Clothing, for adults and for children

Camping means leaving the controlled environment of your own home and going out where there is no air conditioning or heater. It also often means leaving the city for the mountains where the weather and temperature is less predictable and more prone to extremes, even in summer. It is important to be prepared for the elements without overpacking. It is also important to make sure every person in your group is prepared, especially if your’re the parent. I got tired of packing for my kids while they ran around in excited distraction so from the time they were in grade school I made them get out their own backpack and handed them a list. Up until they were middle school age I would check the backpack when they were done, but by high school age they were on their own and learned from their mistakes…as life should be.

You have to be ready for sunny heat in the 90sF and overnight lows as chilly as 50F. You want to protect your legs from brush if you’re hiking and be ready to swim if there’s a lake. And with how much other gear you will likely bring, you don’t want to take up more space than a typical school backpack per person. So keep it simple, but bring extra socks.

Clothing For Adults

• Grubby jeans and T-shirts
• Shorts and Sleeveless shirts
• Extra Socks and Undies
• Warm Sweater or Coat
• Comfy Sleep Sweats
• Sturdy Shoes and Sandals
• Swimwear and Towel
• Hat
• Bag for Dirty Laundry

For most adults one set of each type of clothing is enough, with maybe an extra shirt. You know what you like. And it is okay to get dirty when you are camping. Let me say it again. There is no need to be perfectly clean and put together when you are in the woods. Relax. If the jeans get dirt on them they are still okay to wear another day. Or wear your sweats or leggings. Or just set aside a clean outfit to wear on the way home. Wear your sandals around the campsite, slip them off to go into the tent, and clean feet with baby wipes before bed. Relax, it’s camping, not a fashion show.

Clothing for Children

• Exactly the same as for adults, only twice as much.
• Reserve one clean outfit for the trip home
• Definitely a bag for dirty/wet laundry!

Children have an affinity for dirt. Some more than others, of course. My oldest could wear a white outfit at the age of two and still be spotless at the end of the day while his brother got the dark blue because he couldn’t stay clean for five minutes. One trip in particular taught me that for small children you have to pack more than you think you need and then double it. One day I will write the entire story of what we jokingly call the boat trip from hell. For now it’s enough to say that while my husband was making sure that our gear was properly stowed in the boat I was getting the almost 2 and 3 year olds into life jackets. The younger was supposed to go to Papa while I got his brother ready when I heard Papa yelling his name. My first horrified thought was that he was running down the dock to tumble into the water. Reality was both better and worse. The child was on his back in a puddle making mud angels, happy as a clam. That was one set of clothes ruined and we had barely gotten out of the truck. It went downhill from there.

Moral of the story is that kids are going to get their clothes wet and dirty and they should be allowed to do it. They will have fun and will learn from experience why it isn’t really the best idea, but you also have to be prepared to get the clothes dried or have another set so they can warm up as needed. I believe I have added a clothesline and clothespins in the list of tools. It is a good idea to string this up between a couple of trees (no nails!) so that you can let the really soppy clothes drip dry before throwing in the laundry bag. Also it gives a place for your swim suits and towels to hang so your tent floor doesn’t become a terrible mess. If you forget the clothesline you could throw things across the tent, but they do have a tendency to slide to the ground.

I think that covers it. One thing that some people find fun is to have a designated camping sweatshirt that then shows up in every set of photos from every year. Papa had his vest. Another friend had a favorite jacket. Now when the kids look at the pictures they get a kick out of remembering. And isn’t making memories what camping is really about?