Camping and Family – The FamilyCampman.com Camping Blog

posted by familycampman on Jul 12

Hiking and camping go together like peas and carrots – they make each other better.

This past camping trip, I took my son for a short little hike on some trails at the campground.  Along the way we chatted about animals, camping and  whatever was on his young mind.  Afterward, he said loved it because I let him bring his digital camera and he got to take pictures of some toads he spotted along the path.  I loved it because of it provided a great father-son bonding opportunity which I rarely get.

This experience inspired me to take my hikes to the next level.  Upon returning home, I visited http://www.thetrustees.org and discovered  that there were several great hikes local to my house.  A few weeks later, my familycampman quest made great progress when my entire family went on our first hiking trip together when we went to Peaked (pronounced Pee-kid) Mountain.  It was a 1.5 mile hike round trip and was given a moderate difficulty rating so it wasn’t too strenuous.  We put on our sneakers, packed a backpack with some water bottles and up we went.

The peace and tranquility of the mountain was a welcomed change from the normal anxiety-ridden existence of our daily lives.  My 7 year old was in heaven while practically running up the mountain, while his two year old younger brother did his best to keep up.  My job was to simply make sure that nobody got hurt, while my wife took some great pictures along the way.  The view from the top was amazing and made the trip definitely worthwhile.

So whether it’s on your next camping trip or not, look into taking a hike with your family. You’ll be amazed at how much you and your kids will like it.

Thanks again for stopping by

Eric

posted by familycampman on Jul 3

You take the good. You take the bad.  You take them both and there you have the facts of life.

Does that sound familiar? It is the opening line to the theme song of the bad 80s sitcom “The Facts of Life”.   In camping terms, “the good” is a whole lot (campfires, s’mores, the fresh air, etc.), but the bad is almost universally accepted  as the chance it would rain.

Camping in the rain does limit what you can do and the fear of it causes a whole lot of people to never camp. I’m not the most experienced camper in the world, but I know that when it comes to the rain a little preparation goes a long way.

Here are some quick rain preparation tips I’ve learned from a few other blogs as well as some of my own that I’ve learned along the way.

1. Bring rain ponchos – These are a necessity. Make sure you bring enough for everyone. They come in both adult and children sizes plus children look amazingly cute in them.

2. Bring extra clothes – It is inevitable that someone will get wet from the rain during a storm and sitting in wet clothes will make everyone miserable. The kids should bring an extra pair of shoes, flip flops or crocs  since wet shoes take a while to dry.

3. Tarp it up – Tarps are an investment that go a long way and I suggest bringing at least two.  One to put underneath your tent and another to put over your picnic table if your camping site can accommodate it.  Some folks put up another tent as an added layer of protection.  With a tarp over your picnic table,  your family can play board/card games and have quite fun time.

4. Get a decent tent – My last camping trip was almost ruined by a cheap tent.  Learn a bit more on this from Roy Scribner’s post “Anatomy of a Bad Tent” post on Campingblogger.net

5. Bring games – These should be in your camping list already, but they become increasingly important when it rains out. Whether you play them in the tent or under your tarp, a good game with the children can save a rain-soaked day.

Thanks again for reading and I hope you have some good rain-free camping trips this summer.

Eric