Page 30 - The Brandon Sun - Lake Life 2019

30 THE BRANDON SUN • LAKE LIFE • THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019
The top five most common camping mistakes

You’re ready to get back to
nature for a while? Make the ex-
perience as enjoyable as possible
by planning carefully and avoi-
ding the following mistakes.

1. Arriving without warn-
ing. To get the campsite you
want and avoid being disap-
pointed, you have to reserve
your stay ahead of time, just as
you would if you were sleeping
at a hotel.

2. Failing to test any new
equipment. To avoid unpleas-
ant surprises, you should do
some road-testing before you
head to the woods. Make sure
your sleeping bag is big enough
for you to be comfor table, and
ensure your tent has all the
pieces required to put it up. Try
out your stove and make sure it
works properly.

3. Trusting the weather
forecast. Just because the me-
teorologist says it’s going to
be sunny and hot, that doesn’t
mean it’s written in stone. Pack
clothing and plan activities that
will let you deal with any even-
tuality.

4. Leaving food or toilet-
ries in the tent. Store your food
and toiletries bag in the car to
prevent animals from helping
themselves to your cooler or
feasting on your tube of tooth-
paste.

5. Not having a repair kit.
It’s the last thing you want, but
there’s always a possibility that
your tent could start lea king.
Have you got something to re-
pair rips and tears, such as a
sewing kit or waterproof tape?

One last tip: avoid arriving
at night. You may find it very
frustrating to set up your tent
in the dark, especially if you’ve
never done it before. Also, test
all your camping gear before
leaving home to avoid any nasty
surprises.