Free Plans For Campers

Backyard campers can rough it at home

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By Helena Olivieroh

oliviero@ajc.com

The Collins family is exploring a new place in the great outdoors for their next camping adventure. It’s not far from home.

Actually, they aren’t really leaving home.

On Saturday, Denise Collins, along with her husband Michael and their daughters, McKenna, 7, and Marin ,5, will pitch a tent in a corner of their large, narrow, grassy backyard. They’ve picked a spot — not too from a swing set, surrounded by pine trees — because they believe it will provide the best view for star gazing.

The Collinses, of Atlanta’s Druid Hills neighborhood, are participating in this weekend’s annual Great American Backyard Campout, organized by the National Wildlife Federation’s Southeast Regional Center in Atlanta.

Call it camping with training wheels.

For non-campers, whose idea of roughing it is staying at a Holiday Inn, camping behind your house could be a good way to give this pastime a whirl -- and you’ll always be within just a few steps from the comforts of home.

Backyard camping may not offer mountain views or river-hugging trails, but sleeping outdoors in the backyard, organizers insist, still offers opportunities for getting in touch with nature, and for family bonding. Star gazing, singing camp songs, rock collecting and even marshmallow roasting are all doable in that yard behind this house.

This year, for the first time, a shared camping experience will be held at the Outdoor Activity Center, a natural resource center in southwest Atlanta.

Before the campout, the activity center will offer lessons on basic camping skills such as pitching tents, reading maps and compasses, campfire safety, as well as outdoor etiquette -- not leaving trash when camping or picking wild flowers.

The event is free and open to the public. Novice campers can either use their skills for the shared camping event or take their new skills home and roll them in the backyard.

Atlanta families — including those joining others at the activity center, as well as those camping in the backyard — will be part of about 100,000 people across the country who will, for one night, fall asleep to the sound of insects buzzing, dogs barking and who knows, maybe even a owl hooting.

“I hope people will be inspired to reconnect with nature and we want people to recognize that nature is all around us, even in the city,” said Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, education manager for NWF Southeast Regional Center.

Camping Guidelines @ just-free-content-articles.com

Camping is an excellent outdoor recreational activity. Basically for camping, the campers leave urban areas, their home district, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights in the great outdoors. Camping involves the use of a tent, cabin, caravan, motor home, a primitive structure, or no shelter at all (minimalistic). Camping is an awesome activity as well as it having some complexities. Therefore campers should acquire some basic tips and principal guidelines on camping.

Here I have drawn some basic camping guidelines:

Backpacking:

The general principle of backpacking for camping is taking lighter weight items that would be at the bottom of a backpack and heavier items would be at the top, close to the body. The gear needed and how it’s packed will be dependent on the type of trip planned and the type of conditions a person plans to go in. Like, if you are planning to be scrambling or hiking off-trail on rough terrain or snow, you might want to pack the lower weight items to ensure the free movement against the center of gravity. However, while backpacking for a general camping don’t forget to take below mentioned things

Sleeping bag Mattresses Clothes depends on weather or temperature Tents and tarps Food, cooking utensils and fuel Essential items ( sprays, repellant etc) for the protection from mosquito’s and insects Personal items

Camping tips:

Don’t buy cheap camping equipment and tents just to save a few dollars, for such non stability or lower grade products you may be in bigger trouble if poor quality tents for example collapse when you’re hit by a sudden storm. So, it’s best to buy durable and high quality camping gear that you can rely on. At the campsite, don’t leave food unattended for this may attract bears. Close encounters with bears and other wild creatures is one thing you want to avoid during camping trips. Be sure to put away any surplus food or food containers before you go away from the tent or before sleep. Try not eating inside the tent. This is a precaution to avoid the small but horrible insects like ants that will follow trails of crumbs inside your tent and will possibly feast on your skin. To keep safe from snakes don’t forget to keep phenol in campsite. You should protect yourself from mosquitoes and other harmful insects which are common residents in forest areas.

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