Ok, once you've got it, where should you set it up?
The best place for a tent is usually an elevated surface that has a slight slope. This will help to keep water from pooling beneath your tent if it rains. Also, if you're camping in an area that doesn't have many trees, avoid camping beneath the lone tree or an isolated group of trees as they can attract lightning if there's a storm. Keeping this in mind...
Try to pick a shaded area. Even though new tents may come with some type of UV protection, sunlight will still deteriorate them over time weakening the material and stitching. Another good thing about setting your tent up in the shade is that it will stay much cooler during the day, which can mean the difference between a comfortable mid-day nap or sweating profusely. Think tin shack in the sun, and you get the idea.
Try to avoid setting your tent up on animal paths as you never know what might be coming down a path at night. Even smaller animals like fighting raccoons can be enough to scare you from a sound sleep. Let alone a 1,000 pound (454 kg) moose. And surprising a moose or bear is definitely not a good idea. Give them plenty of room by not disturbing their natural routes. Also, make sure to place the tent a good distance from the campfire pit to be safe and to avoid areas that may smell of food.
Once you've found your spot, pick up any rocks and sticks to protect your tent from punctures or rips. Think of it this way... If you wouldn't want to lay on top of it at home in your bed, it's a good idea to pick it up. Otherwise, if you sleep on a pad you'll feel it all night long, or at least until you decide to remove it. It's much better to do it now than to have to crawl out of a perfectly warm sleeping bag to blindly grope around underneath your camping tent at midnight to find that annoying rock that keeps poking you in the middle of the back.
Once you've cleared your spot, lay your footprint down and place your tent on top of it. The tent should cover the footprint completely extending past the groundsheet by an inch or so on every side, again this is to stop any rain from getting underneath and pooling beneath your tent. Now set your tent up according to the manufacturer's directions.
Avoid cooking inside your tent or underneath the rainfly because burning gas gives off colorless and odorless carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Either of these gases in sufficient quantity can quickly sneak up on you without warning and knock you unconscious with sometimes lethal consequences. Play it safe, cook outside.
Store food inside your car unless you're in bear country. In bear country store food in a bear-proof container suspended 30 feet in the air between two trees a safe distance away from your campsite. A hungry bear can make short work of your car if he wants to get inside, so avoid storing food there. The same goes for toothpaste, shaving cream, and etc. To put things in perspective, think of it this way. If a hungry bear came around your campsite, how far away would he have to be so that you would feel
comfortable? Let me tell you a quick story...
We arrived about midnight one night at a State Campground and hauled our tent out to begin setting it up. We left the car running with the headlights on to see by. Minutes later as we were clearing the setup area of twigs I heard something crash in the car. I turned around to see two medium-sized raccoons next to the car. One was carting away our bread and the other was cheering him on. They were extremely bold. They growled, hissed and stood their ground when I tried to scare them off with a flashlight.
If a running well-lit car (both inside and out), and people working 10-15 feet away weren't a deterrent, you can imagine what they'd do to a deserted tent full of food. This is why rangers tell visitors not to feed the animals. People think it's cute to feed the animals when they're small, but down the road as they get bigger and lose their fear of people they get more aggressive and take what they want. This may even result in the rangers having to put them down... not cool. So, as we learned, keep you car doors closed and avoid feeding the animals... even if it's unintentional
The best place for a tent is usually an elevated surface that has a slight slope. This will help to keep water from pooling beneath your tent if it rains. Also, if you're camping in an area that doesn't have many trees, avoid camping beneath the lone tree or an isolated group of trees as they can attract lightning if there's a storm. Keeping this in mind...
Try to pick a shaded area. Even though new tents may come with some type of UV protection, sunlight will still deteriorate them over time weakening the material and stitching. Another good thing about setting your tent up in the shade is that it will stay much cooler during the day, which can mean the difference between a comfortable mid-day nap or sweating profusely. Think tin shack in the sun, and you get the idea.
Try to avoid setting your tent up on animal paths as you never know what might be coming down a path at night. Even smaller animals like fighting raccoons can be enough to scare you from a sound sleep. Let alone a 1,000 pound (454 kg) moose. And surprising a moose or bear is definitely not a good idea. Give them plenty of room by not disturbing their natural routes. Also, make sure to place the tent a good distance from the campfire pit to be safe and to avoid areas that may smell of food.
Once you've found your spot, pick up any rocks and sticks to protect your tent from punctures or rips. Think of it this way... If you wouldn't want to lay on top of it at home in your bed, it's a good idea to pick it up. Otherwise, if you sleep on a pad you'll feel it all night long, or at least until you decide to remove it. It's much better to do it now than to have to crawl out of a perfectly warm sleeping bag to blindly grope around underneath your camping tent at midnight to find that annoying rock that keeps poking you in the middle of the back.
Once you've cleared your spot, lay your footprint down and place your tent on top of it. The tent should cover the footprint completely extending past the groundsheet by an inch or so on every side, again this is to stop any rain from getting underneath and pooling beneath your tent. Now set your tent up according to the manufacturer's directions.
Avoid cooking inside your tent or underneath the rainfly because burning gas gives off colorless and odorless carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Either of these gases in sufficient quantity can quickly sneak up on you without warning and knock you unconscious with sometimes lethal consequences. Play it safe, cook outside.
Store food inside your car unless you're in bear country. In bear country store food in a bear-proof container suspended 30 feet in the air between two trees a safe distance away from your campsite. A hungry bear can make short work of your car if he wants to get inside, so avoid storing food there. The same goes for toothpaste, shaving cream, and etc. To put things in perspective, think of it this way. If a hungry bear came around your campsite, how far away would he have to be so that you would feel
comfortable? Let me tell you a quick story...
We arrived about midnight one night at a State Campground and hauled our tent out to begin setting it up. We left the car running with the headlights on to see by. Minutes later as we were clearing the setup area of twigs I heard something crash in the car. I turned around to see two medium-sized raccoons next to the car. One was carting away our bread and the other was cheering him on. They were extremely bold. They growled, hissed and stood their ground when I tried to scare them off with a flashlight.
If a running well-lit car (both inside and out), and people working 10-15 feet away weren't a deterrent, you can imagine what they'd do to a deserted tent full of food. This is why rangers tell visitors not to feed the animals. People think it's cute to feed the animals when they're small, but down the road as they get bigger and lose their fear of people they get more aggressive and take what they want. This may even result in the rangers having to put them down... not cool. So, as we learned, keep you car doors closed and avoid feeding the animals... even if it's unintentional
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