Since there were a few late responses to my inquiry posts, let me start off with a recap of what my Facebook and Twitter followers suggested for a camping trip.

Food: Apples, S’mores (also listed as its parts), ribs, scotch, bread and butter, burgers
Non-Food: Tent, sleeping bag, baby wipes, room service, alcohol, toilet paper, twine, RV, and beer

I am definitely a novice camper, but there are a few things wrong with the above list. The first is that things like room service and RVs are not readily available in the woods or to those with less than six figure incomes. The second is that there is WAY too much alcohol on that list compared with food. Apparently many of my family and friends have a skewed opinion of what food is. 😉 The last obvious issue with that list is that there were no cooking supplies suggested. How do you cook the ribs and burgers?? I will not be risking my fingers by holding raw meat above a fire. Let’s update the list a little bit and add my favorite items to it. But first, let’s take a quick minute and thank Household6Diva and my friend Jennifer for having the most useful suggestions of apples, baby wipes, sleeping bag and S’mores. On to my revised list!

Food: Apples, S’mores, oatmeal packets, beans and rice, and plenty of water
Non-Food: Tent, sleeping bag, toilet paper, extra undies, baby wipes, waterproof matches, hatchet, flashlight, spoon, bug spray, 1-quart pot

I probably need to take a moment and define what camping means in my world, as there is a very broad definition. Some consider a luxury RV stocked with the finest food camping, while others have a hiking or minimalist mentality and think all of your gear and food should be able to fit in one hiking backpack and walked with for miles. My definition falls somewhere in the middle, leaning towards minimalist. While I don’t think you should have to walk miles with your stuff, I don’t think you should take half the house with you either. The goal for our upcoming trip (which is scheduled for July 16-18) is to take the tent (which is HUGE), cooler, sleeping bag and one bag for each of us. We’ll be trying out our new Kelty bag from Target to see if we can fit all of our personal and combined items into one bag. I’m excited to try this. 🙂

The goal is to set up a camp in a minimal amount of time and have as much fun as possible despite the heat and humidity. The park we’re going to has a few hiking trails available, as well as a pool and canoe rentals for additional fees. We’ll be taking advantage of those, as well as playing a lot of card games and roasting more marshmallows than should be consumed in one weekend.

What are your camping necessities? What do you think of my necessities list? What is your favorite camping activity?