Camping Best Practices

Irrespective of whether you are pitching your camps for a longer stay or just for an overnight halt as part of a multi-day hiking trip, when you are camping in the wilderness there are certain basic things which one should keep in mind while selecting a camping site which will make your stay safe & fun. Here are ten Points to consider while looking for your camping site. In some practical situations you might have to make compromise on one or more of these but practicing them will eventually make you a better camper.

1. Be prepared to stay short of your destinations, if you spot a good camping site. Also be ready to return back if you have left a good camping spot behind & the trail ahead does not promise a good camping spot.
2. You should start looking for your camping site before there is atleast 3-4 hours of sunlight left. You will need this time for pitching your camps, collecting woods & preparing food.
3. Try to select a site which has some natural covering from the winds. This could be a tree line or a big stone wall. Make sure that the trees do not have weak roots(due to erosion) as the trees with seriously undermined roots can fall by a strong wind. If you are camping under the trees, make sure that they do not have dead branches which can fall on your camps. Also, it should not be in an avalanche or a landslide zone.
4. Ideally, a camping site should be near a water source. This could be a water stream or a River. But make sure it’s not a dried up water bed of the river where river can flood in the night. If it is a water stream, make sure you are not camping too close to it as it can be a home to deadly insects and wild animals generally visiting for drinking water in the night.
5. The camping spot which you choose should be a level surface with no pointing stones, shrubs & pieces of wood. This would damage the ground sheet of your camps. You can also prepare the surface for camping by removing shrubs/stones & leveling the ground.
6. Always keep the entrance of your camps downwind to avoid cold air from entering.
7. Keep your kitchen area away from the sleeping area. The kitchen area should always be downwind from sleeping area. Never keep any food items in the sleeping area. This is to keep any wild animal away from sleeping area as they might get attracted to the smell of the food.
8. Keep your toilet tent away from sleeping area. It should be downwind from sleeping area. It should have a natural covering of trees for privacy.
9. Try to spot a site where there is a plenty of supply of wood for fire. Unless you have permission you should only use dead wood or branches fallen on the ground.
10. Always try to find a site which is well drained; this usually means looking for a reasonably high site.