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Corn chips for kindling
Backroads Mapbooks
Summer is almost here and that means camping season has arrived! Whether you are planning for a long week in the backcountry, or just heading out for a couple days at your local hot spot, it’s good to be prepared. With these Top 10 Camping Hacks, you will be well packed, planned and ready for whatever your camping adventure throws at you! These tips will ensure you, and your family and friends are all happy campers this season!
Corn Chips for Kindling
Those Doritos, or other corn chips, you packed along to munch might come in handy in more ways than just to crush a salty craving! Corn chips are a perfect method of kindling in a pinch, or as a money saver. Simply pile your chips on top of your firewood and use a match, or lighter, to safely set the chips on fire. In a matter of seconds, the chips will start burning and help ignite the wood below. Talk about a great way to burn calories!
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Save Cooler Space with Old Milk Jugs
One of the biggest struggles of camping is being able to pack everything you need into the cooler. To help save space, and still fit everything you need, rinse and fill your empty gallon milk jugs and freeze them ahead of time. When you’re ready to pack for camping, these frozen jugs will act as great ice packs for your cooler and can be used as emergency water as they start to melt!
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Light up Your Tent with a Water Bottle
Cozying up at night in the tent with a good book, or a great game, can be one of the best parts of camping, however, lighting can often be a problem. The best way to illuminate your tent is by strapping a headlamp to a gallon jug of water (could be the same one you used for your ice cooler) or strap it around a water bottle, to fill the entire tent with ambient light!
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Transport Your Eggs in a Water Bottle
Eggs are a delicious, and nutritious, way to start your day camping in the backcountry, however transporting eggs can be quite a mess. The best way to carry eggs without the wreckage, is to crack them and store them in an old water bottle, or similar container. You can easily pour the eggs out of the bottle into a bowl or right onto the pan and you’ll have an eggcellent camp breakfast in no time!
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Portable Camp Shower
Roughing it in the backcountry can often mean a group of rough smelling people as well, but with this easy DIY camp shower, you can leave the smelling to the skunks. All you will need is a plastic straw, a water bottle and a perforated plastic shower head. Simply connect the straw to the shower head, and screw the head onto a bottle filled with water. Tip it over and you’re ready to rinse off a day of funs dirt!
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Tin Can Grill
No grill? No problem! With a tin can, some charcoal and a rack you can have your own hand-made grill in no time. Wearing safety gloves and using a proper tin-cutting tool, cut 2-inch-wide parallel slits down the side of your tin can, repeating until you have cut the entire circumference of the can. When all the slits have been cut, bend the strips away from the center of the can to create a fanned-can container. Next, fill the bottom of the can with dirt, and cover the dirt with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place the charcoal on top of the foil and rest the grilling rack on top of the fanned out metal strips of the can. You’re now ready to fire up some delicious hot dogs and feast away! The best part? You can easily recycle and discard your tin-can grill after one use, or after the trip. No need to cart dirty portable BBQs back and forth.
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No-mess Camp Cooking with Foil
One of the best, no mess, ways to cook while you’re camping in the backcountry is with tinfoil! Check out these tasty, and easy, recipes to heat up for your next campfire meal!
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Mason Jar Matchbox
Having access to a proper fire starter can be life or death while you’re in the backcountry, and if matches are the only thing you have access to, you want to make sure they are dry! A great way to pack along a surplus of matches, and a way to keep them dry is in a mason jar! Before you go on your camping trip, cut a circular piece of sandpaper (or use the strike pad off the original matchbox) and hot glue it to the top of a mason jar lid. Then you can simply stow all your matches in the mason jar and have them dry and ready to fire up a toasty campfire!
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Use deodorant to stop mosquito bites from itching
Though camping can be a ton of fun, one of the least fun parts about it is those pesky mosquito bites. While there are a number of ways to prevent getting bit, sometimes it is inevitable! To fight the itch try rolling deodorant on the bite - this should help relieve the itch and help you smell better after a weekend in the bush!
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Oreos for S'mores
Everyone will be asking for s’more of these delicious treats! While the graham cracker and chocolate combination is a classic camping delight, this time around try smooshing your perfectly toasted marshmallow, between two halves of an Oreo. For an extra treat, slather some nutella on one side of the Oreo for a snack everyone will be nuts about!
What are some camping hacks that you can’t camp without? Share your favorite camping tips and tricks in the comments below or on Instagram using the hashtag #brmblife.
Originally published here.