Family Camping for Beginners: Key Tips for Setting Up for Wild Camping

So, this is the last installment (we hope) of our Camping to Escape COVID series. We’ve done one series on snowshoeing and this one on camping, with - of course - the myriad other rock climbing and small adventure films and the like peppered in between.

For those of you who don’t know, I have some health issues that has induced me to be very conservative when it comes to managing the pandemic. The odds that I would have a very rough go of the disease, should I contract it, are simply too high for my liking.

I was pretty much a hermit from mid-March 2020 through late that same summer.

That was not the best approach from a mental health perspective ;)

So, as we moved into late summer, I began to take the kids out. They had been pining to get back to climbing some rock, so we did that. And I had been pining for a non- work-plus-homeschooling-plus-housework pace of living. So, we started getting the kids out camping and snowshoeing again, too. I missed the slower pace of these outdoor activities far more than I realized (at least as judged by my improved mental state after returning to nature).

It occurred to me that the reason I felt safe going into nature as opposed to - say - the grocery store was the ease at which social distancing could be achieved. And it similarly occurred to me that there might be others who were feeling just as trapped, inside with their screaming kids (who we love but who, nonetheless, do scream more than feels good). Thus, the set of Escape COVID videos and accompanying blog posts.

As winter approached, I wanted to provide an alternative to those who maybe weren’t into the high prices or the athleticism of skiing. That became the snowshoeing series. Now, with winter waning and spring around the corner, the camping series seemed like the right option for helping people think about how to navigate what - we hope - are the waning days of pandemic isolation.

This journey of remembrance, that is to say ‘remembering the joy and peace I can find in myself when I am out in nature,’ has been a wonderful experience for me… especially when I juxtapose it against the stresses of COVID living. Maybe it has been a bit of help for all of you, too.

We are not signing off. There is a lot of information we want to share that we hope will help families gain some of the experiences that my family finds so rewarding in the outdoors. It turns out, there is never a bad time to find affirmation and connection. But during these particularly trying times, my family also found solace and - to a degree, anyway - safety.

I just thought I would take a moment to describe why we have these videos out there. It’s pretty simple: we found something that helps, and we want to help others share in that.

So, if you are new to camping, take a look at this video about setting up camp, and maybe take a look at the other videos in our Camping to Escape COVID series. If you are more experienced, I think there is some information that you might discover to be useful, whether that be just the odd tip from someone who has camped in extreme circumstances (cold, altitude, etc.) or the very different dynamics that show up as soon as you bring your kids out into the wild.

Maybe most of all, this is an invitation… to be part of a community of people who want to share the special brand of positivity and connection that comes when families, individuals, and nature all come together. So, please consider posting a comment or sharing a video with a friend or subscribing to the channel. We would love to have you join us.