A Camping List Can Save a Trip

Camping out can be easy and comfortable. Or it can
be hard and miserable if you forget a camping list.

A few years back, some friends and I planned a four-day, multi-family camping trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We divvied up responsibility for communal camping equipment like tents, campstoves, cookpots and utensils. Each of us would bring personal camping gear for our families, including sleeping bags, mattress pads, clothing and toiletries, and children’s toys and games.

I went home and immediately made a camping list of everything my family would need for the trip, including my communal contribution of dishes, cups, and flatware.

It was late morning when we all arrived at our group campsite. Unloading the vehicles, we discovered one of the cookstoves was missing. Seems that David---the person responsible for bringing it---had made a mental note to load the stove. Somewhere between assembling camping equipment and departure he’d lost the note. In fact, when he returned home late Sunday evening, the stove was still propped up against the leg of his work table in the garage.

David had worked from memory, rather than a camping list, gathering camping gear as it came to mind. In the bustle of preparing for the trip he’d simple forgotten the stove. The night before we left he’d scurried around, grabbing gear first from the shed, then the attic, back to the shed, down to the basement, and another trip to the attic, scooping up camping equipment as he thought of it, or as it caught his eye.

Poor Dave! He should have made a camping list. Fact is, camping checklists are a necessary tool. Used properly, a camping list assure you’ll have everything you need for an enjoyable outdoor adventure.

Lest you think working from a camping checklist is effete or unmanly, keep in mind that fighter pilots use checklists before taking off, to assure they’ve done everything right to fly and fight the plane.

Camping checklists are good reminders and easy to put together. You simply list every conceivable item you might need for that trip. And I mean everything---from socks and underwear to tents and sleeping bags. You can even have a separate list for the type of camping it will be; one for car camping, one for canoeing, one for multi-day hikes, and so forth.

Another way is to establish categories for your camping gear, filling in under each heading with necessary items. For instance, you might call one category “kitchen.” Under it you would list everything you’d need to give you a complete kitchen set-up while camping.

Be a bit leery of this approach, though, because camping lists by category have a habit of proliferating. And you could end up with lists of lists. These are nothing more than piles of paper that leave you no better off than the mental list you’re likely to lose, anyhow.

To prevent such problems I long ago compiled a universal camping checklist. I’ve divided all our camping gear into categories, but taken things a step further. Under each heading I’ve listed all the equipment needed for camping, hiking, bicycling, backpacking, and canoeing. It’s as comprehensive as I could make it, for all the outdoor sports my family pursues.

When the time comes to prepare for, say, a bicycle camping trip, I pull out a clean copy of the camping checklist and assemble the appropriate gear. For example, my camping list has a heading called “shelter.” Under that category I have listed each of the “tent” styles we own---from the pop-up camper to lightweight tarps. For this trip, we’d want the backpacking tent because it’s lightweight and compact enough to be transported in my bike’s saddlebags.

Your personal needs will determine the items that go on your camping list. For instance, if you have an allergy to stinging insects, you’ll want to include your special treatment kit. Or if you’re into backcountry camping, but still want a daily shower, you’ll need to add a portable sun shower to your list of necessities.

Having a camping checklist certainly puts you a step ahead of the grab-it-and-go bunch. But even the most comprehensive camping list won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t know how to use it properly. You could still end up leaving important medications on the kitchen table, or departing without your youngest child’s favorite bedtime toy. Or even, to put a point on it, the cookstove.

On my master camping checklist there is a blank set of brackets next to each list. The backpacking tent, for instance, appears like this:

[ ] Backpacking tent.

When preparing for a trip I start by putting a slash mark diagonally in the bracket next to every item needed, thus:

[/] Backpacking tent.

Each bracketed slash mark lets me know what gear has been selected for that trip.

Once you’ve identified the gear going with you, it’s time to gather it all together. If it’s feasible, try assembling your equipment in one central spot; the garage, for instance, or a spare bedroom. It’s also a good idea to start gathering things a week or more before departure. That way, you get a good look at what you have, and can check it over for any needed repairs or replacements. Beats arriving at your campsite only to find your tent has a rip down the side, or your sleeping bag’s interior has become home to a new species of mold.

After bringing each item to your central location but another diagonal slash inside the bracket. Your list should begin to look like this:

[X] Backpacking tent.

Next order of business is to load the assembled camping equipment. At this point I have a selection of plastic storage boxes standing by, ready to fill with tent, sleeping bags, air mattresses, kitchen gear, and so forth. These sturdy, lidded, lockable boxes provide clean, dry storage for my things enroute, and continue to serve me while at the campsite.

As each item is packed, make a circle around the brackets, indicating it is packed and ready to go.

One final tip. If your loaded boxes are not all piled in one spot, make a notation as to how many storage boxes you are taking. If not, sure as shooting you’ll forget one.

Probably the one with the cookstove in it.