Spring is fast approaching. And with that, we’re gonna be seeing more warmer weather around (whether or not it’s climate change-induced). This can only mean one thing—camping seasons.
Heck, even folks on Reddit are already talking about it. Albeit, it’s camping horror stories, after Redditor r/Liversojunmy asked campers of Reddit, what's the most disturbing thing you have seen while camping? But hey, consider this boot camp, both for your physical prep as well as your mental one.
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So, folks on Reddit have recently gathered to share some disturbing camping stories around a virtual campfire that is this thread right here.
The thread got a modest amount of attention, racking up just a few hundred shy of 2,000 upvotes, but the audience was engaged leading to nearly 1,000 comments.
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Now, some find camping scary and that's OK. Who wouldn’t be anxious about treading in grizzly country with poor reception and intrusive thoughts of randos roaming about, looking for fresh meat or something.
But, a little bit of planning and prep can go a long way to keeping you sane during camping: pitch your tent during daytime, get familiar with your surroundings, try to drown out the noise (e.g. camp near water), plomp your tent against something so you’re not exposed, or simply bring more friends (animal companions included).
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And, actually, knowing is half the battle with getting over the fear of camping. And there’s quite a bit to learn.
First, you gotta figure out your camping equipment. It goes without saying that sleeping bags, tents, flash lights, wet wipes, first aid kits and the like are a must. It also helps to have a camping stove, though some prefer going old-fashioned and setting up a fire using the wood they find on site.
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Once you have the equipment sorted out, it’s time to decide on a location. While you can’t sort out all of the logistics without actually going to the site, you'd be amazed how much online maps, reviews and general inquiry online could help.
Whatever the case, always keep several things in mind, with the first one being water sources. While having a bit of a reserve is good, carrying enough water for the entire camping trip is not practical. So, setting up next to water and sourcing from there (boiling it too) is definitely a good solution.
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Setting up in an area that has trees is also a good idea. Trees provide shelter from the wind, the sun, and extreme weather conditions, all the while giving ample opportunity to use them for traps or hang things on them to deter wild animals from the camp. And if there aren’t any trees, bushes and bigger rocks are better than nothing. Oh, and make sure the trees aren’t any murder trees around.
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Positioning is also key as, remember, you’re out in the wild. Your tent is your best shelter. And if a thunderstorm or a fog as thick as curdled milk comes about in the morning, you might not like the amount of excessive humidity.
Also, there’s this thing called altitude sickness—experiencing discomfort while camping each night in altitudes that differ drastically from each pitch—which happens with higher altitude locations above 8,000 feet. In that case, try to keep your elevation progression at around 1,000 feet between nights.
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While these are some of the basics, the more you know, the better you’ll be off, so consider learning some survival skills and camping hacks. You know, things like digging a half-donut shaped hole for your sheltered fireplace, bringing 3 times more firewood that you might think you’ll need, and knowing that a foil packet is ideal for slow-cooking things on hot coal.
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And if you’re camping in the winter, say, somewhere near ice, note that 4 inches is roughly how thick the ice should be for you to walk or go fishing one… unless you’re taking a snowmobile, which would require 5 inches, a truck, which would require 12 to 15 inches, or an AT-AT, which would require 60 inches. And if we’re that ridiculous, 12 to 15 is definitely safe for a TaunTaun.
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And if you’re not planning on going camping, hey, the knowledge won’t hurt, and I guess there’s a reason for you to focus on other, less serious camping related stuff, like saying “there’s no way they’re sleeping like that” whilst looking at camping setups that are obviously there for the Instagrams and not for actual camping.
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Whatever the case, we’d love to hear from all of you. Got some horror stories to share? Or maybe upcoming camping plans? Share your thoughts and everything else in the comment section below!
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