<p>As I start thinking camping for my annual camp out with friends, and read the ziplock bag comment on the cooler thread, I started thinking there were more hints that could be shared. </p>
<p>My latest discovery-take dryer lint in a bag for fire starting. Just an item in the trash, and now good use can be made of it! </p>
<p>Yours? </p>
<p>A good pad to sleep on is worth its weight in gold! 
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<p>Don’t know if this applies to your situation, but one of my most useful and tiny camping gadgets is a sink stopper. So many campgrounds have sinks, but no stoppers. When I want to wash out clothes or dishes, I just pop in my little stopper and I’m good to go. </p>
<p>I bring a dishpan.
Always bring a groundcloth for the tent.
And tarps if you are in the northwest.
We don’t usually build a fire unless it is really cold in the morning.
Sometimes I will bring the french press for coffee, but most often we just use a filter that fits right on the cup.
Those plastic egg holders for camping are too small to fit most eggs.
Film canisters are good for spices.
Dirt wont kill you.
Wisk brooms are good for keeping the tent clean.
Synthetic or wool clothes either dry fast or keep you warm when damp unlike cotton.
A frying pan works well to pound in tent stakes.
Double check you have all the poles before you leave.
A plastic jug with a spigot is handy.
If you use an air bed, insulate underneath, as it will get cold.
You can make a pillow by stuffing a down jacket & vest in a tee shirt.
Keep slip on shoes by the tent door, cause you wont want to take time to lace up your boots in the middle of the night to go pee.
Go to the ranger talks, they are mostly interesting.
Always keep your dog on a leash or on a tie out.
Some of these might be fun to try and its good to know what poisonous plants look like.
<a href=“41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius”>http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/camping-hacks-that-are-borderline-genius</a></p>
<p>No tips, great lakes mom, but I’m jealous. </p>
<p>Don’t go.</p>
<p>^^ Some of those “camping hacks” are genius, EK!</p>
<p>I don’t drink anything after about 6:30 pm to try to avoid getting up in the night to pee! Just got back from a camping trip with friends last weekend, it was so much fun. I have to say… I have been camping for 30 years and am not a believer in the groundcloth. But some of that comes from my backpacking background – no way was I going to schlep the extra weight. For whatever reasons, my tents don’t leak. But I very picky about where to set up, and think about where water will pool in the campsite if it does rain.</p>
<p>When car camping, I always take extra flashlight batteries, a smallish towel that we call “camp towel” for doing stuff like wiping off the picnic table and tent – not for dishes/food related items. And I like a folding chair if I am car camping. I like to pack the tent, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, etc. all in a duffel bag for easy handling (but discovered last weekend that ex-H took the last of my duffels recently…)…</p>
<p>I would go with oldforts recommendation of, “don’t go,” but we just went and I have a few major points to bring up.
These would have helped A LOT if I would have done them.</p>
<p>Bring extra wine!
Bring earplugs
If you are car camping and have room, just don’t bring a good pad, bring an awesome air mattress!
If you forget the air mattress, before it gets dark, lay down on where you placed your sleeping bag, and make sure you don’t have a huge rock underneath you.</p>
<p>I think the habit of the ground cloth, may stem from campsites that were rocky or twiggy, not just damp.
Now so many have built up pits where you pitch your tent, they might not be as necessary.
I cant drink alcohol when I am camping, ( it just doesn’t sound good, although our last trip, I did get a six pack because I had been so active, my regular meds weren’t enough to kill the pain so I could sleep- except I only drank one)</p>
<p>I always have to get up to pee. No matter what, might as well be hydrated. Plus last time we went camping, I had heat exhaustion so I was constantly drinking water.
But next time, I pay more attention to where the restroom is.
I may even do what my parents used to do & get a coffee can for that purpose.</p>
<p>I also have a plastic tablecloth, that just makes it a lot nicer.
And we have stadium cushions with backs, and sometimes we remember the stools.
We also have a mat for outside the tent.
And I found a cool app, but I havent had a chance to use it camping yet.
<a href=“http://www.technewsworld.com/story/73068.html”>http://www.technewsworld.com/story/73068.html</a></p>
<p>Disagree with the “don’t go” recommendation. Here’s the little campsite I enjoyed in Bar Harbor in June:</p>
<p><a href=“Mt Desert Campground - YouTube”>Mt Desert Campground - YouTube;
<p>I could come up with lots of tips, but one is to camp at a campground with good showers. Makes all the difference in the world to get a hot shower in the evening.</p>
<p>A good headlamp really helps for wandering around after dark. I keep mine right above my head in the tent so it’s the first thing I can grab when needed.</p>
<p>A tarp over the picnic table is must for me when car camping. In the event of rain, it makes all the difference to have a dry base of operations outside of the tent.</p>
<p>Absolutely have a good mat or mattress or cot (depending on the temperatures). If you want luxury, check out the [Thermarest</a> NeoAir Dream](<a href=“http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/camp-and-comfort/neoair-dream/product]Thermarest”>Therm-a-Rest | Rest Better. Play Better. Quality Products For Camping and Backpacking) Like a bed.</p>
<p>Spray treating clothes and tent with Permethrin goes a long way towards not getting eaten alive…</p>
<p>Careful with the insectide on tents. Some insecticides dissolve tents and sleeping bags.</p>
<p>^^I wonder about spraying with insecticides. If I spray the tent, and am breathing that stuff all night, is that an issue? And what about spraying your body, too? I hate getting eaten alive by bugs, but I wonder about that, and if there are natural insecticides available out there that actually work.</p>
<p>DEET dissolves many synthetic fabrics. Permethrin is useless on skin, but works very well sprayed on fabric and gear. US military uses permethrin treated uniforms. And there is factory treated camping clothing and tents – plus DIY sprays. Doesn’t harm synthetic fabrics or netting.</p>
<p>One tip. Get a bunch of duffle bags and organize your camping gear in them. One for sleeping bags. One for the tent, pegs, guy lines, hammer, tarps, poles, etc… One for cooking gear – stove, lantern, pans, etc… One for each person’s clothes. Etc. Store them already packed so you can just grab the duffles and go, both coming and going. Plus, it makes it a lot quicker to stuff a tent in a big duffle if you need to clear out in a rain. The only thing I really have do is check each duffel to make sure the right tent is in it, put my sleeping bag in, etc. Pretty quick to be organized ahead of time. Same thing packing up the campsite. I got a deal on a bunch of closeout Kelty duffels at Sierra Trading Post for about $15 each. Very handy. Sleeping bag duffel lives next to the couch in the TV room. I like to snuggle in a down sleeping bag while watching football in the winter, but then it’s right back in the duffel after the game so the cat can’t get it!</p>
<p>Second tip: always hang up the tent when you get home to shake it off and completely dry. I’ve never had a tent really dry enough to store when packing up at a campsite. A separate ground sheet makes it really easy because it can be completely washed in the sink or the tub or a bucket. The bottom of the tent is harder to clean.</p>
<p>interesteddad - watched your youtube, the view was awesome. This is just as good for $59/night with no packing or work.
<a href=“https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-bk-sturbridge-host-hotel-conference-center-3-3”>https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-bk-sturbridge-host-hotel-conference-center-3-3</a>
This one looks nice too.
<a href=“https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-bk-fort-william-henry-hotel-4”>https://www.groupon.com/deals/ga-bk-fort-william-henry-hotel-4</a></p>
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<p>I don’t know about you, but at least half the campsites I pitch my tent on are rocky, twiggy or wet. So I’ll stick with my groundcloth.</p>
<p>I’m going on a little camping trip this week too: over Going to the Sun Road and back, by bike of course. My husband and a good friend are going to the hike-in Sperry Chalet at Glacier National Park and I’m tagging along to go bike camping.</p>
<p>We mostly go to our favorite national or state parks, I like running water when I camp. 
Im not sure when it was done, but the tent pads are now really nice & even marked off.
Also the forest service campgrounds in Wa, are the same nightly fee as the ones in the staffed park.
I asked about that, the ranger just said they haven’t caught up yet.
They are much cheaper than the state parks.</p>
<p>We have done all our camping together in Washington though, H is only able to get a few days off of work at a time. But years ago, he was in Explorer scouts and they camped up and down the west coast, & we both would like to try some new places.</p>
<p>He is a Luddite & I admit, I feel guilty when I bring my iphone camping, but there are some very useful apps.
Besides the Peakfinder app, StarWalk or Sky Guide is great for people like me, who cant remember all the constellations, or even which way to look.
AllTrails can be downloaded for use offline as can Maplets.
<a href=“http://www.mobilemaplets.com”>http://www.mobilemaplets.com</a>
There are also apps to help you find the nearest campground whether you have a tent or a trailer, like Allstays.
And of course there are a ton of camera apps, and field guides for identifying local flora and fauna from Audobon among others. ( I find the bird calls to be helpful to figure out who is who)
The weather apps are helpful too & I like being able to read on my phone at night when its cold without having to stick my hand out of my nice warm sleeping bag to turn the page.</p>
<p>Oh-- another luxury I take, even when I’m traveling by bike, is what I call swipe gloves. They’re thin gloves that have metallic pads on the fingerprints of the index finger, so I can use my iPad or iPhone when it’s cold without my hands getting cold. Great for reading in bed on cold nights. </p>
<p>In California State Parks, not all tent pads are nice and even. The last places I camped were China Camp and Pantoll. Pantoll had a flat tent pad but it was damp (fog drip from the redwoods) and gravelly. China Camp, being inland, was dry, but the tent sites were not flat, nor were they free of twigs and rocks.</p>
<p>If you love camping…then go. I personally can’t stand camping now. I did plenty of it, and backpacking it all as well…when I was much younger. At this point in my life, I have no interest in dealing with the bugs, animals, lack of creature comforts, and the like.</p>
<p>But if I did HAVE to go camping…I would be sure to bring a really good inflatable mattress and hand pump…not a puny air mattress…one of those 16 inches high models. I would prefer a cabin, but if I had to have a tent, it would have to be high enough for me to stand up.</p>
<p>But most important for me…I would reserve the right to cancel entirely if it was raining. </p>