Haste Makes Mistakes: Prepare for Your Camping Trip

I remember the time I was on a camping trip with my daughter and son-in-law.  We had planned on camping in Acadia national park in Maine, USA.  We got to the campsite in the early evening and it was just starting to get dark and beginning to rain lightly. This was in mid-September and, although it was fairly warm during the day, it had gotten pretty cool in the evening.

A Nice Wet Sleep

We wanted to get our tent up quickly before it got any darker or colder.  So we hurriedly put up our tent, got our sleeping bags and snuggled in for the night.  Just in time, too, because no sooner had we gotten inside when it started pouring down rain.  Well, we had forgotten to bring a tarp for under the tent so we didn’t have any protection underneath from the rain.  Not long after we had all gone to sleep I noticed my sleeping bag felt wet.  I felt around and there was a small puddle of water sliding towards me. I woke my daughter and she said just move closer to her in the middle because water was coming in on the sides.  Well I tried this but it was not only wet but cold and I finally got up and grabbed my sleeping bag and slept in the car – sitting up, because there wasn’t much room in the car.

Prepare for Your Camping Trip

The next morning  we saw that, in our haste to set up camp, we had placed our tent under a huge tree which, of course, had continuously dropped water onto our tent all night.  We learned that night that next time we would need to prepare better before camping. To be more careful where we put our tent, not under a tree when it is raining, not to forget a tarp, and to try and give ourselves more time before dark to set up camp.  It was an eventful experience.

Here are some great tips on how to keep your camping trip warm and dry.

Author: Janet Piekarski

Edited By: CampTrip.com