What Was I Thinking?

In elementary school we learned that the basic necessities for survival are food, clothing, and shelter. In my last post I listed the categories for my camping planning.  As I was making my lists, I realized that I forgot clothing!

I don’t know how I forgot this essential category, but let me share my ideas with you about what we will need in the way of clothing while camping. 

I do my best when we go on a trip of any kind to prepare for most any situation that could arise.  Obviously, when I’m deciding what kind of clothing we will need for a camping trip, I will check the weather forecast.  Even if the meteorologist doesn’t expect rain, I’ll pack rain gear for all of us anyway – especially in the summer when sudden showers are hard to predict.  Other than rain gear, here are my initial ideas of what to pack for each person:

• t-shirts – one long-sleeved and one short-sleeved for each day
• pants- one pair of short pants (in warm weather) and one pair of long pants for each day (As a side note here, long pants seem like a good idea while hiking even in warm weather for protection from poison ivy, oak, and sumac.)
• 2 pairs of socks each day
• shoes sturdy enough for hiking
• pajamas- a pair of long johns in the spring and fall (as beginners we won’t be camping in winter) and a t-shirt and shorts in the summer
• underwear (of course)
• windbreaker or other jacket

 Obviously we won’t use our suitcases in God’s great outdoors, so I plan to use a different color duffel bag for each family member to hold clothes and toiletries. I really like the duffel bags at LL Bean, and I think they would be worth the investment.

 I can already tell that the hardest part of packing for me is going to be not taking too many clothes, but I will muster up some self-control. 

On a different, but no less important note is sleeping.  Our family is good for nothing if we don’t get a good night’s sleep.  I mentioned before that we own a tent and a sleeping bag for each of us.  We got our tent out recently to let it air out and to make sure it was still in good condition for the upcoming camping season.  You can probably tell by the picture that even my husband is getting a little excited.  Miracles still happen!

Our tent sleeps 4-5 people, and that is plenty of room for our duffel bags and the three of us.  I know eventually we may want a two- room tent because I do plan to take a port-a-potty with us, but that is a discussion for another time.

 The only other item I would like to own that pertains to sleeping is a cot. One I have been considering is from Bass Pro Shops.  A member of  the Woodall’s forum tried out a Zero Gravity cot at Gander Mountain and liked it, so I will do some research on that cot too.  

If you have a cot that you particularly like, please leave a comment and let me know.  I would like to be as comfortable as possible while “roughing it”, and if my husband isn’t comfortable sleeping, our first trip of the year will be his last.

Thanks in advance for any cot suggestions you can make.  As always, I need all of the help I can get!