"Green" camping tips

“This ran in the local freebie. I mean, it's pretty obvious it was written by someone with limited experience.

I thought it might be fun to rip it apart on here. There are some solid suggestions, nothing earth shattering, but some it is jsut bogus. I mean, there are spots I go where you HAVE to have DEET or you are very unhappy. One of those shaking flashlights? I thought the U.S. Forest Service DISCOURAGED bringing in wood from elsewhere because of the potential for introduced species.

Anyway, curious to hear what you guys have to say. I might be motivated to send a letter to the editor...


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Summer's here and the time is right for ... camping! This year, as you trek out into the great outdoors with your family and friends, don’t forget to take the green trail. Here are a slew of ideas for camping with care for the planet:

Set up camp in designated areas. This helps protect undisturbed flora and important habitat for wildlife.


Do not feed the wildlife. Feeding wildlife can contribute to poor nutrition and encourages nuisance behavior.

Check for fire bans at your site. Due to weather conditions and time of year, camping sites may ban all fires.

Bury your waste at least 6-7 inches deep and burn the toilet paper. If there is a fire ban, pack used toilet paper out.

Use reusable utensils and dishes. It’s one of the best ways to reduce your waste.


Wash dishes with hot water or use biodegradable soaps at least 100 feet from water sources, such as rivers and lakes.

Lock up food in animal-proof storage bins or vehicles. If bins aren’t available or you’ve hiked to your site, hanging food from a tree out of the reach of critters works well.

Only make fires in designated pits or demarcated areas to ensure your fire is easily controlled and doesn’t pose a threat to nearby vegetation.


Prepare foods that require little or no cooking. Get a little creative with fresh organic fruits and veggies to make salads a staple meal. For organic, packaged food made just for campers, visit www.backcountryfood.org.

If you must cook, use a solar cooker or a denatured-alcohol stove. Denatured-alcohol is a renewable fuel source and an environmentally friendly way to heat your food and water.

Leave no trash behind. Pack it out or burn items that aren’t laden with toxins (burning plastic is a huge environmental no-no!)

Bring or locally purchase wood for campfires. Don’t strip the surrounding environment of its natural habitat.

Become a master at extinguishing fires to prevent devastating forest fires. Put out a fire by pouring a liberal amount of water over burning coals. Then cover with a thick layer of dirt and mix well, making a pasty mud. Make sure you mix from the bottom of the fire up—potentially dangerous coals can linger several inches below the surface. Once you’ve broken up and extinguished all coals, saturate your mixture with another bucket of water.

'Wild' outdoor activities for kids
Track animals. Teach children to identify the animals that live where you camp by the shape, size and unique characteristics of animal tracks. A good tracker can recreate an animal’s behavior from tracks, disturbed vegetation and other clues left behind.

Observe wildlife. Bird watching is one of my favorite pastimes. It’s like being a fly on the wall in the world of a bird. They’re full of strange, exciting behaviors, and once you learn what they mean, it’s like you understand their language. It’s an incredible way to connect with nature. My favorite field guide is David Sibley’s The Sibley Guide to Birds. And if you and your children find creatures like snakes and lizards under rocks and fallen logs, make sure to replace the rock or log before you return the animal to his home to be sure you don’t accidentally squash it. Once you’ve returned the habitat exactly the way you found it, release the animal and let it make its way back into its home.


Replace ghost stories with a good book. Encourage a love of books and storytelling by reading kids their bedtime stories by the campfire.

Stargaze. Can you believe how many stars you can see when they’re not drowned out by city lights? Spend time kickin’ it with your kids gazing up at the sky. If your children are interested in astronomy, show them the constellations. If they’re too young, let your imagination go and see how many shapes, animals and objects you and your kids can find in the stars—just like clouds.

The green camper's checklist
Camping gear. If you’re in need, visit www.campinggearguide.com and click on “Used Gear” to locate used items for sale. For new gear, consider items made from recycled or organic products. These days, most outdoor companies produce a few items that meet these standards.

Outdoor clothing. If you need appropriate outdoor clothing, think about visiting a local second-hand store—here’s an annoyingly long URL that lists thrift stores in Sacramento and the surrounding areas—www.communitycouncil.org/level-4//InfoLine-Sacramento/lists/thrift_stores.pdf. Or if you really want to buy new, visit www.patagonia.com, the environmentally friendly outdoor-clothing company.


Wind-up flashlights and lanterns. These can’t-go-without green-camping items are the best! No batteries and a few cranks on the handle give you light that lasts. I love mine!

Pooper-scooper. Try the U-Dig-It. (A friend of mine swears by using a stick to dig his personal commode. Uh, no thanks! I’m all about handy tools.) This stainless steel hand shovel conveniently folds in half and fits into a nylon belt pack.

Biodegradable soap. Seventh Generation and Dr. Bronner’s are both great.

Natural insect repellent. No on DEET. Try Burt’s Bees Herbal Insect Repellent or Quantum Buzz Away.

Water treatment. Hand-driven water pumps that attach to your reusable water bottles are a big hit to purify water. They’re simple to work by merely pumping and don’t require additives like purifying tablets that cost extra and come in additional packaging. Sacramento’s Solar Cookers International WAPI ($6) is also another great option. This infinitely reusable plastic tube indicates when boiling water reaches the pasteurization temperature and is easy enough for a young child to use.

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=353499
last edited: 7/19/07 1:54:06 PM”

“Replace ghost stories with a good book. Encourage a love of books and storytelling by reading kids their bedtime stories by the campfire.

WTF does that have to do with being green. heck, its the anti-green. Ghost stories use no resources while a book cost a tree its life. With that said, I love books, but at a campfire, taking turns telling ghost stories is the shiznits.”

“the entire first half of that was a blatant copy and past from every other outdoor pamplet i've seen, I think it's from the LNT site”

“What hyway said....can't lose the bacon ring story.”

“or Randall's Ohio River story”

“You're right on, as usual, Hyway. I was going to buy your book, but now I'll just tell myself some stories.”

“I am terrible representative for authors. I rarely buy books. Its my policy to never read a book that hasn't been read by someone else first :), ie: library, yard sales, used book stores. Tomorrow night will be an exception when I buy two copies of the same book ... whoohooo for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Its also why I made the first 51 pages of my book available as a free preview. No problem if you don't like it, but if you do .... ;)”

“Water treatment. Hand-driven water pumps that attach to your reusable water bottles are a big hit to purify water.

Hand driven water pumps?? HUH???”

“hmmm, so thats what all those dudes are doing with their back to me down by the creek. I thought they were celebrating being single.”

“EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!”

“That was too dam funny Hyway. LMAO!

Here's a Meangreen camping tip for ya: Don't drink a whole fifth of Knob creek in one evening then try to get in your tent! You may fall on it...
It's always best to get Randall to help you with it a little... "Maybe just a little bit... well, ok maybe just a little more... hey Mean you got any of that left? Well if you insist... " LOL! JK Randall.”

“Bring or locally purchase wood for campfires. Don’t strip the surrounding environment of its natural habitat.

yea, that ones completely ass-backwards

Become a master at extinguishing fires to prevent devastating forest fires. Put out a fire by pouring a liberal amount of water over burning coals. Then cover with a thick layer of dirt and mix well, making a pasty mud. Make sure you mix from the bottom of the fire up—potentially dangerous coals can linger several inches below the surface. Once you’ve broken up and extinguished all coals, saturate your mixture with another bucket of water.

a little overkill in most places. if you need to go thru that much trouble to be sure its out, maybe you shouldnt have fire.

good point, hyway, about the books.

this was obviously aimed at beginners, so keep that in mind before flaming it. mostly good advice, except for the firewood thing.”

“I just came back from northern MI and as you are crossing "the bridge" they have a fire wood collection station on the north side for anyone trying to bring wood into the UP. It is even on the radio as you cross telling you not to bring it in, or you will be fined.
In Kentucky there is a $5000 fine for bringing in firewood.”

“locally purchased wood, ok. but it is never a good idea to bring wood, just to be on the safe side”

“Bash Crang! How you go?!”

“harmless

if post car campers did 1/2 of the things on the list car camping sites would be a better place.”

“Yeah, screw the ghost stories.  Read Uncle Remus stories aloud.  Or porn.

You don't have to kick anything to watch the stars.  A small star wheel and binoculars are nice to have.  Leave the "shiznit" at home.”

“tilt hates ebonics-racist”

“Do not eat the yellow snow.

Not green, but good advice.”

“And Mister Fox, he lay low ---”

“So much for going ultralight, I might as well go back to a 45 pound pack.”

“Have you ever actually tried reading the "Uncle Remus" stories out loud, Tilt? That's a serious challenge.”

“Yes.... And it's also quite a challenge for anyone trying to understand WTF you're saying!  LOL”