Written by: Jessica Bolts
Although camping is an enjoyable summertime staple, it can sometimes be a taxing experience – especially if something goes wrong. Don’t worry camping rookies, even experienced outdoorsmen make mistakes. I interviewed these campers, with all different levels of experience with nature, who told their horror stories about how their trip turned south.
A fire is a hazard for a reason
When in the wilderness, you have to be extra cautious not to let a fire get out of hand. Tori, 22, went camping with her boyfriend close to the end of summer. The spot they chose was not on an official campground, but they set up the equipment easily between the two of them. Around dusk, they decided to make a small fire. However, “To make a long story short, we made the fire too close to our tent,” Tori explained. According to Tori, it was starting to get colder than usual, so they planned to make the tent nice and toasty. They sat by the fire, which was to the left of their tent, and roasted marshmallows. Eventually, they noticed that the heat had started to melt the side of the tarp under the tent. Luckily, there wasn’t significant damage, and nothing burst into flames, but Tori says she learned a lesson. Don’t let this be you. Shoreline Inclusive Camping furnishes your campsite for you and, being experienced campers, will set up a safe campsite so you don’t need to worry.
Checklists help more than you know
Making a checklist is an efficient way to keep track of what you need for a trip. However, keeping track of what you’ve already loaded up in the car requires another checklist for itself. Melanie, 49, experienced this when she went camping with her family. Generously they all helped load up the car with the gear and supplies for their trip, but one bin was missed. Unfortunately, “It was the bin with all the kitchen type stuff in it; things to put marshmallows on, paper plates, all the utensils and cooking pans,” Melanie said. It wasn’t until they arrived at their campsite that they realized the bin was missing. The family made-do by sharpening sticks to put brats and marshmallows on to cook and just ate with their hands, but for a family that likes to have those luxuries, it put a damper on dinnertime. You wouldn’t have to worry about forgetting any items at home with Shoreline Inclusive Camping. The camping packages provide all of the amenities you could need and more, so you won’t need to worry about forgetting the necessities.
Animals have a curious nature
It’s difficult to avoid animal encounters when you are out in the wilderness, especially at night. For Robbie, 28, this encounter was a little too close for comfort. Robbie and his friend were camping in a group and shared a tent. His friend had to use the restroom in the middle of the night, and she was scared to go alone so, Robbie went with her. The bathroom at the campground was a short walk up the main road. They forgot to zip the tent up before they left, which contained a bag of chips his friend had brought to bed with her. When they came back to their tent, they found an uninvited friend fiddling with the bag of chips. “A raccoon must have smelled the chips and went into the tent. We came back, and we were freaking out trying to get it out and woke up all of our other friends. The raccoon eventually got scared and ran away, but he took the chips. It was so funny.” Robbie said. Choosing to camp on the shoreline makes it more difficult for animals to visit you since water surrounds you, but you’ll still want to keep food out of the tents as much as possible and in the designated kitchen/dining area.
Many things can go wrong during a camping trip, and some setbacks, such as weather, are unavoidable. However, by planning your trip with Shoreline Inclusive Camping, the probability for disaster drastically decreases. Perhaps if these campers had the help from SIC, then their stories might have been more pleasant experiences. When campers don’t have to worry about forgetting something, or how close they should set up next to a fire, they’ll see how hassle-free camping can truly be. Make the story you tell about your camping experience be a great camping experience every time with Shoreline Inclusive Camping.
