Leisure and Hobbies

Campers are always faced with a dilemma. Either you bring the entire house or you invariably find that the one thing you need was left at home. There’s no perfect way out of this, but a little thought will help improve your odds. Bring what you really need, without overflowing your vehicle or breaking your back.

At one time, the only camping options were tent or open air. Today, there are a half-dozen options for building a home away from home.

Camping can be one of the best adventures you’ll find. Fresh air, stunning mountains, spectacular trees and more are all around most campsites. But humans aren’t the only species to be found among them. And not all the other ones are friendly.

One of the great things about camping is the opportunity to get out into the outdoors and enjoy the environment. One of the potential downsides in camping is getting out into the outdoors and enduring it.

Not having every comfort of home is part of the camping experience - and a very pleasurable part, as you test your hardiness while enjoying the outdoors. But even primitive man had fire, both for cooking and for providing needed heat on those chilly nights.

The three most common toxic plants that campers are likely to encounter are poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. Any one of these can cause a painful, itchy rash.

One of the great joys of camping is experiencing the outdoors - fresh air, beautiful scenery, peace and quiet. But there are advantages to modern civilization, too, and not all of them have to be left behind. Cooking, lighting and powering cell phones, GPS units and other devices all require some kind of power.

It sounds harsh and even a little bit silly, but the first rule of camping safety is: don’t do anything dumb.

Camping should be spontaneous, fun and relaxing. But in order to relax and enjoy that spontaneity, advance planning is a must.

Older sleeping bags were little more than a cotton and wool blanket folded over and fitted with a zipper. Modern sleeping bags have benefited from a dozen advances in materials science and ergonomic design, not to mention thousands of (night) hours of field testing.

Hauling personal gear for camping and hiking can be one of the less thrilling parts of the experience.

Unlike previous generations, camping no longer always involves sleeping in a tent. RVs, commercial campgrounds and other options provide an alternative. But there’s still nothing to complete that camping experience like sleeping in a tent.

Common sense is anyone’s best guide for the first step in how to dress for camping. But there are some specifics that will help inform you how to exercise that common sense.

One of the prime attractions of camping is the opportunity to enjoy peace and quiet. Living in the big city is exciting and there is a never ending parade of things to do and see. But sometimes, it’s great to get away from all the noise, the bustling and the crowds. At least, most people who go camping think so.

Garmin is the market leader in Global Positioning System receivers, but they’re not the only manufacturer. Magellan, Lowrance and others make good units, too. With so many manufacturers and models to choose from what should you look for?

There are hundreds of campsites around the U.S. and Canada, and around Europe, Australia and many other parts of the globe.

The first lesson is simply to be prepared, both educationally and with the proper supplies. Learn what you need to do and take supplies with you to do it.

Camping can be one of the best adventures you’ll find. Fresh air, stunning mountains, spectacular trees and more are all around most campsites. But humans aren’t the only species to be found among them. And not all the other ones are friendly.

If you’re new to camping, you are to be envied. There’s nothing like starting one of the world’s great adventures fresh and full of excitement. There are expert campers who can tell you everything there is to know about sites, what to pack, what to wear and what to watch out for. But even with a very modest amount of knowledge you can get started on the road.

Recreational vehicles (RVs) come in a range of sizes. Some are no larger than the camper shells of the 1950s, others are the size of a large bus. The majority of RVs today are either Class A, B or C. Oddly enough, class C is larger than B.