Thousands of people trek out into the wilderness each year to camp out for a few days or even a couple weeks. It’s a thrill to get out into the middle of nowhere and survive on somewhat limited supplies. Without a doubt, it takes a very skilled and resourceful person or group of people to make a successful wilderness trip. Still, anyone can enjoy just a such if they like being outdoors. Wilderness camping is by no means easy, so here are some tips for having a great trip.
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Always plan the trip out ahead of time.
If you don’t plan the entire trip out beforehand, then you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. For starters, you could find yourself short on supplies and days away from your destination. Failure to plan ahead can easily lead to missing supplies and other necessary items. At all times, a lack of preparation is just begging for something to go wrong during a wilderness camping trip. You won’t be near civilization, so it’s a pretty bad idea to risk anything happening out in the middle of nowhere.
Focus on food, water, shelter, and practical items.
You should work on minimizing the weight you have to carry on the trip while maximizing the amount of supplies you can bring. Sure, that might sound pretty impossible, but it’s fairly easy. Food and water take up a lot of space if you are bringing along cans of food or bottles of water. You should go with MREs (meal-ready-to-eat) for food because they are lightweight but pack a lot of food. On top of that, you should bring water packets or a small filter-pitcher combo to get water from natural sources. Bringing a sturdy but somewhat small tent is a smart idea. Plus, you have to pack tools like an axe, shovel, and flashlight. Decrease weight while increasing the amount of supplies you have in any way possible.
Pack a couple changes of clothes only.
Without a doubt, you don’t need tons and tons of clothes to camp out in the middle of nowhere. It’s best to only bring 1 to 3 changes of clothes, depending upon how long you will be out there. You shouldn’t be worried about smelling great because it’s tough work camping in the forest, mountains, desert or wherever. Of course, clothes take up a lot of space and add a lot of weight to your back, so you shouldn’t take too many changes of clothes on a camping trip.
Bring a firearm, bow, or crossbow if possible.
More than likely, you won’t have to worry about defending yourself from animals or anything else. It’s still a great idea to take along a gun or some type of bow – if the area you are camping in permits such weapons. These items can be used to hunt for food or in self-defense. So then, a firearm or bow of some sort is just a smart idea because these weapons serve practical purposes out in the middle of nowhere. Also, it can be pretty fun to do some target practice while camping . Just remember to check with the rules of the area you are camping in.
Bring a long-range radio for safety purposes.
For the most part, you should always be within range of a radio if you aren’t camping hundreds of miles away from civilization. At the very least, you should be able to get a park ranger on the radio if you bring a long-range radio along. Thirty to fifty miles is a good range for campers that run into an emergency. You might not always be in range, but you should be able to get in range of another person within a few hours unless you travel thirty or forty miles per day. During the trip, you will want to keep the radio turned off and only use it if an emergency pops up.
It’s an incredible experience!
Wilderness camping is one of the greatest outdoor experiences possible. For starters, a person or a group of people get to rely on themselves and the land to survive for days or even weeks. Some people take very limited supplies to survive on while others pack as much as they can. It’s a good idea to plan ahead, bring all the necessary supplies, and prepare for all scenarios. In the end, you can have an great trip with a few friends.