Happy Tuesday! This week has been off to a busy start in the Walker household. I started some new volunteer work and new online classes, while E has been busy at work. And I’m tidying up the apartment after a fun weekend spent camping with my dad.
Instead of simply recapping our trip to St. Croix State Park, today I’m sharing a handy checklist of camping essentials that we definitely could have used whilst packing the car last Friday. In the past couple of years, E and I have camped all over the country. But my experience doesn’t mean that I’m immune to forgetting even the most basic of items!
So here are the items we’ve forgotten most often on our car camping trips. If you’re packing for an upcoming trip, be sure to throw in these camping essentials! They’ll make your trip much easier and more comfortable.
Shelter Essentials
- Pillows.
- Ground tarps. Be sure to check if your tent includes a ground tarp before leaving. Waking up to a soaking wet sleeping bag because of a surprise rainstorm isn’t fun.
Food & Cooking Essentials
- Extra camp stove fuel.
- Can opener.
- Camp sink, or at least a plastic bucket for washing dishes. E and I love our Sea to Summit Kitchen Sink because it’s lightweight, collapsable, and super durable.
- Garbage bags.
- Cooking spices. We usually make bean chili for one of our camp dinners, so salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder are must-haves.
- Extra water.
Hiking Essentials
- Refillable water bottles.
- Binoculars. E and I received two pairs of Nikon binoculars as a wedding gift, but I forgot them on our Wild River camping trip. Ugh! They would have been so nice for our hike.
Personal Care Essentials
- First aid kit.
- Weather-specific gear. Sun hats, sunscreen, and insect repellant for warm weather. Long underwear and hand warmers for cold weather. Rain and/or snow gear if there’s a chance of precipitation.
- Tissues.
Miscellaneous Essentials
- Folding chairs. Most campsites have picnic benches, but if there’s rain or snow, you’ll want a dry place to sit!
- Multiple light sources. A couple of flashlights or headlamps + a camping lantern should cover most of your lighting needs.
- Portable phone charger.
- Entertainment. Books, e-reader, a journal and pens, a sketchbook, etc!
What’s on your list of travel or camping essentials? And your random question of the day: do you spell it color or colour?
PS: notice a tiny tweak in this post’s language? I love the word whilst. I’ve decided to start using it more in my writing. It sounds much nicer than while to me. My mom is Canadian and I grew up spelling color colour, gray grey, etc. until my elementary school teachers made me stop–so perhaps it’s my non-American English heritage showing through? Random wonderings!