How to Choose a Wilderness Campsite

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

Rate: (7 Ratings)

Taking a few minutes to assess the terrain can increase your potential for comfort while minimizing your impact on the environment.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

  • Waterproof Matches
  • Fire Logs
  • First Aid Kits
  • Swiss Army Knives
  • Backpacks
  • Camping Stoves
  • Camping Trowels
  • Tarps
  • Tents
  • Flashlights

Step1
Choose an established campsite in high-use areas rather than tramping down a new spot.
Step2
Find an area that drains well to avoid flooding if it rains.
Step3
Camp at least 200 feet from lakes or streams to protect them.
Step4
Set up away from other people since most people go to the wilderness to experience solitude.
Step5
Avoid camping beneath large dead trees and branches that can come crashing down in the night.
Step6
Be careful traipsing around to avoid injuring fragile objects such as seedlings and wildflowers.
Step7
Camp above the high-water mark in desert canyons to stay beyond the reach of flash floods.
Step8
Consider the benefits of receiving the morning sun and being shaded from the hot afternoon sun when picking your location. Also think about potential windbreaks.
Step9
Leave the site in better condition than you found it.

Tips & Warnings

  • Rather than camping next to a lake, often the most "buggy" and environmentally sensitive sites, consider camping on a bare ridge where light breezes will keep the bugs away and provide a better view.
  • Be quiet in camp.

Comments

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Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 7/25/2006 Choose a campsite with coniferous rather than deciduous trees as the mosquitoes prefer the large green leaves to hide in from the heat of the day. You will have less problem with mosquitoes in an area without leafy trees.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 In rocky soils, carry spikes to ancor your tent with; in sandy soil bury a large piece of wood tied to the lines.

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eHow Article:  How to Choose a Wilderness Campsite

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