Camping equipment list - Miscellaneous

I'm going back to our regularly scheduled postings on camping equipment. What's on this list is stuff that doesn't necessarily fit on the other lists.

Extension cords
Clothesline
Claw hammer
Lighter fluid
Matches (or lighter with long barrel)
Citronella candles or outdoor Tiki torches that use citronella oil
Insect repellent
Firewood
2 coolers
String lights
Pocket knife

I mentioned extension cords in the food preparation list, but you'll need other electrical cords to plug other stuff in, such as an electrical pump for the air mattresses, radio, etc.

The clothesline is for hanging up wet clothes and/or wet towels. Cut the clothesline with the pocket knife and tie each end of the clothesline around a tree (2 separate trees).

The claw hammer is for hammering the tent stakes into the ground. You use the claw end to remove the stakes from the ground when it's time to pack up camp.

The lighter fluid is for when you're having trouble getting the fire started. You can also use the wax Firelogs for this purpose as well. Matches are great, but they can get damp and not work, so we usually use the lighters with the long barrels, the kind you light candles with. They're also childproof.

If you're in the great outdoors, you will always have bugs, especially mosquitoes. They are worse at dusk and at night. The citronella candles and the citronella torches not only light up your campsite, they keep the bugs away. Keep children away from flames, campfire and citronella.

You will need two coolers - one for food and one for drinks. In the morning, pull the plug, drain the water, and add new ice.

If you have a campsite with an electric hook up, the string lights make your campsite feel like home, and also help you find your campsite in the middle of the night after you've visited the latrine. You can get the string lights that look like fireflies, lanterns, etc. You can hang them around your screen house or canopy, or string them from tree to tree. Each set usually only has 10 lights, so I suggest buying two sets to string together.

The next camping list will be for personal items and a first aid kit. Until then -

Happy camping!

Diane