Spring Camping Tips (Don't Forget Your Jacket!)

I love camping in the spring. After being cooped up all winter long I'm ready to get out into nature and be part of it again.  Especially when everything is green and new and popping open.

We've had a few spring camping mishaps, though.  OK, more than a few.

I remember one spring we left Brooklyn on a day when it was about 80 degrees and sunny. We had the windows up in the car and the A/C on and when we arrived in Maine, I thought it was going to be balmy outside.  Instead, it was freezing! And we hadn't packed jackets! The kids were OK because they had a huge bag of clothes, so they just wore layers. But Pete and I had forgotten to pack hardly any clothes for ourselves so we just huddled together, looking pathetic. The next day we went to Goodwill and bought some very authentic-looking, lined, wool shirts that were super warm. Oh, and a funny, white crocheted blanket that looked like something at Grandma's house but was actually quite toasty.

So it all turned out OK, but, campers, let this serve as a cautionary tale to you. Pack warm clothes. Pack jackets. Pack long-sleeved shirts and even warm, wool caps.  Flannel pajamas are nice, too, and can double as long johns if it gets really nippy.

It also seems like every single time we go camping it rains on us. No, it pours.  And it's a funny feeling when you wake up at four in the morning to the rat-a-tat-tat of the rain pouring down on your tent.  On one hand, you feel cozy and happy to be in your nice tent, but on the other hand, you wonder if you're going to be soaking wet by six. 

Here are a few rain tips:
•  Set up a tarp over your tent.  This means a big tarp, and hopefully one with grommets in it at several points.  Tie it off tightly to the trees so the center forms a peak and the sides slope down, like the roof of a house.
•  Also, put a tarp under your tent for protection against the cold and wet.  
•  Sleep on foam pads, not directly on the tent floor.  That's for warmth as much as for dryness.
•  Pack rain gear like rain jackets or ponchos, rain pants and boots.
•  If all else fails, go out for pizza. We have also been known to pack it in early and go home, but you didn't hear that from me. 

In terms of bugs, one of the many nice things about spring camping is that the mosquitos aren't out in full force yet.  But bring the Skin So Soft anyway - they need to know who's boss.

And of course, pack a board game and a deck of cards. They might come in handy on a rainy day.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Drive carefully!

Packing the Coolers for Camping

Our two coolers on a recent outing to NJ, the Garden State.

While the kids mainly like to eat marshmallows when we're camping, us grownups like to sit down at the end of the day and have a nice meal.  To us, that means using fresh ingredients, so we take our cooler packing pretty seriously.  Here’s our strategy:

  

1.  Use decent coolers.  In spite of being the cheapest people in the world, we do own two semi-decent coolers. I think we bought ours at the Pharmacy next to Mrs. Green’s in Ossining, NY (shout out to the Pharmacy - they have one of everything, and not too expensive). Anyway, they’re Coleman brand and they were about forty bucks each, but any heavy plastic coolers with handles and wheels and little plugs at the bottom for letting out the water will do. 

TIP: Coolers double as stools.  

2.  Take the perishables seriously.  We use cooler #1 for serious perishables. It contains two plastic containers with lids, one for dairy and one for meat.  On top of the two boxes goes a plastic tray, on which we put perishable condiments, like catsup.  (That plastic tray was something that broke off of a piece of kid’s furniture, as I recall. You probably have something like that around the house.) Everything in cooler #1 is double-wrapped, usually in plastic wrap and then zipped into a Ziploc bag. 

TIP: Above all, don’t forget the salt and pepper.  It’s a sad day when you can’t have a little salt on your baked potato.

3.  Prepare the veggies at home.  Cooler #2 is for the fruits and veggies. We always clean and dry – and sometimes cut up - all our veggies at home.  This makes life a lot easier and less gritty when you’re camping.  

4.  Freeze everything beforehand.  Before we pack the coolers, we freeze around 8 big bottles of water – you know, the Poland Spring athletic size with the tops that pop up.  These go in the bottom of the coolers and any place else we can fit them. We also have quite a few ice packs we’ve collected over the years and we freeze those and squeeze them into the nooks and crannies, like inside and in between the plastic containers. We freeze all the meat, the juice if it’s in boxes, and anything else that enjoys being frozen, even the butter. This all helps to keep things cool and fresh.

TIP:  As the Poland Spring water thaws, you can drink it.

5.  Plan your meals.  We pack what we’re going to eat first at the top of the cooler. When the food is handy like that, the cooler stays open for less time, keeping the cool in.

TIP:  It’s really better to not have a lot of leftovers.  They don’t keep that well without real refrigeration and last night’s sooty burgers are not a very welcoming sight in the morning.  It’s better to figure out what you’re going to eat for each meal – more or less - and bring and cook the right amount of food. One notable exception to this rule is leftover baked potatoes, which are always a nice addition to a camping breakfast.

6.  Buy ice.  When we get near the campsite we buy two bags of ice and divide them among the coolers. Usually, one bag can go in whole with the veggies in cooler #2.  Then we divide the other bag of ice into big Ziploc bags and strategically jam them into cooler #1, and we usually have plenty left over for iced drinks! And then we just buy more ice when we need it during the trip, and we don’t open the coolers a lot.

7.  Keep the coolers cool and safe. We keep the coolers in the shade during the day.  And then we put them in the car at night so the dogs and coyotes and bears and possums can’t get them. 

8.  Keep the coolers tidy.  Don't let any messy but well-meaning family members muck about in the coolers. A neat and tidy cooler is a happy cooler. 

9.  Don't get food poisoning.  If something smells bad, it is  bad. Throw it out.  If you can’t smell things, have someone else smell it.  Don’t get Salmonella.  Please. It’s very unpleasant, particularly when you’re camping.

10.  If all else fails, order pizza. The great thing about car camping like we do is that you’re never too far from pizza, ice cream or an emergency game of Pac Man.

Now get out there and have fun!