I have been persuaded, against my better judgment, to go camping this weekend. We will be in a tent, at a state park, with an available electric hookup. It’s supposed to be near-freezing overnight, so I am definitely bringing a drop cord and radiant heater, plus tent, air mattress, pump, plenty of blankets, food and drinks, sun block, bug spray, and first aid supplies. I haven’t camped out since age 9. I am not an outdoorsy gal. What am I forgetting?
Bear repellent, mountain lion repellent, badger repellent, llama repellent, Alien anal prob repellent, Sasquatch repellent…you know, the usual.
Something to wear on your head, at night while sleeping. A woolen cap or the like.
You lose a lot of heat through your face and scalp, so a sleeping cap is a good idea.
(Speaking from bitter experience.)
More booze?
Hell, just go and enjoy it for what it is. Trying to be too comfortable like a hotel room will end in disappointment. In other words, set low expectations and you’ll probably have a good time.
Trinopus has the right idea with a cap, and while you might think it is a good idea to bundle up before getting into your sleeping bag, you are better off actually stripping down to some comfortable polypro underwear. As long as your sleeping back is rated for the ambient temperature and there isn’t too much extra room, you’ll be warmer and more comfortable with just body heat alone, and you won’t soak your clothes in sweat, which will then get cold as soon as you get out of the bag. It is a good idea to keep a fleece top in the bag with you (but not on) so it will be warm when you put it on as you’re getting out of the bag in the morning. Ixnay on the radiant heater; it isn’t going to help you much in the bag. If you think you need supplemental heat, bring a water hot bottle or fill a Nalgene bottle with hot (not boiling) water and put it at the foot of the bag (but you’ll probably want to leave a footboy zipper open, because you’ll find it gets warm quickly).
If you are in bear country, or even if you aren’t, food discipline is critical to keeping animals from pestering you. Clean your food prep and eating areas after eating, store foodstuff in a locker or secure container (not in the car), and don’t take food into the tent. It’s tempting to have a midnight snack, but the smell will attract creatures, so if you get the munchies, take a little walk.
Make sure to take a flashlight or three, and I’d make one an LED headlamp; they’re inexpensive, will last a surprising amount of time on two or three AAA batteries, and are incredibly useful both camping and around the house. Also, bring a frisbee or something else to do after eating and before beddown. REI and other sporting good stores sell frisbees with an LED light in the middle so you can play at dusk. It’s a great way to pass the time when it is too dark to play spades or poker.
I’d recommend bringing your own toilet paper, especially if you are particular about it. Who knows what will be stocked in the lavatory or if they’ll run out in the middle of the night. Ditto for paper towels which end up being very useful for cleaning up spills of food that you don’t want to leave laying on the ground, as well as more convenient than plates for holding sandwiches or other hand food and produce less waste than paper plates.
Enjoy the experience; go for a walk, take some pictures, ford a creek, watch the stars emerge and bring a constellation atlas or app on your cell phone. Depending on where you are, you’ll likely see a vast array of stars you’ll never see in the city or the suburbs. Accept that you’re going to get a few bug bites, a little dirt on your face, and maybe a splinter. I won’t go so far as to say that is part of the fun, but it is part of the experience.
Enjoy in good health.
Stranger
You need a hatchet and a blanket. Anything else and you’re getting soft.
You are going to have an electric heater inside your tent?
If so, that’s not the best idea as tents are cramped and overflowing with soft, billowy, melty things.
Fending off the cold is largely a matter of simply having enough blanket/sleeping bag and a belly full of calories.
Also, make sure your air mattress is 100% reliable, as laying directly on the earth will suck the heat out of you like you wouldn’t believe. If you have a leaky air mattress you will not sleep a wink.
Bring an entertainment backup. Even if your tent is 100% downpour-proof it is easy to pass an hour inside a tent with nothing to do, but not eight…
You’ll also need a bright, reliable flashlight, preferably worn on the head (so your hands are free). Pretty much everything depends on this at night as the woods can be 100% dark. No, let me correct that: d a r k.
Stranger basically touched on all this stuff already, but I wanted to play too!
Good advice, but it goes a little further than that. Anything that is odorous can attract creatures, including bears. Cars have been broken into by bears due to toothpaste & shampoo being left inside. So when you secure your food make sure to put anything that might give off an odor inside as well.
Sincerely,
a former resident of Yosemite NP
and don’t forget to bring the most important thing of all: a happy attitude.
Yes, it’s a corny clichee.
But seriously…read chinaguy’s post above. Several times.
You’re on vacation, and the reason people take vacations is to do something different than your regular, boring routine.
And when you go camping—nothing is routine. Everything you do is different.
You’re gonna have to ask somebody how and where to pee.
You’re gonna get dirty.
You’re gonna sleep a little less soundly.
And you’re going to see some wonderful bits of nature, up close. And you’re going to hear the wonderful sounds, (and the silence) of nature. And the stars----don’t forget to look up.
Enjoy it all!
Near freezing temps? I’d leave the bug spray home.
Bring a can opener and a some canned fruit. I always thought canned pineapple slices were good in the morning while you’re waiting for the coffee.
I agree, don’t bring a heater in the tent. Too many things can go wrong with that.
A electric blanket works well for electric provided camping sites, far better then a space heater. I have used both over the years, here is my $0.02
Space heater provides minimal heat in the uninsulated drafty structure (tent) convective heat is quickly vented away and radiant heat only heats the surface of the blankets which quickly gets lost to the air and thus out the vented structure, and does not heat your skin which is under the insulation. Red glow is difficult to sleep with due to the light. High current draw of these heaters can be problematic with campground power and use of extension cords, expect blown fuses/no power.
Electric blankets makes you king of the campsite, totally warm under the covers where you will be sleeping. low power draw so no power trouble. Also if you get a unelectrified site I have run a electric blanket off a 12V jump start kit and voltage inverter. Not continuously, but when I woke in the night being cold, I would flip it on for 5-10 minutes then turn it off and go to bed warm again.
An alternative used by backpackers is to boil water and place in a nalgene bottle (or other suitable sealable container for boiled water), and place that inside a sock or pair of socks and use that as a hot water bottle to keep parts of you warm
Also get some insulation under where you sleep/above the air mattress (between). Big air mattresses can be quite cold and be a effective mover of heat from you to the ground. A good blanket under you will help a lot here.
A good night’s sleep can help soothe other irritations, and a poor night’s sleep can make everything else irritating. So let’s concentrate on sleeping well.
Pitch the tent on as level ground as possible. If there’s any slope to the tent space, orient your feet to the downhill side.
Lots of people camp in cold weather without using a heater. With proper insulation, your body will generate all the heat you need and then some. If you feel you must use a heater, please be very careful with its placement. The possibility of melting the tent or a sleeping bag or even having a fire is all too real.
Whether or not you have a heater, thermal insulation is important. More important than insulation from the chilly air (sleeping bag or blankets) is insulation from the ground. It’s a huge heat sink, and can effectively carry away your body heat much faster than you can replenish it. Air mattresses provide cushioning but not thermal insulation – the big air spaces inside allow convection currents that move heat well. Most people find some sort of foam pad to be the most practical type of ground insulation. The foam has to be in a form that doesn’t squish so thin that it stops insulating. (Ask for further info if you’d like more details on foam pads.) A stack of blankets could work, but it would take a lot of them.
A lot of heat can be lost from drafts around your sleeping bag or blankets. Try to find a way to tuck in so that only your head, or if possible only your face, is exposed to the air. A soft cap for the head is a huge help, as is something that wraps around the neck.
For inside your bedding soft clothing that’s not too tight is best. Long underwear, pajamas, sweatsuits and the like work well.
If you can get one in time (nearby store or quick internet delivery) get a “feminine funnel” that lets you aim your urine stream. It’s handy if you need to relieve yourself behind a tree, but it’s absolutely wonderful inside the tent when combined with a suitable container (big enough, lid that won’t spill). Popping out of bed for a couple minutes in the middle of the night (or first thing in the morning) is way better than having to put on cold clothes and trudge to the toilet.
Have a water bottle (that won’t spill) handy. Also useful are wet wipes, paper towels, and a light.
After waking, but while still in bed, bring the clothes you’ll be wearing into your bed (one at a time) to warm up for a few minutes before putting them on.
If your a light sleeper, or have snorers nearby, earplugs can really help. I like the silicone “pillow” type.
Enjoy a pleasant night’s sleep in nature’s fresh air!
Guns.
This. The biggest thing that jumped out at me was your mention of bringing an “air mattress”. If it is going to be that cold, then expect the ground to be very cold as well. Air mattresses DO NOT provide any insulation from the cold that will seep up from the ground - I know this from experience ! (no, your tent floor will also not provide any insulation either).
And if you’re considering a cot - again no good unless you have some padding between you and the cot. Depending on the material of the sleeping bag, your body weight may compress this against the cot, and again you create a “heat sink” for you to get cold.
A note on headlamps: I agree they’re very useful sometimes, but there are two considerations for camping use. One is that if there are bugs around, they’ll be drawn right to your face. The other is when you look at your campmate (as in normal conversation) he’ll be blinded.
You’ll want a good sharp knife with enough blade length to expedite amputating your leg when a tree falls on you, crushes the leg, and pins you.
Good point. I’d even say it doesn’t matter what type of sleeping bag, or whether you’re in a cot or on the ground – the part under your body will be compressed and won’t insulate. Hence the need for the right kind of foam or a thick pile of blankets to lie on.
Is that you Barney? 
I’ll jump on the dogpile: You do not want an air mattress. “Sleeping pad” is what you are looking for.
Since your prep time is short, you need to go to a sporting goods store or the sporting goods department of Walmart. You’ll find some inflatable options of varying prices and the blue foam roll often seen on the outside of hiker’s backpacks. The inflatables will provide some comfort along with the insulation, the foam pads don’t provide much comfort but will keep you warm.
Many experienced campers use both a foam pad and an inflatable.
If you haven’t been talked out of the electric heater yet, at least take a fire extinguisher and some burn ointment – and keep them very close by.