Camping in Canada, Europe, and Around the World

There are hundreds of campsites around the U.S. and Canada, and around Europe, Australia and many other parts of the globe.

Whether you like desert areas, evergreen trees, lakes and mountains, or even swampland, there's a campsite to match your taste. You can camp out in the hot sands of Arizona or Nevada. You can head for lush, green New Hampshire or Idaho and you can head south to the Ozarks.

If you've seen much of the U.S. and want to expand your horizons, there are just as many campsites in Canada. Though desert and swampland will be harder to find, there is just as much or more of mountains, lakes and forests.

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The Rocky Mountain chain in British Columbia is even larger and more impressive than it is in Colorado. In the west there are dry areas, similar to Eastern Washington, that offer wineries for a nice break along your trip. Farther north there's the frozen tundra similar to the type that gives much of Alaska its stark beauty. To the east there are the amazing lands of Ontario and Quebec, where the lakes and forests rival anything to be found in Vermont or Maine.

You may want to search even farther out by heading off to Europe.

Areas of Siberia are much like Alaska, only larger than even that huge state. The Black Forest extends larger than some states and the variety of trees and wildlife is second to none anywhere. The Altay mountains offer kayaking, horseback riding, climbing and a dozen other activities. The similarities to the U.S. allow you to apply your U.S. camping knowledge, while the differences will excite all your senses with the thrill of the new.

The Black Forest of Germany in Baden-Wurttemberg is one of the world's most renown camping areas on the planet and for good reason. With one of the world's largest lakes you won't lack for entertainment near the water. Brush up on a few words of German, though. Most of the tourism is from Germany and Switzerland and you may find communication a challenge.

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You could head south to Greece where you'll find sunny beaches and glorious stark, rocky hills overlooking stunning blue water. Or you can head inland 20 km and explore some of the area away from the coast. Greece is especially popular with younger campers, so you're sure to strike up a friendship.

Portugal has its own share of sunny beach campgrounds, too. Or you can take off for the mountains where the locals have been accommodating campers for generations. You can find everything from little more than bare ground to fully equipped campsites with showers, restaurants and sports activities.

The UK has a hundred options in a half-dozen countries. Swansea in Wales is near the sea, while Gwynedd in the far north has spectacular blue-green mountains. Scotland has two dozen major areas, around the coast with views of wild seas of Orkney or high in the Highland mountains.

Anywhere you want to go and any type of atmosphere you want to enjoy is available. Let the world be your oyster. Pick a pearl.

Dress for Camping Success

Common sense is anyone's best guide for the first step in how to dress for camping. But there are some specifics that will help inform you how to exercise that common sense.

First, consider the season and climate for your site. It's obvious to say that if you want to camp in New Hampshire in the winter, you'll choose one type of wardrobe. If your plans call for hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee in the summer, that calls for a different sort.

But the basic principles remains the same in either case: you want good protection and proper thermal control.

To satisfy the first principle, select sturdy clothing. It may look cool in a TV commercial to dress in an Hawaiian shirt and thin cotton shorts out in the woods. But that's the quickest way to suffer scrapes and cuts, not to mention exposure to toxic plants. In that environment, those can quickly turn septic and campsites are often far away from professional medical facilities.

Pick a shirt that is comfortable, but made of durable material. Synthetic blends of cotton, wool and modern materials satisfy both criteria.

For colder climates, choose thicker clothing, but it should be wickable and breathable. 'Wickable' means that it transports sweat from your skin to the outer layer of the garment. Breathable is similar in that it moves air in and out. Good shirts will do that, while maintaining good insulation.

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For truly cold weather camping you will want to underlay that with some thermal underwear. Today those are made from blends of polypropylene, Capilene, cotton and other materials.

Wool provides good insulation, but it is mildly uncomfortable directly against the skin and worse if it gets wet. It becomes heavy and stays wet for a long time. Pure cotton is very comfortable, but it provides only moderate insulation and doesn't wick well. Go for modern blends.

For warmer climates, maintaining dry skin is still important. Dressing looser helps that, but you still need durable material to protect against tree branches, bushes and minor rock scrapes.

The same considerations apply to thermal underwear for the lower half of the body and to pants, during winter camping. Wickable, breathable, good insulation, sturdy and lightweight are important factors - and achievable in the same garment thanks to modern materials. Shorts, for warm climate camping, should only be worn in areas where you have lots of open space.

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For outer layers in cold weather you want a jacket or coat that keeps off rain and snow and insulates well. But it should also be lightweight and not bulky. You need to be able to move freely. Fortunately, those can be had together thanks to advances in material in the last 20 years.

Synthetic down, Primaloft, Thinsulate and other materials - combined with more contemporary geometry used to arrange them - provide wicking, warmth and insulation in a comfortable, lightweight garment.

For warmer climates, but ones subject to rain, Gore-Tex is a great material - waterproof, but breathable. Garments made with it are sometimes more expensive, but well worth the extra cost. The best hiking boots, for example, all use Gore-Tex.

Remember, the common sense guidelines still apply. Dress in layers to allow you to adjust for the conditions, but keep it lightweight so you don't have to carry around heavy items that make camping a burden. Protect yourself from the elements and you'll enjoy your trip that much more.

Can You Pack Light and Bring What You Need?

The military has a term for moving personal equipment from place to place that backpackers have adopted - humping your gear. It's apt. There's something about the phrase that suggests effort, and that is certainly true. Hauling personal gear for camping and hiking can be one of the less thrilling parts of the experience.

In order to minimize the downside, give some thought to what you truly need for where you're going. A little research into the specific campsites you pick for your trip will reveal a lot of back saving information.

You'll find out whether the campsite has running water (some do, many do not), and whether there are showers (rare, but less so as time passes). Try to get a person, either via phone or email, and ask specifically about quality. Some water suitable for bathing or cleaning dishes isn't something you'd want to drink.

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Always bring a few gallons of drinking water, just in case. But keep in mind that a gallon of water (about 4 liters) weighs about 8 lbs (3.6 kg). You don't want to have to haul much of that on your back.

Think about the climate. Sleeping bags have gotten much lighter in recent years, but they still weigh about 4 lbs (1.8 kg) at best. Also, though they roll up to a nice tight size these days, they are still one of the bulkier items you will carry. Don't pack a winter sleeping bag if you're going summer camping and vice-versa.

Tents today are much lighter than their heavy canvas grandfathers. Today's tents are made from lightweight, tough nylon. Heavy steel poles are a thing of the past. With internal frames, using aluminum or fiberglass, it's possible to get a strong tent in a low mass package. But here again they weigh at least nearly 4 lbs and the more pole support the heavier they are.

To lighten your load select a tent that is no larger than what you actually need. If the weather is expected to be fine, trade space for weight. Gear can be left outside and in some places you can dress outside and still have plenty of privacy.

It's essential that you pack a first aid kit, but the truly needed items can be carried in a small, lightweight package. Wrap around bandages, anti-bacterial cream (less bulk than spray), scissor/tweezer combos and a few other things can weigh under 2 lbs easily. Remember, every pound you carry in, you have to carry out. At least, in the case of first aid gear, you certainly hope so.

A backpack will add another 3 lbs (1.4 kg) and some of the gear like parachute cord (for tying up food bags and other uses), dental floss (useful for a dozen things besides dental hygiene), tooth paste, mirror (for emergency signaling) and a few other essentials will add a few more.

Twenty pounds is about the minimum, and it can reach 40 lbs before you know. It doesn't sound like much, until you start lugging it over a trail to get to your campsite, then lugging it back to the car, moving to the next campsite. If you add a long hike, that weight becomes a significant percentage of your total body weight to haul around.

Take only the essentials and your trip will be that much more pleasant. Give careful thought to your list. You'll be surprised how much you can do without away from home. Then when you get back, you may actually be motivated finally to clean out the garage.

Sleeping Bag Design

Older sleeping bags were little more than a cotton and wool blanket folded over and fitted with a zipper. Modern sleeping bags have benefited from a dozen advances in materials science and ergonomic design, not to mention thousands of (night) hours of field testing.

Almost all have a nylon shell, but that doesn't mean they're all the same, even in that respect. Nylon can be thick or thin, sturdy or fragile, heat conductive or not. It can also be truly waterproof or merely offer a momentary delay in getting soaked. Look for strong, tight seams and composites that truly do the job.

The interior of sleeping bags has changed over the years, with more and more offering superior insulating materials. Some weigh as little as an ounce per square yard. Primaloft, Dupont Thermolite and other synthetics has made it possible to produce a lightweight bag that really keeps the cold out, while still allowing the interior to breathe.

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Clever design has been added to ingenious materials in many models. Those that offer layered synthetic insulation with natural (or even synthetic) down provide excellent temperature control and great comfort. Fill is measured by a number, with 750 now the bottom for a good bag, 900 is better. The number represents the volume occupied by a single cubic ounce of material. Use it to compare bags.

Materials aren't the only thing that's important. Geometry has really been improved in contemporary designs. A full length zipper is important on those nights when it's warm and you want to let a little air in. But having a well shaped mummy hood and draft collar are big advantages on those nights when you don't.

The mummy hood helps keep your arm warm if you're the type to put it under or above your head. It's also designed to allow you stuff clothes and towels beneath a liner to make a pillow. At the other end, space has been expanded in some models to allow those who sleep on their backs to keep their toes pointing up in a comfortable position.

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A bag should keep the cold ground out of the bag while allowing you to move freely. Those characteristics are hard to obtain together, but modern designers have accomplished just that.

At the same time, you want that bottom layer to provide sufficient padding when you don't have an air mattress or cot. Some models accomplish that with a slide-in rollable pad, others have the padding built in. Look for ones that provide adequate comfort without adding excessive weight and bulk.

Your sleeping bag is the most important piece of large equipment you'll take on a camping trip, unless you sleep in an RV or motel. There are those that would argue that isn't really camping. A tent is important, but there are trips where you don't want or need one. Your bag is your last line of defense, and your first line of comfort, for a great night's sleep in the outdoors.

Get a great night's sleep and you'll be well-refreshed to tackle that hike the next day.

Planning Your Camping Trip

Camping should be spontaneous, fun and relaxing. But in order to relax and enjoy that spontaneity, advance planning is a must.

Camping has been a tradition for over 100 years, but back then it wasn't camping so much as just living in the wild for a while. It began in earnest, as a widespread form of vacation, in the 1940s. But it really got going over the following 20 years as the post-WWII economy improved and the highway system developed.

Now, with RVs and the advance of technology camping became enormously popular. Tents, sleeping bags, GPS units, cell phones and much else is much different than 20 years ago. The result? Many campers vie for a spot during certain weeks of the year for a limited number of campsites.

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Commercial campsites sprang up to satisfy the need, but there are limits from economic constraints (many campsites don't make profitable businesses). The number of desirable spots outside National and State parks is limited, too. There's only so much great scenery around.

So, the first step in planning your camping trip is to decide when and where you want to go, then make a reservation. There are hundreds of places online to do that. Two are ReserveUSA (http://www.reserveusa.com) and The National Park Service Reservation Center (http://reservations.nps.gov).

Like booking a good cruise, you'll need to book at least three months ahead and, for the best spots, possibly as much as a year or more. Rooms at the famous Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, often require booking two years in advance. Pretty extraordinary considering that the cheapest room is $350 per night.

Once you have a confirmed reservation you can prepare your packing list. You could throw everything into the SUV and take off. But the odds are high you'll overlook something essential.

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You'll need a well-stocked first aid kit. You should spend time reviewing the list of most common toxic plants for the location you chose and any wildlife warnings for the area. Bears are common in some areas, wild cats in others.

Make a complete list: tents, sleeping bags, clothing, tools, stove, lighting, ... that's appropriate for the place and time of year. That list will be at least one page of four columns full of things even just to hit the basics.

Investigate any road closures, especially if you're planning a winter camping trip. Floods, rocks slides, snow avalanches, ice and other problems are still fairly common.

As the trip date gets close, check the weather. Most camping areas are in the mountains or away from urban areas. Those areas tend to have less predictable weather with sudden rain squalls, thunderstorms, etc. But, you can get a good idea of what you're likely to encounter anyway. Pack accordingly.

Plan ahead carefully and you'll be in a better position to relax and forget about controlling events during your trip.

Identifying Poisonous Plants While Camping

The three most common toxic plants that campers are likely to encounter are poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. Any one of these can cause a painful, itchy rash.

Poison ivy is probably the most common of the three, since it grows throughout most of North America. Shrubs can be as tall as four feet (1.2m), but it is frequently found as ground cover between 4-10 inches (10-25cm) high. It rarely grows above 5,000 feet, but most campsites are below this elevation.

There's an old saying 'leaves of three, let it be' that makes for a good start on identification. The leaves tend to be a dark, dull green but can be purplish at certain times of the year.

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Poison oak also has multi-lobed leaves, with fuzzy fruit on the branches. Sometimes the leaves are scalloped around the edge and can be wrinkled rather than smooth as poison ivy leaves are. Three lobes are more common, but five lobed leaves exist as well.

Poison oak grows in sandy soils from southern New Jersey to Florida, but occur in western parts of the U.S. too, such as Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The range extends north to the Sierra Nevada all the way up to southwestern British Columbia in Canada and as far south as northern Baja California in Mexico. Some types are found in Washington, in the Columbia River gorge, Oregon and Nevada.

Poison ivy is more common in the east, poison oak in the west and south.

Poison sumac is the least widespread, since it prefers very wet soils such as swamps and peat bogs. The leaves are bluish green, sometimes with red tips or tints. The berries on the bush are cream colored. Though less common, it is the most toxic of the three.

All of them produce urushiol, which is the material that sticks to the skin and produces the unpleasant rash. One particular problem with contact is that since urushiol is oily it can easily be spread to parts of the face, hands and elsewhere by casual brushing. The oil tends to stick to parts it contacts and then stays there, where it quickly binds with skin cells.

The rash can range from mild to severe and cortisol creams are usually used to treat the symptoms. The first step to treating it, once you know you've made contact, is to avoid spreading it. Don't touch your face or other parts of the body.

Washing thoroughly with soap and water helps, but once contact has been made some amount of effect is almost inevitable. Fifteen minutes after contact, washing has minimal effect, since the urushiol has already bonded to the skin. There are a fortunate percentage (around 15%) of individuals who are immune to the effects. There's no vaccine and extreme cases can lead to blistering and a burning sensation.

Apply a spray or cream to treat the effects and avoid scratching, no matter how great the temptation. That will only make it worse. The effects take about two weeks to fully wear off, but if treated the itching will subside in a few days to a week.

Avoidance is the best policy.