How do you go about setting up camp?

[Shrewd]

You guys and gals had so many good answers when I asked about dirty clothes I felt I should ask a broader question; just how do you set up camp after a long day?

So far I've only been an overnighter, so I drop my pack, set up my tent, then wander around with my dog song the rivers or side trails or what not until it's time to eat.
Then I unload the rest of my crap and eat, rinse, then change. Most of the stuff gets shoved into the tent unless it's nasty, then I leave it in the vestibule.

I'm curious what you pros have worked out, any time saving secrets? Dish washing techniques?

[lonehiker]

You've got it down pat.

[Trailweaver]

That's about what I do. I do normally set up my tent first thing in case of a sudden shower. If other campers are around, I will talk to them if they seem friendly, and offer help if someone seems to need it or appreciate it. If there's a lot of daylight left & I'm tired, I will lie down & read. As to dishwashing, if I have a greasy cleanup (I sometimes fry fish), I wipe the pan out with a paper towel to remove most of the grease, then wash all the dishes with a little biodegradable soap, away from the creek, & disperse the water out into the woods away from camp. At bedtime I heat a little water for a hot drink (if it's cool at night), and use the water that's left for a bath water wash-up.

[Slo-go'en]

Generally, you don't have to be in a hurry to set up camp in the evening, as often you have time to kill.

Packing up in the morning is a different story. Some people waste a lot of time getting going, taking hours. Once I decide to get up, I can typically be hiking within 30 minutes. Make sure you have sufficient water available for the morning so you don't have to get more unless the water is real close.

1- deflate sleeping pad while laying on it.
2- put on clothes
3- stuff sleeping bag
4- roll up sleeping pad
5- pee, poop
6 - break down tent if using it
7 - pack the pack
8- go get food bag from tree
9 - eat a pop tart or Honey Bun (no cooking in the morning)
10 - start hiking.

[Odd Man Out]

If I'm eating supper at my campsite, I will get that started first (assuming it's not raining or threatening). While my meal rehydrates in the pot cozy (15 to 2 min) I set up the tent (which packs on the outside pocket so it's easy to get to. Inside the pack, things are packed in reverse order I need them (first in is last out). The food bag is already out for cooking so now the clothes bag will be on top. Throw that in bottom of the tent. Next are the pad and pillow. Inflate those. Last is the sleeping bag. Lay that on top of the pad. Go eat. BTW, if I want to wander off to explore, get water, etc... and I am camping on my own (not by a shelter), I might wait until after supper is done and cleaned up and then take my food bag with me (or hang from tree). Not a good idea to leave food unattended.

[MuddyWaters]

Stop and eat somewhere with water and rest.
Then hike a few more miles , carry whatever water needed for next leg, camp anywhere want.
Hang bear cord first if hanging food
Set up shelter, put stuff inside, get in and go to bed. All gear under shelter wirh you
Get up early, hit trail

[Lyle]

A couple of tips to add to the OP list. If the air is not wringing wet with humidity, and especially if you are expecting a cool to cold evening, get your sleeping bag out early, shortly after arriving at camp. If the weather is nice, hang it out in the sun to get a little drying time, if it's not that nice, spread it out inside your tent/shelter so it can loft up and recover from being compressed all day. It will be warmer.

Make sure you get the bag under cover before the evening dew starts to settle or you defeat your purpose.

If it is raining hard or constant, or the humidity is extremely high, then leaving it packed away and compressed until just before bed will keep it drier, and thus warmer in the long run. Always hand fluff your sleeping bag before crawling into it.

Along the same lines, in the morning, if you plan to head out quickly, and especially if it's a cold morning, pack your sleeping bag IMMEDIATELY after you crawl out of it. This will expel most of the warm, moist air out of the bag's insulation before it has a chance to cool down and condense inside the bag. This simple trick can keep your bag substantially drier over the course of a week or more. If you are taking your time in the morning, and is a nice day, hang the bag out to air and dry prior to packing it up just before you break camp.

Also, figure out how much water you want the next day, plus your breakfast and some to drink during the night. If you need to filter/treat more, do it in the evening instead of waiting until morning.

[Leo L.]

When there is any time and chance, first thing I do I make some narrow and wider circles around the proposed site, to be clear about my neighborhood, to see if, and what people are around, look for hidden waste, scat, tracks, other signs of animal activity, possible surface water ways, dangerous/dead trees, possible rockfall and so on.
Next comes the preparation of the campsite surface (provide an even surface, remove everything dangerous to the pad)
Then I continue with unloading the self inflating pad and the sleeping bag (no tent in the desert), and start cooking.

In the morning it takes me 15-20 minutes to break camp and continue hiking, eating only a granula bar on the go.

[Another Kevin]

Getting the bearbag line up in a tree (or between two trees if there's no suitable branch) is job #1 after a quick walkaround to survey the site. Everything else I can do in the dark, but it gets much harder to hang a bag when the light is bad.

[displacedbeatnik]

Usually I run to the privy very quickly first since if I'm within a mile or two of a site when the urge hits, I wait.

[rafe]

Scope out a tent site, set up tent. Fetch water. Scope out a proper tree limb for the food-bag rope, get the food-bag rope in place so I don't have to do that in the dark. (It's not exactly a rope, but never mind.)

Once tent is up, empty the pack into the tent, allow air pad and sleeping bag to decompress. The rest of the evening depends on the weather and on present company. Dinner prep might be slow and leisurely if weather allows, or hasty if not. If weather is sufficiently foul I may forego hot dinner and eat snack food - for a number of reasons, I don't want to be cooking in or near my tent.

Hoisting of the food-bag is one of the last activities before retiring to the tent for the evening.

Morning: Retrieve the food bag and rope. Pack up and ship out. Cooking breakfast takes too much time. Eat something on the way or at a scenic spot up the trail a bit. That's just me. Some folks gotta have a proper cooked b'fast.

[daddytwosticks]

A couple of tips to add to the OP list. If the air is not wringing wet with humidity, and especially if you are expecting a cool to cold evening, get your sleeping bag out early, shortly after arriving at camp. If the weather is nice, hang it out in the sun to get a little drying time, if it's not that nice, spread it out inside your tent/shelter so it can loft up and recover from being compressed all day. It will be warmer.

Make sure you get the bag under cover before the evening dew starts to settle or you defeat your purpose.

If it is raining hard or constant, or the humidity is extremely high, then leaving it packed away and compressed until just before bed will keep it drier, and thus warmer in the long run. Always hand fluff your sleeping bag before crawling into it.

Along the same lines, in the morning, if you plan to head out quickly, and especially if it's a cold morning, pack your sleeping bag IMMEDIATELY after you crawl out of it. This will expel most of the warm, moist air out of the bag's insulation before it has a chance to cool down and condense inside the bag. This simple trick can keep your bag substantially drier over the course of a week or more. If you are taking your time in the morning, and is a nice day, hang the bag out to air and dry prior to packing it up just before you break camp.

Also, figure out how much water you want the next day, plus your breakfast and some to drink during the night. If you need to filter/treat more, do it in the evening instead of waiting until morning.

Agree 100%. Very good tips about the sleeping bag. :)

[Dogwood]

When insect pressure is low and when weather is fair no physical need for any shelter. Cowboy camping saves time on set up and break down. Sleeping in carried shelters(tents, hammocks, etc) or lean tos is many times done for psychological reasons and out of convenience. I've gotten over the need for both.


When you're more of a hiker rather than a camper setting up elaborate or time consuming camps is not typical. Camping becomes a smaller component of the experience. This is getting back to the idea that many people can be placed into one of two categories. They either move (hike) more than they stay still or the reverse of that. No judgments on supposed right or wrong.


It's typically well after sunset when I stop hiking. Stop. Look around accessing the possible campsite: widow makers, game trails/wildlife signs, loose rocks that could roll my way, wind direction, wind blocks/heat sinks(like large boulders, evergreens, groves, etc ), elevation, amount of foliage/possible condensation issues, privacy, water flow assessment, ground detail(roots, glass, pine needles, sand, snow, ice, leaf, duff, wet/damp/bone dry, etc). Ground clothe gets layed out. Everything gets emptied from the pack. Sleeping bag is lofted. Empty pack goes under my knees to feet. Shortie sleep pad is laid out. Sleeping bag/quilt is laid on top. Change to dry and somewhat clean clothing especially socks. Usually a beanie and vest gets put on to keep from getting chilled especially if I was sweaty. I get water or already have water. I don't need to sleep at my water source. All small stuff is laid out in a few small Ziplocs to my right or left torso usually on a pack liner/pack cover. I have on and sleep with my head lamp. I'm in my bag/quilt within 20 mins. It's typical for me to hike from 6-7 a.m to 10-11 p.m. often even in winter. I'm often a night hiker particularly if the trail is amendable to it and/or if I got a late, past 7 a.m start. UGGH! If I'm in an area I'm not overly concerned about wildlife dangers like Brown Bears/wolves/known black bear problems/etc I NEATLY eat laying in my sleeping bag/quilt as I'm looking at maps for that day adding additional notes to these maps, previewing topos for the following day, going over some next day trail logistics, tending to feet/cuts/injuries(sometimes I may air out cuts so have to apply a antiseptic/anti friction balm/Band Aids, etc in the morn), mentally examining gear for wear/etc, writing in a trail journal, etc. I may get up to take a leak while at the same time walking away from my sleeping area to clean my pot which usually requires just a rinse with water or sand. No, you don't need water to always "clean" cookware. Don't fret. In town cookware is soaked in diluted bleach or H2O2. I've been getting away from heating morn meals so the cookware is all put together ready to go back into the pack in the morn. My next days snacks/trail mix/etc are arranged at the top of my sealed food bag often using it as a pillow over my trail runners. In my food bag is often a Ziploc or additional Opsack garbage bag. All garbage goes immediately into this sack ready for the next morn before time. I lay out my many supplements, about 20-30 miles of topo maps, and what I expect to be wearing for the morning start. Once I'm up which is always before sunrise as it's when the birds start making noise I'm packed up moving within 20 mins. I've gotten down the get up and go cowboy camping and even heating a b'fast in 20 mins or less. When the usual same gear, which again there isn't a lot of to begin with, goes in the usual same places it's easier on the time management.

Repeat for 4.5 months while mixing in other experiences, laughing your arse off at your silly self and others, not taking everything so seriously, considering others , etc and it's over all too soon. Yo Yo anyone?


What helps is having some routine as to how you pack your backpack based on what's most needed at camp in the order it's needed and reversing all that at pack up time. Plus, it's really a huge time saver not carrying too much to keep track of and take care of so as a strictish ULer in camp I know where every is always at. Also since, most items have more than one purpose you use them more so less chance to be absent minded about losing or misplacing stuff since it's employed more often. I find it easier and more productive in regards to time management, getting a good nights sleep, and being respectful of others to camp away from large crowds with my camping/hiking style.

[jbbweeks]

When there is any time and chance, first thing I do I make some narrow and wider circles around the proposed site, to be clear about my neighborhood, to see if, and what people are around, look for hidden waste, scat, tracks, other signs of animal activity, possible surface water ways, dangerous/dead trees, possible rockfall and so on.
Next comes the preparation of the campsite surface (provide an even surface, remove everything dangerous to the pad)
Then I continue with unloading the self inflating pad and the sleeping bag (no tent in the desert), and start cooking.

In the morning it takes me 15-20 minutes to break camp and continue hiking, eating only a granula bar on the go.

So many forget to look up. Widow makers can ruin your night, especially if it's windy.

[rocketsocks]

Some will wait to set up a tent just before bed, that way if some weirdo shows up, they pick up and move on a little further down the trail...me I'd just tell to go away!

[dudeijuststarted]

All of that except I'm not wandering around on side trails. Rest those puppies (your feet and the real dogs!)

[Rex Clifton]

I'm a hammocker. If it's raining, first I setup the fly, then the hammock. This keeps things nice and dry. If dry, I set up the hammock first then the tarp, laving in the snake skin. The I jump in the hammock for a siesta before making dinner. It takes, at the most 10 minutes.

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