Camping Guide For Fun and Safety

Ahhh its time to pack up the sleeping bags and tent, lock the house and head into the peaceful woods. Camping season is back in .. well, season! Open trails, chipmunks and cool, clear streams, but when you're packing up your camping trip, are you preparing a hiker's survival kit? Have you packed ingredients to make varied and hearty foods? If not , then you'll want to read this article.

Campers spend most of their day in the woods, hiking to nearby water holes to fish or swim or just enjoying nature in the quiet, relaxing woods. What many campers forget, while packing to camp, is to pack for day hiking trips.

A hikers safety kit is as important to pack as the other camping equipment. Specifically a hiker's survival kit should be separated and packed with care. Safety kits for hikers are smaller versions of what most campers bring to the campsite. A basic first aid kit, a flashlight, food, extra clothing and safety equipment. This may seem heavy and burdensome, however, I have a few tricks which will help make it easier and lighter.

A hiker's first aid kit must be portable and light. The best thing to use is a small sandwich bag. Inside the bags place a couple of band aids, 1-2 small antiseptic wipes, and a matchbook sewing kit. Small sewing kits help stitch up wounds in the case of an emergency.

Bring a water proof jacket with pockets, not a sweater, and tie it around your waist if the weather is warm. This can be slightly uncomfortable but it will come in handy for several reasons, not the least of which if it rains.

Inside the pockets of the jacket you can stow things like extra bandages, granola or power bars, a map and a GPS navigator. It's also a good idea to bring along some water purifying tablets and a lighter.

When you pack for safety you can spend as much time out on the trails as you want. You can even go off trail knowing you've packed for any emergency situations.

Don't forget to put a hat and to put sunscreen on before you leave base camp. Even cloudy days can bake the water right out of your body.

Hiking is a tough cardio workout, you'll need to replenish your water. Make sure you have enough water or water purifying tablets to replenish your body.

Back at base camp, its time to eat dinner, but you're probably sick of the same old jerky and power bars. Did you bring the basics to make some fun food?

Here is a list of ingredients to make 50 different fun foods while camping (this list does not include normal camping foods like granola and power bars etc, this list is for cooking at base camp):
Flour
Bisquick mix
Salt and pepper (unmixed)
Vanilla - smallish bottle
Baking powder
Dried egg
Dried milk
Spice packs: 1 Italian spice pack with equal parts-rosemary, basil, oregano and thyme
1 pack chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper
Sugar
Tuna and Salmon foil packets
Veggies - sliced veggies need refrigeration, whole veggies do not
Crackers
Dried cereal
Marshmallows
Graham crackers
Baking Chocolate bars
butter - butter holds out fairly well in cool places - keep it shaded.
Oil
dried soups
dried shrimp - can usually find this product in the Asian food section.
Fresh berries - do not need refrigeration - blueberries are great

Recipes:

Fritters (fried donut like food)- 1 cup flour, ¼ tsp salt, 4 tsp butter, 1/3 Cup Milk, 1 tablespoon sugar
Heat oil in a pan over the fire, mix all ingredients together and drop batter into oil. When both sides are golden brown, place fritter on paper towels or wire grill and sprinkle with sugar.

Tuna or salmon patties - Mix 1 packet tuna or salmon, 2 egg equivalent of dried egg, salt and pepper, crackers. Squeeze juice out of fish packets, mix all ingredients and form small patties by rolling mixture around. If mixture comes apart in your hands you need more egg. If mixture is too sticky you need more crackers.
Melt two tablespoons butter on frying pan and fry each patty until brown on both sides.
Taste great inside burger buns!

Add blueberries to the fritter recipe and you have blueberry fritters! You can use apple chunks or even jam.

A flour and baking powder mixed with spices from a spice pack can be used to coat fish for frying as well. Mix 1 cup flour with ½ tsp baking powder, mix water with egg mixture approximately one egg. Dip cleaned fish halves into egg then batter and fry until golden brown.

Dried cereal can be mixed with marshmallows and butter to make cereal treat. Melt ¼ cup butter with 1 package of marshmallows and then mix into 4 cups of cereal of any kind. Let set for 10 minutes and enjoy.

For more recipes you can search the internet on "camping recipes", you're sure to find the ingredients I list on almost every recipe.