I am packing for a two week tent camping trip in the Florida Panhandle. I’m meeting my friend Sharol and we are anticipating two weeks of kayaking, hiking, and hanging out in nature, soaking up all the good stuff you get from earthing and forestbathing.
This will be the longest tent camping trip I’ve taken in many years. While I want to have as many comforts as possible, I don’t want to undo the simplicity of living in a tent. So with that in mind, here are my suggested guidelines for packing for a tent camping trip (car camping, as opposed to backpack camping). As with my first article of camping suggestions, this is not a list of items, but a list of things to think about as you prepare for your own trip.
I’ll start with the basics: tent, thermal blanket, light cotton coverlet, quilt, pillow, and air mattress. I bought a two-person tent specifically for this trip, but I’ve just been given a brand new four-person tent. After seeing the two-person tent set up, the luxurious extra space of the larger tent will be welcome. When I was younger, I would have scoffed at the idea of an air mattress, but I am now wise rather than young. A bit of air between my old bones and the ground is just lovely. Then I can cover up with my favorite quilt or the thin cotton blanket that made its way home with us after Steve’s hospitalization last year. This set-up will be warm enough if the weather is cool, and cool enough if the weather is warm.
By way of comparison, Sharol has a much fancier air mattress. She also brought an Adirondack chair (compared to my little fold up camp chair), a box fan, twinkle lights for inside her tent, and tarps to hang over her tent in case of rain. I absolutely loved her glamping set-up, and it is something to which I aspire in the pop-up. While I may upgrade my air mattress and get a 22″ tall one just so I can easily get out of bed in the morning, I’m not sure I will glamp my tent site. But personal preference is the ONLY reason not to. If you like lights and fans, bring your lights and fans! Sharol also has a sleeping hammock which looks really intriguing, but I have not yet tried one of these contraptions.
I’m such an early riser that I generally take my clothes for the day to the bath house. There, I can shower, brush my teeth, and get dressed for the day in relative comfort. At any rate, clothes will be the next item I pack: seven bottoms (three hiking pants, three shorts, one kayaking skirt), seven tops (t-shirts, two with long sleeves), one zip up hoodie sweatshirt, two nighties, underwear, bathing suits, socks, seven towels, and a ridiculous amount of footwear. I’ll need my hiking boots, bog boots, water shoes for kayaking, sneaks, and flip flops. For a woman who usually lives barefoot or in sandals, five pairs of shoes is just mind-boggling, but I guarantee I will wear them all! Quick note about the towels: I use Turkish pestemal cotton towels. They are very lightweight and dry really quickly. After my shower, I hang them on an open door of the car and they are usually dry before coffee is ready.
There is other specialized “stuff” I’ll need for this trip. Because we plan to do some bog walking, I’ll have my bog boots, of course (these are like barn boots; they come up almost to the knee and are rubberized to prevent getting my feet wet). I’ll also have a net suit, a two piece suit made of no-see-um netting. There is a zippered hood. This will prevent the mosquitoes from draining me of blood. I’ve got my hiking socks – these are heavier than my normal socks and will prevent blisters while we hike all day. Oh! And speaking of hiking, I’ll have my favorite hiking stick with me. It will be hunting season in the State Forests, so I’ll have my bright orange reflective vest. I’ve got my native wildflower book, my native orchid book, several trail guides, and some fun reading. I highly recommend Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen- it is soooo good that I’m really taking my time with it. I’m looking forward to starting Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake.
I’ll be using the Coleman stove and gas lantern. Because it’s much easier to clean up after, I’ll have hot chocolate instead of coffee most mornings. Hot chocolate packets and my Trader Joe’s peppermint hot chocolate will get me ready to go. I’ve already made and frozen oatmeal that can be quickly heated with just a bit of additional water or milk. Steve and I found that this makes a really tasty breakfast that sticks to the ribs until late-lunchtime. This batch has half made with coconut milk instead of water, and the other half mixed with guava jam and walnuts.
My camp kitchen takes so much planning. It includes the obvious: dishes and utensils, dish soap, dish pan, kitchen towels, paper towels, trash bags…but I also include a fire starter, several lighters, phone chargers, insect repellent, and other things that I find make camping easier. I keep the kitchen gear in a large rolling Stanley FatMax toolbox. I love this thing, and it fits perfectly in the pop-up. If I camped more frequently, I would leave it set up for tent camping, but this is not practical for us. For this longer trip, I will bring laundry detergent. I’m limiting pots and pans because they are so bulky. I’ll bring a larger pot for boiling water, a smaller pot for reheating the meals I’ve prepared, and a skillet. We’ll be grilling some meals so lighter fluid and charcoal will be part of the kit. I like to keep a headlamp in the kitchen box so I don’t wake up the neighbors while I get the water boiling.
Let’s see, there are also a few miscellaneous items. We’re traveling during a pandemic which appears to be getting ready to get worse in Florida, so I’ll be sure to bring masks and hand sanitizer for traveling. I have a toiletry bag that stays packed at all times so I don’t find myself without a toothbrush if I have a spontaneous overnight trip, and I’ve got the bright turquoise blue hat we just got at St. Andrews State Park. Oh, and a camp chair!
I really find listening to audiobooks and podcasts relaxing, so I’ll bring my bluetooth speaker. It provides a nicer listening experience than my phone speaker. I don’t always use it, but when I do, it feels like a luxury.
I’ve prepared frozen meals to reheat at the campsite because we will be tired and hungry at the end of the day. I love fussy cooking in camp, but not on this trip! We’ve got the oatmeal I’ve already talked about for breakfasts, and I’ll bring bacon, sausage and eggs as well. I’ll bring some baking potatoes because they are just SO GOOD cooked in a campfire, and I’ve canned some beef burgundy that will taste outstanding on those taters. I’ve got some “crack” chicken (it’s an Instant Pot sensation that you can find here), lemon butter chicken, garlic bacon chicken, pork chops, and fixings for grilled pizza (naan, ricotta and mozarella cheeses), along with sides. I never plan every meal because sometimes there are leftovers and sometimes we may want to eat out. We will probably make one trip to a grocery store to restock perishables and of course we’ll need to restock ice almost daily.
It has been so long since we’ve used some of the camping equipment that I needed to check to make sure all the old stuff still worked. I really like cooking on a Coleman gas stove (as opposed to the propane stove), although I must admit that the propane heats up faster and is undoubtedly more efficient. I also prefer my old Coleman gas lantern to the little propane lantern. Propane tools, though, are easier to use and perhaps more reliable. If you’ve ever tried to light a gas lantern in a rainstorm, you’ll know what I mean. But the old gas tools bring to mind camping with my dad and sister and brother, and I love the psssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh of a gas lantern. I love tying on a new set of mantles and burning them to reduce them to the ash which magically creates such bright light in the presence of forced gas and flame. I love the soft “pop” when the lantern is extinguished for the night. Frankly, I’m still deciding which to use on this trip. I think I am going to land on the propane stove and the gas lantern. If I decide on the propane tools, I’ll buy a propane tree so that I can use a large propane tank to power everything.
Full disclosure: I own enough Coleman gas stoves to open a small Coleman gas stove store. Two need the pumps rebuilt and one is missing a gas tank. Only one works. I am trying to find a high temp paint that is brushable so that I can repaint the cases in bright colors and paisley patterns.
I should include my kayaking essentials: dry bag with an emergency lantern and poncho, paddle, PFD, and I’m going to add an anchor for this trip. I usually do not attach an anchor to my boat because I really like to travel light in my ‘yak, but I suspect there will be plenty of good opportunities to use it this time. And if not, well…it’s not that heavy.
Good thing my Ford Explorer (named Large Marge) is so roomy! By the time I pack up some sangria and tonic water for an early evening treat, that vehicle will be crammed full of fun. See you in the panhandle!
AFTER TRIP NOTES: I did decide on propane, and bought the propane tree and a gas line for it. If you are depending on propane tools, don’t forget your propane tank! I also feel like I had too many outerwear pieces (tops and bottoms). I would pack more socks and fewer shirts next time. While I did not wear all the footwear, I will continue to bring it because I’d rather have what I need for my feed than not.
Also, a tropical storm was headed for us just after the middle part of this trip. Sharol was very concerned and practically wrapped her tent in tarps. She learned that if you do not allow ventilation, it quickly gets very damp inside a tent. Thank goodness the storm made landfall well to the west of us, and it didn’t even rain. I woke up the final day of the trip expecting to see downed branches and rain, but the sky was crystal clear and I was able to enjoy the starlight as I packed up to head home.