A Camper's Dozen: 13 Tips To Successful Meals In Camp (Part 1)

» rnch - Be Prepared in less than 1001 steps

Just teasing about the subject line!

After reading "A Camper's Dozen: 13 Tips To Successful Meals In Camp (Part 1)", I was reminded of a few things that I/we do when we're preparing to camp.

I ALWAYS keep a copy of the instructions of how to set up our tent, in the "dry box" of goodies. Our "Dry Box" is one of those 20-something gallon tote boxes that simply houses our dry, tools and other gear. Here is a list of things that I keep in our box:

DRY BOX:

Tent instructions, 25' HD Extention cord, 9' household ext. Cord, oven mitts, table cloth w/ holders, hooded emergency-type light (I store the light bulb inside of the oven mitts), pliers, screwdriver, axe, spare tent stakes, stake remover, plastic drinking cups, dish detergent, dish scrubber unit (sponged handled thingy w/the detergent stored in the handle), long handled spatula & Tongs, can opener (of course, I also have one of the old military style ones on my key chain, too),2 kitchen towels, dish cloth, enamel cookware set (inc. plates, cups, skillet, coffee maker), cutlery/flatware, toilet tissue and Kleenex (stored in sealable plastic bags),paper towels, plastic garbage bags, Frisbee, deck of cards, First Aid Book & First Aid Kit (if you take nothing else on your camping trip - TAKE FIRST AID equipment!!), matches (sealed in plastic), lighter, fly swatter, a perk-type coffee maker (by having 2 coffee pots-one can keep hot water going and the other can make coffee/tea/hot cocoa), powdered soap,a couple of clothes pins, liquid soap, rotary beater, spare bottle of citronella oil, small length of rope (for incidentals or mini-clothes line), twist ties (great for keeping the door zippers closed so that the dog can't go out, by herself!!), survival-type corded metal saws (looks like two metal key rings suspending a short span of metal cord), scissors, candle, & I'm sure there is something else packed in there, on the bottom! And ALL of this fits into one of those $ 5.00 totes that you get at Wal-Mart or K-Mart. Some of the smaller items are stored in an old baby fomula can that will also fit inside of the tote.

I know some of my over-preparedness tends to drive my husband a little batty. But I guarantee that every time he has said "I wish I had something that... or I wonder if we have..." I was able to provide!

If any of you are looking for any other ideas as to what to pack; feel free to ask. I just love making camping lists!!

Cyndi

-- posted by rnch

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» sckaroly - My military mentality

Thanks for the post Cyndi.

After spending 20 years in the Seabee reserves, one gets what we called "mountout mentality." Everything a unit owns goes into green plywood "mountout" boxes. I've adapted the same for my camping outfit.

The kitchen (being a navy man, I should say galley) fits into an old Army footlocker. There's just enough room for:

• 12-qt. stockpot, a 1-qt. backpacking pot, skillet, 8-qt. saucepan and a small pan
  
• Coffee pot, cheese grader, an old (antique?) Landers, Frary and Clark meat grinder
  
• Wood cutting board, utensils, garlic press, a few thermometers and a dinnerware set
  
• 2 Rubbermaid dish tubs (1 for wash, the other for rinse)
  
• Plates, bowls, cups, misc. Tupperware, etc.
  
• Dishwashing detergent, bleach (or commercial sanitizer), Ziploc bags (2 sizes), aluminum foil, sponge and matches

My knives fit into a canvas cutlery roll, which goes in the Jeep with me (I protect them like my children!).

We've been using this set up for about 10 years and it's worked well. But I'm ready to get a chuckbox and build a new kitchen box. I'll use the chuckbox (see Western Camping Boxes at http://www.westerncampingboxes.com/sys-t... as the dinnerware box and use the kitchen box for all the pots and pans. Since I like to feed larger groups on occasion, I need a box that'll hold commercial restaurant cookware.

I have a 5-gal. plastic pail with one of those wrap around organizers for construction workers that is my fire kit. It holds my Dutch oven lid lifters, lid rests, steel hooks, hand saw, straw brush and tongs for handling briquettes and coals from the fire.

For tools, I purchased a Sears 3-drawer tool box about 10 years ago. All my tools and repair items like stove generators, spare cap for the landern and stove gas tanks, rubber bands, nails, screws, clamps, glue, candles, etc. goes into the tool box. The tool box serves both as my home tool box and my camping tool box and repair kit. I never take anything out of the tool box. So, if I'm going to someone's house to help with repair, my camping repair kit goes along. It serves a good duel purpose that way.

Along the way, I'll post pictures of the Karoly camp set up, especially of the galley and campfire.

-- posted by sckaroly

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