Hi everyone! Thanks for being here. This week I’d like to talk about some important things I learned this season. Definitely stuff I wish I knew before I set out on adventures. These could have solved a few problems and frustrations over the past two seasons.
Staying warm at night
So it is no secret that I freeze my butt off at night while camping, and being cold and sleep deprived makes me pretty cranky (remember Bear Head Lake, if you will). However, something I learned made me face palm since one of the solutions was pretty obvious.
If you’re sleeping on an air mattress, like me, you need to put a blanket underneath it so there’s a barrier between the cold ground and the mattress. The cold air outside also makes the air inside the mattress cold, so you need to put a few blankets between your body and the mattress AND THEN use your sleeping bag on top. Also, it is 100% okay to use a heating pad or heating blanket on an air mattress. I did all of this on my last trip and things were more enjoyable.
I stayed as warm as I could in a large tent, slept, and was more pleasant to be around.
Keep your tent clean
You might say ‘Thank you, Capitan Obvious…” with this one, but wasn’t something I thought much about solution wise until my trip to Nerstrand.
If you’re camping and spending a lot of time outdoors you know that getting sand and dirt inside the tent are almost unavoidable. Especially if you’re like me and insist on bringing shoes inside so they don’t get wet or have spiders sleeping in them…
Get an outdoor shoe cleaning mat (a boot brush would work too). I have no clue what their real name is, but they are rubber on the back and have scratchy stuff on the front. They dirt come off your shoes and falls through the holes in the back. Probably has something to do with AstroTurf, but I’m not sure.
Keep the sand and dirt outside, where it belongs! This saves so much time and energy when it comes to cleaning up so the gear is ready for the next trip.
Check your power levels
Both with your power sources, lights, etc., and yourself. Here I’m mostly talking about your power sources. Having lights go out and battery packs that can’t charge is not only frustrating, but can be unsafe if you don’t have back ups or ways to charge them.
If you remember, this happened on my Nerstrand trip as well. I put my battery pack away fully charged, but forgot to check it before I left. It had discharged and had no juice when I needed it. Thankfully, I was at an electrical site, so I was able to plug it in. However, it’s a big one and getting it full takes FOREVER! My lantern died as well because I didn’t check it before I left. This one has gone a while before needing to charge before, so I made assumptions. Don’t do that. I did have backups, so I wasn’t completely in the dark, it just wasn’t ideal.
What were some lessons you learned while out and about? Share them below!
Exciting news time!
Adventures of Seleana is going abroad! Yes, you heard that right. I have the opportunity to travel to Japan this year can’t wait to share it with you. It has been a long time coming, but everything is confirmed and booked. All I have to do is finish saving up for spending money and ensure all of my documents are in order–which they are.
If you’ve been around for a while, you know this is something I have been wanting to do for a hot minute and I can’t believe it’s here. I will take all of the pictures and get as much information as I can for you. It will take a while to compile everything, so I’ll share as soon as I can. Hope you’ll come along on the journey <3
And as always…Be safe out there! REMEMBER YOUR MAPS AND PASSPORT STAMPS!! Seeyalaterbye <3
Also, if you feel called to help a sista out with her travels, check this out!
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