Travel Suggestions Blog

Camping in the wild is fun and exciting but not without safety precautions and invaluable survival tips. Below are some basics in choosing campsites and setting up camping tents.

Looking for water

When setting up camp, the first thing that you should look for is a sustainable water source for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing. The most obvious sources are water streams. When collecting water in water streams, collect drinking water upstream of places where animals drink. In cases where there are no water streams, you can tap into ground water which is often found at the foot of cliffs, above the waterline on beaches, in holes below the natural water table, and under dry river beds.  The presence of trees is an indication that there is water in the area. In dry land such as dunes, you can dig at the lowest point until you reach wet sand and continue digging until freshwater seeps into the hole. In a beach, you should dig above the highest point of the water mark until freshwater seeps into the hole. In dry river beds, dig where it appears fresh water used to be present, avoiding the thick silt that chokes the beds of inner bends. Rock crevices are often fruitful, because rainwater usually collects in the cracks. In cliffs, look for patches of green such as moss, ferns, or cracks where freshwater may be dripping. Glaciers are also a great source of water because they provide melted ice streams, but have to be filtered first because they may contain rock powder.

Before drinking, allow the water to settle and filter the separated water.  Socks make great water filter. You can place one thin sock over another and line the insides with fine sand or a handkerchief. You can hang the sock over a tripod for support. Pour the water into the makeshift filter, collecting the water in a basin or can. You can purify the water further through boiling or chemical tablets.

To distill pure water from salt water, you can boil the saltwater in a pot and place a cloth to cover the top and trap the steam.  After boiling, wait for the cloth to cool and wring out the water. It is now safe for drinking.

Choosing a campsite

Once you’ve identified an adequate water source, you should look around the area for a good site to set up your camping tent. An ideal campsite is on a clear and leveled ground, sheltered by trees to protect the campsite from prevailing winds, but is not too close to the trees to be threatened by falling dead wood.

The site should be relatively close to the water supply, but is away from animal drinking places. The site should also be well drained and not vulnerable to flooding. Avoid pitching your tent inside the river bend because the land here is often lower than the outer bend, and is thus more in danger of flooding. To identify the direction of prevailing winds, observe bent-over trees and put up your tent with the entrance facing away from the wind. The campfire should be positioned where the smoke blows in the opposite direction of the tent. It should be placed close enough to the tent to repel insects but far enough to prevent the tent from catching fire. Set up the latrine as far away from the water supply as possible to prevent water contamination. In washing dishes and clothes, be mindful that you do not pollute the water with soap or detergent. Use a bucket to rinse and wash on land, and careful to empty the bucket well away from the water stream or river.

Setting up your tent

Don’t scrimp on buying a tent. A durable and serviceable tent such as coleman tents will get you a long way. Before even going on a camping trip, you should practice setting up your tent and learn to move and put it up as quickly as possible, in whatever situation. This is invaluable in cases of strong winds or a blizzard.  Once you’ve found a serviceable camping ground, clear the area where you decide to set up your tent. Remove all stones and flatten bumps in the surface. Lay the inner tent with the entryway against the wind and immediately peg down the corners with the eyelet straight and taut.

Press in the pegs firmly but do not bend them. Lay out the pole sections and assemble them, hooking the back tent eyelet over the pole.  Place the back pole upright and peg its guyline to the ground. Do the same with the long pole, tightening the guyline until both poles are vertical.  In cases where the ground is too hard or rocky to use pegs, tie the guylines around large rocks. Place the flysheet over the tip of the short pole and peg it down at the back end. Pull the flysheet over the top of the tent to the tip of the long pole and peg it down at the front. Make sure that there is a layer of air between the tent and the flysheet for insulation and to prevent condensation from forming on the inside of the tent, which results to pools of water collecting on the perimeter.

Zip the flysheet’s door flap over the inner tent’s front guyline, creating a covered space for storing your gear. Peg the guylines around the tent, making sure that both sides are equally balanced. Peg the flysheets over the inner tent, taking care that it does not touch the tent walls. Adjust the balance of the tent until it is streamlined against the wind.

Inside your tent

You should organize the interior of your coleman tent so that everything is within your reach from your sleeping bag. As much as possible, keep everything packed until you need it so that you know where things are and there will be less chances of losing irreplaceable equipment. In this way, you will also be able to move quickly in cases of emergency.

Never keep food inside the tent. Instead, suspend your pack 10 feet above ground and at least 3 feet away from tree trunks so that animals cannot reach it. To facilitate emergency exit, your sleeping bag should be positioned where your head points toward the door when sleeping.

Clothing should be placed somewhere in the center of the tent to avoid collecting condensation in the outer edges.  You can place your raingear on the sides, however, because they are less affected by condensation. Place the boots at the end of the tent or inside your sleeping bag to prevent them from freezing in sub-zero temperatures.

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