More Camping Safety Tips: Campfires And Wildlife
Respecting nature should be a top priority anytime you relax or play in the great outdoors. Camping safety and protecting yourself from common outdoor hazards should be just as important. Each year, thousands of accidents occur in the outdoors as a result of camper and backpacker carelessness. Protect yourself with these camping safety tips.
Campfire Safety
Campfire negligence is a leading cause of forest fires and also causes many camping injuries and deaths. Only build your campfires in designated areas. Most campgrounds provide fire rings or pits for campfires or you can use a Coleman fireplace to safely contain your campfire. Keep the area surrounding your campfire free of trash and other debris that could ignite and set your tent, chairs, and other gear a safe distance from the flame.
Many campgrounds and state parks provide wood for campfires for a small price, but supplies are often low during peak seasons. Bring your own dry firewood to avoid taking wood from the natural area. If you do gather firewood at your campsite, only take pieces already on the ground. Never cut trees or branches within the campground or park and find your wood away from your campsite.
Begin your fire with a small stack of twigs. Aromatic cedar and pine and other soft woods burn quickly and make excellent fire starters. Use a match to light the dry sticks and add larger pieces of dry hardwood as the campfire strengthens. Burn any garbage or waste that will burn to reduce the amount of waste you carry out and to limit your use of firewood. Before leaving your campsite, completely extinguish your campfire using water. Stir the ashes and pour more water on the embers. Make sure the ashes are cool to the touch before leaving the campsite and remove any debris that didn’t burn.
Always keep water close by whenever you have a campfire. Breezes and wind can cause embers to spread quickly. Keep the campfire at a reasonable level and never leave it unattended. Put your campfire out before going to sleep each evening.
Wildlife Safety
The wild animals you may encounter in the great outdoors can be beautiful and amazing to watch, but can also be quite harmful and even deadly if you’re not careful. Anytime you see a wild animal, observe the animal from a safe distance. Never try to feed a wild animal and avoid sudden movements or closing in on the animal. Report any strange wildlife behavior to the park ranger to warn of possible rabies.
To reduce the risk of bears or other animals in your campsite, never leave food and drinks out in the open. Cover all your food and keep the containers inside your car or suspended from a tree out of animal reach. Garbage should be burned, immediately disposed of, or suspended in the air as well. To prevent bears, hang your bags at least 12 feet high and 4 feet away from the trunk of the tree. Avoid storing food inside your tent and take out any snacks before bedtime.
Top 15 Amazing Camping Cooking Tips
For some campers, camp cooking is one of the most exciting activities in a camping vacation. The thrill of putting up a menu of different sumptuous meals, of putting together ingredients, of smelling the sweet aroma of meat, seasonings and vegetables, and of seeing the satisfied look on your family after feasting on the dinner you prepare can really ignite your excitement.
No matter how exciting, it is important to stress that camp cooking is more complicated than regular home cooking. Aside from the fact that you can’t bring your entire kitchen with you to the camp and that if you forgot a type of ingredient, there is no convenience store you can easily buy a rosemary or thyme, it also entails a lot more effort and hard work to ensure that you have a successful camp cooking experience.
Here are some useful tips for more fun cooking time:
Tip Number 1: Write down a menu of all the dishes you intend to cook in the camping trip. It is better to opt for simple dishes that wouldn’t take your entire day preparing. From this menu, create a checklist of the ingredients, cookware and utensils you need to bring to ensure that you don’t forget anything.
Tip Number 2: Prepare ingredients at home. Measure them and put them in resealable plastic bags with labels so that you don’t spend all day cooking. Remember, there are still other activities to do.
Tip Number 3: Half-cook meat, poultry of fish at home. This will save cooking time as well as fuel for the stove. Place them in plastic containers and then freeze in the cooler. What’s also great about this is that pre-cooked meat last longer than raw meat.
Tip Number 4: Rely on dependable camping stoves. You don’t want your grand cooking endeavor be ruined by a stove that wouldn’t lit up. It is better to opt for trusted brands like Coleman for your camping stoves.
Tip Number 5: Don’t forget to bring a grate if you plan to grill. Don’t assume that the camp site will have all the amenities that you need.
Tip Number 6: Bring extra matches and keep them dry by putting in waterproof containers like film canisters. These canisters are also great as containers for salt and pepper.
Tip Number 7: Be flexible in your menu. Don’t wail or send your family to the next town to get you a green onion for your dish. Improvise or use an alternative ingredient that can be found within the perimeters of your campsite.
Tip Number 8: Bring small amounts of seasonings, condiments, and other food supplies to save packing space. Instead of bringing the huge bottle of ketchup, just bring sachets or transfer an amount enough for the whole family in a smaller container.
Tip Number 9: It is better to use block ice in your ice chest because it lasts much longer than cube or tube ice.
Tip Number 10: Rub the bottoms of pots and pans with dishwashing soap before cooking. This will make cleaning time afterwards easier.
Tip Number 11: Pocket knives come in handy during camp cooking. Use those that have locking features to avoid accidental folding of the blade when you cut up meat or slice a loaf of bread.
Tip Number 12: Never leave food outside your tent to prevent attracting bears or other animals.
Tip Number 13: Don’t forget to bring a heavy duty aluminum foil and a couple of ziplock bags. They don’t take up much space and have a wide variety of uses.
Tip Number 14: Cover pots and pans during cooking so the meals will get done faster and to save fuel. This will also keep unwanted insects out of your food.
Tip Number 15: Apply a little cooking oil on your camp grill so that food will not stick on it.
We know that you know your way around cooking but you’ll surely find these cooking tips helpful and amazing.
