Planning an outdoor adventure down to the smallest details may seem like something you shouldn’t do to enjoy the essence of an adventure, but doing so can save you from stress and danger.
It’s one thing to pack your things in a big bag and go somewhere far, but it’s another to actually enjoy the activity rather than stressing about the things you didn’t prepare or bring with you to make the experience free from problems.
The problems can range from the lack of enough drinking water down to your bladder. You can get potable water from natural resources outdoors, but you’re fortunate if you run into bathroom stalls during your adventure. They’ll be in areas known for adventure activities, but in lesser-known areas, you’ll find a shortage of luck in finding them.
Those are just two of the situations you may encounter while out in the wild. To help you have a memorable—in a good way—experience, here’s a list of useful tips you can use to plan your next adventure in the great outdoors:
1. Don’t get lost in the excitement
It can be quite thrilling to imagine the experience you’ll be getting once you begin your adventure. The feeling can drive you and the people you’re going on the adventure with on a suggestion vomiting session, where you all throw out so many ideas that the important aspects of the preparation get buried.
To make sure you and your friends don’t forget assignments and things to remember, make sure to keep your chat groups or personal conversations about the trip organized. We all rely on our mobile phones to tell us things, and you can’t afford your phone forgetting to tell you about bringing toilet paper because you unknowingly replaced the reminders with other things.
2. Plan for the unexpected
We get it. You’re going on an adventure out of the city to experience the unexpected. But what if that unexpected is something that isn’t the fun and thrill you’re looking for?
That’s the reason why you should plan for the bad sort of unexpected. Bring the right amount—or a little more—of food, water, tent, first aid kit, flashlights with durable batteries, sleeping bags, handy weapons, and other essentials that can save your life.
As you plan your trip with your friends, make sure to allocate time for brainstorming the things you’ll need to prepare and bring to make the trip comfortable rather than stressful.
The last thing you want is not to have enough resources and end up going home and spoiling the experience.
3. Pick a destination that is agreed to by everyone
It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned camper who can camp out in the most remote and dangerous areas out there. What matters is that you’re going to camp with other people whose experience with camping varies. Some also aren’t knowledgeable of coping with different environments, and deciding without considering these factors can cause problems or put them in danger.
To ensure the adventure will be good for everyone, make sure to carefully discuss the destination choices available and let everyone vote for their preferred ones. Discuss it until you get down to a single destination everyone agrees to.
4. Delegate tasks
You don’t have an oven or a fridge to rely on while you’re out camping. It’s important to establish roles within your group. This ensures that everything is in check because there are people in charge of them, making forgotten essentials less likely.
Assign people who will set up the camp, cook, start a bonfire, and do the cleaning. This also decreases the likeliness of most tasks falling on one person who’s nice enough to do them all. That will ruin the whole outdoor adventure for that person because it would seem like they went out of their way to cook, clean, and set up beds.
5. Plan meals ahead of time
It’s not an easy task to prepare and cook food outdoors. You don’t have access to the convenience of stoves, ovens, refrigerators, and other kitchen appliances that makes cooking easy as pie. You can be the best cook in the group, but you can’t cook a good meal without the things you need.
To take the weight off outdoor cooking, it’s good to plan meals before starting the trip. Even better if you cook your meals before going on the road. Just make sure you cook food that doesn’t turn bad easily and cook enough portions for everyone. Good food can change the trip’s quality.
