re into epic hiking or rock climbing or bouldering. If your family’s not, or you have young kids, you will not meet with success. If you want views and relaxation, then this is the place for you. But, if you want to be near water you’re probably going to be closer to the valley.

One of the advantages of a campground is that other people are around and they may have amenities. There might be a game room with a pool table or a foosball table or air hockey table. There might be a lake with canoes and a place you can fish. Also, there are usually other people around so your kids may be able to find someone to play and have fun with. A place like Bear Den Campground, in Spruce Pine North Carolina, is a good example.

Another campground choice is to camp near where you want to explore. For example, Asheville has the Biltmore Estate and art galleries and loads of shopping. Perhaps that’s part of the camping experience. You camp where you can be close enough to Asheville. Say you have lunch in downtown Biltmore, then walk through a bunch of art galleries. That makes everybody in your family happy. In the afternoon, you go back and sit by the campfire. Another day you may have a totally different experience where you spend a day at Sliding Rock. And the next day you hike waterfalls on Mills River, or you hike up some mountain, or visit the Carl Sandberg home or Moses Cone estate. The list is endless. And all these activities are within a thirty-minute drive of the campsite you chose.

Now the downside to a campground is that you’ve got other people around, which means you’re not going to have that “I’m alone and there’s no one within fifty miles of me” experience. The flipside is the higher the concentration of people, the more there is to do. I recommend checking what’s available in that national forest or that campground or that state forest, and then check what there is to do in the neighboring towns. Usually if there is tourism, there are other things to do besides camping.

Check reviews. Make a plan.

I recommend choosing your campsite based on the activities you want to do and the places you want to go. Also, always check reviews and look for a variety of activities. Another idea is to get in the car and drive around. It all depends on whether you like to plan and schedule ahead of time or figure it out as you go.

Some historical sites can be fun for even young children. For example, Moses Cones Manor, off the Blue Ridge Parkway, has several thousand acres with gorgeous views, a lake, and paths. That’s a nice choice for young and old!

Everywhere you go is different. Some hikes that have spectacular views may be hard to get to, so you have to ask yourself is it worth it. There are many shorter and moderate hikes that have equally amazing views, so investigate and ask around.

Need a fishing license?

When you think about fishing, you need to check on the fishing license in that state. In North Carolina you must have a license to fish anywhere other than private property. So, if you plan on fishing, check out the license issue ahead of time.

Non-active pursuits while camping.

A non-active experience is when you’re sitting around the campfire, reading a book, napping, or spending time on your smart phone. It could also be where you’ve camped on the top of the ridge at six thousand feet, and the sun is rising across the mountains, and it is the most gorgeous sunrise or sunset you’ve ever seen in your entire lifetime. This is something you can experience without leaving the comfort of your camping chair. Maybe even your tent, depending on which way your tent faces. Passive experiences aren’t bad, they are just different. There are times when non-active is the way to go.

Active options.

Hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding are options. Water options include: canoeing, paddle boating, fishing, rafting, or kayaking. Consider taking a lesson in rock climbing, horseback riding, kayaking, or rafting class. If you’re in Western North Carolina, slide down Sliding Rock—trust me it is so much fun! Another fun spot is The Historic Orchard at Altapass, which allows you to go apple picking, shop, eat ice cream, and sometimes they even have live music.

Depending on who is in your camping group, you may decide to go out to lunch, shop in the next town over, walk through an art gallery, a zoo, or museum. Consider your audience. The point of each trip is to have fun and have everyone want to go on another camping trip.

You might want to do a ropes course, where you’re fifty foot up in a tree, climbing. Keep in mind that it’s safe because that’s the only way these companies will be in business tomorrow. For example, the Nantahala Outdoor Center will teach you a short course on how to raft. And then they’ll put you on the river, and you can enjoy a more family-oriented day of rafting. If you want to go big water, go to the Gauley; it’s not for young kids but it’s awesome for adults.

Passive vs. active, own it!

I want to give you an example of my lovely wife. We can be in the most amazing spot and Connie is completely content sitting by the campfire in the afternoon, reading a book. And I’ll say, do you want to go for a hike? And she’ll look at me and say, no go ahead without me. She is completely content. We’ve been doing this camping thing awhile, so Connie knows what she likes. I’m not going to force her into something she doesn’t like. She enjoys the somewhat passive experience a lot of times when we go camping. So during our down-time when we could be hiking or biking or canoeing, she’d rather read. But when it comes to meals, we work as a team.

What is your stance on a smart phone while camping?

When your kids get to be teenagers, they may be tethered to their phone. Now, this is your fight to fight. But, camping is a great opportunity to set some new house rules. Use your judgment because if you completely take something away that they’re used to having, maybe they respond well to that, maybe they don’t. You don’t want anger and frustration to be the imprint of your camping weekend. You need to figure out what works for your family. It may be tough for someone to give up unless they really, really want to. I think that’s important to keep in mind. There are different ways to approach that. You could leave the phones at home. You could have them an hour a day. You could have a morning and evening time where phones can be used, but otherwise not at all. I really think it depends on the situation and how busy you’re going to be and where you are and what personalities you are dealing with.

Music venues on the cheap.

If you are near Marshall, North Carolina, every Friday night at the train depot they have music. Everybody’s doing covers for the most part, think Johnny Cash tunes. Mostly local people attend this community gathering and everybody has a great time singin’ and pickin’ and grinnin’. There is a small donation to get in. Kids will possibly hear music they don’t hear otherwise, and see a different culture that is totally different than what they’re used to.

Another good example of musical venues is Shindig on The Green in Asheville, every Saturday night. That’s you and a couple thousand of your closest friends on the grass at City County Plaza enjoying bluegrass music sitting in your camping chair. Many of these events are family-oriented, but do your research first. Check the venue, the type of music, use good judgment. A lot of these gatherings happen regularly and they are really cool. They are a great way to break up your camping experience.

Other “civilized” activities.

Maybe go listen to a few hours of music, or go to an arts and crafts festival. Get away from the campsite. Give everybody a little touch of home, so they feel “civilized” again. I think that’s important because you don’t want camping to become this horrendously intimidating epic-or-nothing type adventure. Instead ease into it so everyone has a positive experience. Make sure to only push the comfort zone so far, and that way everybody wants a return camping trip. Maybe the next time you push a little further.

Campfire rules.

Think about setting what I call “truck rules.” Guidelines that may not be acceptable in the home, but in a truck or camping, they are for your family. One example we have is that in a truck you can make bodily noises that wouldn’t be socially acceptable otherwise. It’s about letting go of some finer points of decorum so your kids don’t feel like their sitting in the dining room surrounded by china. This is the time to let everybody unwind a little bit.

You’ve got to figure out what’s appropriate for your family. I’m not suggesting that all of a sudden you allow your kids to call you by your first name. I’m saying, if a kid farts you laugh about it; you don’t fuss at him. If they spill beans on their lap, you laugh. And you don’t quit laughing. Because you’re making a precious moment; relish these times.

I’d also like to remind you not to overindulge in alcohol. First, you’re out in the woods and if someone gets hurt and no one can legally drive, there’s no way to get to the emergency room. Second is that you’re out in the woods and you need to keep your wits about you. If you’re going to drink, drink lightly and be smart.

Let kids be kids.

Camping is the perfect time to encourage kids to enjoy outdoor activities, not just organized ones, but impromptu fun. If they want to play in a creek, let them! Assuming they know how to swim and are aware of the dangers, keep an eye on them from a distance and allow them to be kids. This is a great opportunity to give them clear guidelines and begin to let go. If you’re on this gigantic place of open woodland, forest, desert, whatever, tell your kids the extent of where they can go, keep track of them. But let them go be kids. Sometimes they need that unstructured play.

Now, obviously, if you have a three-year-old and they want to play by the lake, you need to be there. You must keep an eye on young children, but if a ten-year-old wants some latitude, now’s the time to give it to them. Always use your judgment as a parent, but keep in mind they’ve probably never had the kind of freedom they are looking at during this camping trip. They will not get these opportunities in the city and maybe even in a lot of suburbs.

So, ask yourself what unstructured activities you can encourage your kids to partake in. Near water, or no? Climbing trees with thick, low branches? Fishing is always fun, but you can keep it simple by using a cane pole with natural bait. You don’t have to be a well-equipped fisherman to have a good time. Sometimes the simplest things are the better.

I have found that when you get equipment in the way, the equipment occupies your attention, not your kid. Be attention heavy to your kids, because when you get that brand-new five-hundred-dollar fly reel and you’re in four hundred-dollar waders, you’re worried about that stuff, not helping your kid cast that rod and reel.

Keep things in perspective.

I think perspective is important. Part of the reason I’m throwing these parenting ideas out there is because there are areas I’ve messed up. Sometimes I wonder if I should have given my little kids more freedom and less structure playing when we camped. I feel they would have enjoyed the experiences more. I hope you can learn from some of my missteps so that your camping trips are chock-filled with priceless moments.

What will everyone remember?

Will it be the hike, or the view, or the campfire, or the messy S’mores? Perhaps it’ll be the game room or snack shop at the campground. Who knows, for twenty years they may talk about that game room and snack shop with their sister and the amazing ice cream they got their every year.

Everybody has a different take away from all these things and sometimes it’s tough to put yourself in other people’s shoes and understand what they will remember. Who knows, they might remember the time they saw a bear, and that might lead to them to study bears in college so they can be a forest ranger. Or it may just be a story they fondly talk about.

My recommendation is to try different things over the years. Personally I don’t like being cooped up in a car so I think the more time you can spend out of the car is probably good. If it takes two days to drive somewhere and you’re there for one day, and it takes two days to drive back, I don’t think you have a winning plan. If you really want to go to that location, consider flying. But you need to ask yourself what your comfort zone is.

Wonderful moments can be unscripted.

Some of the memories my kids have about camping are surprising. Some of them have been totally unscripted and wonderful moments that I didn’t even see coming, but, you know, the kids said let’s do this. So, we went and did whatever on a lark, and then, you know, an hour later, it’s like Wow!

A great example of a wow moment is a last minute hike. My daughter and I took a last minute hike and the view across this mountain top field with the fog rolling in was totally amazing. Words could never do the view justice so I won’t try. If we hadn’t gone, based on her suggestion, we would have missed out on an amazing moment. Other times I planned things well in advance that turned out great. It’s kind of tough to predict that ahead of time.

The trick is planning the trip and getting to the campsite. That’s where the winning occurs. You may have camping trips that are difficult. If it rains all weekend, consider playing cards in the tent, or go to the nearest town and go bowling or play laser tag.

Don’t feel like your plan is set in stone, roll with the punches. The point is to be together, have fun, and make memories. The tent could fall down and you think it’s a total disaster, but because you laugh about it and handle the situation with patience and calm, that is the good memory your kids take away from the trip. Who knows, they may talk about it for years to come! So remember, your attitude can make or break those precious moments.

Unscripted decisions can lead to fun!

On a funny note we were camping one time, and a thunderstorm started rolling in. We’d been hiking all day on Mount Mitchell, when we returned about three quarters of the people at our campground had already left. The people who were still there were packing furiously. Since we had been off-line all day, I asked why everyone was leaving and discovered the weathermen were predicting a thunderstorm worse than any they’ve had for a hundred years was going to hit in about four hours. We had already planned to be away that weekend, so we decided to stay and ride it out. Guess what, my daughters and I had a lot of good memories riding out Tropical Storm Bob in a tent. To this day we laugh about that weekend and carry sweet memories around it. We kept ourselves safe, we had a solid backup plan so there was no real danger. Bottom line, I think roll with the punches, enjoy it, plan out the activities and let’s go camping!

So, you’ve almost decided to go camping; but you’re wondering what you can expect. Will there be stress or relaxation? You may experience physical pain from usually unused muscles, or perhaps the benefits will outweigh the perceived negatives. This is a good thought process to have.

Properly planned camping trips can cause relaxation.

Planned properly, camping can be relaxing. But, beware of the potential physical exhaustion which can occur with ill-informed choices. Depending on decisions like where you go, how you camp, the length of your stay, and what you bring, relaxation may only be a longed-for dream. But there is hope, so keep on reading and I’ll help you design a successful camping trip.

Improve attitude.

Often times, getting out of your current environment and replacing your daily concerns with activities like building a fire, sleeping in a sleeping bag, or making s’mores over a campfire can help to push out your usual concerns and allow you to relax in the comfort of simplicity. You get a fresh perspective on life and family that you wouldn’t normally get in the day-to-day grind. The campsite is there waiting for you. You just have to take the hardest step of all and walk out your front door and get in the car to head out for an adventure you won’t regret.

Personally, I feel at home in the mountains. I love being there with the views and the hikes and the trees. The people and music are great. There are so many awesome things to see and do there. Find your passion by going out and experiencing the world. You can experience it slow, in a tent or on foot. You’ll see views from your campsite and on your hikes that you’ll totally miss through your car window or on your TV. Just go and enjoy the journey.

A new normal provides instant gratification.

When we get away and into a different context, our brain can back-out of the humdrum or stress of day-to-day life. While camping you are in a temporary new routine, which can be a nice health adjustment for your mind. Mentally we push out concerns from the old normal and replace them with immediate activities. This process allows instant gratification by being out of your ordinary circumstance.

Exercise benefit.

When you camp, you’re not performing your normal activities so your body adapts to what you ask of it. We fall into ruts by repetitively doing the same physical exercises. Conversely, there are times we do nothing. While camping, you’re throwing new actions at your body and those new endeavors keep you in motion much of the time, they also challenge your body and spirit. That is a good thing. You may be tired at the end of the day, but you’ve recharged your mind and body in a beneficial way that will positively impact you for days or weeks to come after you get back home.

In daily life, you may attempt to minimize your motion. We tend curtail the number of steps while cooking a meal or travel to our job with the shortest route, or in our office most of us sit around typing on a computer. While camping, we’re in a position where we can be constantly moving which forces our bodies to adjust. What that means is that we’re burning energy on creative work which I think is very enjoyable and rewarding.

No interruptions allow for deep conversations.

Possibly, the most wonderful thing about camping is the one-on-one time spent with loved ones without the normal of interruptions of daily life. When at home or at work, many things demand our attention. But, when camping, it’s a totally different situation. Diverse issues vie for our concentration. Cell coverage may be non-existent or limited. Because of this, there’s a good chance you’re going to have conversations at a level you probably didn’t otherwise. At home you can turn on the TV or pick up your phone or login to your computer to check email. When camping, you may not even have a cell signal. Sitting around the campfire with laughter filling the air and joy in your hearts, that’s the goal.

You will want to plan ahead for how to handle electronic usage at the campsite. Today’s kids are often addicted or borderline addicted to constant contact through a smart phone. If you totally take them away, that may create frustrations that will keep your children from enjoying the trip. It may be that no electronics use is too much to ask, that may seem like punishment. Look beyond the whining and moaning and complaining and figure out a win-win situation that works for your family. Your kids win because they are looking up from their phone long enough to enjoy the outdoors. So if completely taking away the phones is going to really be an impediment to them savoring the weekend, then allow your kids to use them a couple of hours a day. Another option is to not let them recharge electronics. When the battery dies, then your phone usage ends for the weekend. This is a great way to teach them how to budget a resource. Whatever you do, let your children know a set of clear rules. Camping is a new situation for everyone and if letting you kids have their phones for a few minutes makes them more receptive to camping, then maybe that is a good plan.

Seek out priceless moments.

One of the things I crave and look forward to when camping are priceless moments. You may be alone and look out across the valley to see the opposite mountain or you may take in a deep breath and enjoy the rare view. It may just be you because you’re the first one up in the morning and you’re enjoying the quiet and the beauty. Or perhaps someone you love laughs which makes you revel in joy. Possibly you’re the one laughing. Maybe everyone is laughing around the campfire.

Camping is one of the greatest ways to generate these special times. In later chapters we’ll talk about the ways you can set yourself up for success or failure. If you let them, you will find priceless moments camping. Then you will have memories and stories that you and your kids will cherish for years to come.

I saw a meme on Pinterest that had a Prius at the top of the image, and at the bottom a Jeep in the desert sitting on the crest of a hill, in front of a sunset. A guy and his kids are in the Jeep enjoying the sun setting in this majestic place. The closing message of the meme said, “Your kids will never, ever remember you getting fifty-five miles per gallon. However, they will remember the night you watched the sun set over the mountains.”

Be receptive to what will be beautiful memories.

One way to generate your own memories is through camping. My goal in this book is to lead you through how to discover them. When you are well prepared, have knowledge and training and proper equipment, then, you’ve put some of the adversity behind you and you’re in a good situation for those priceless moments to occur. The all you have to do is be receptive to catch them and revel in them.

Knowledge is power and weighs nothing. You can take this knowledge and couple it with a list of skills for your trip. It is that simple! As you’re camping, you’re not worried about a sleeping bag getting wet; you’re enjoying the memories created with your loved ones.

So, let’s get started! I’d be honored if you’d let me share what I’ve learned and some of my many camping experiences. My hope is this book will enrich your camping trips and help you find those priceless moments.