Wilderness Camping Gear Checklist
Being one with nature is a great way to spend your free time. It will be an enjoyable experience if you prepare yourself and have the proper equipment. Always travel in pairs, or groups. Many places of solitude don’t get mobile phone reception, and if the need arises to summon help, it’s best to have at least one person available to do the task. Also, let people back at home know where you’re going, and when to expect your return.
The most basic items can usually be carried in a backpack. This makes it possible to trek wherever you like, with no limit on distance tied to having the need to go back to camp for anything you need. Such things include:
- Tarp or small spring-tent
- Blanket or sleeping bag
- Utility knife
- Water jug
- Flashlight
- Rope or twine
- Folding hatchet or axe
- Picnic dishes, utensils and a pot
- Toiletries such as toothbrush, comb, toilet paper and wash cloth
- Biodegradable soap for washing yourself and your equipment
- Camera with extra batteries and film or digital storage device
- Food, if you’re not going to forage from the land
When staying at a camp ground, and having a vehicle, it is of course possible to bring some ‘luxuries’. Besides the basics listed above, these would include:
- Pillow
- Cooler, to put perishable food in
- Camping stove, if you’re not going to use a fire pit
- Lantern
- Towels, which are especially good when staying near a lake to swim in
- Garbage bags, to clean up site and keep animals from raiding camp for food
In both cases, you should also have the following essentials:
- sunglasses
- Insect repellant and sun block
- First aid kit
- Map
- Compass
The last two items may seem an old fashioned way of orienting yourself. However with a GPS, there are considerations such as batteries draining, liquid or moisture damage, or breaking from a fall on rocks.