How to Pick the Perfect Campsite

When hiking in the backcountry setting up camp is not as easy as just throwing your tent down in a flat spot. There are more things that need to be considered than just your comfort. Below you will find advice on choosing a safe and comfortable location for your base camp.

CHOOSING FLAT GROUND

We all want a good nights' sleep, especially after a long day on the trail. The vision of wide open fields and grass knolls may seem to be the embodiment of the perfect campsite. In real life however, these sites are usually bumpy, wet, and swarming with bugs. More comfortable sleeping can be found on pine needles or even sand and dirt. You will find that when sleeping with a mattress on these flat surfaces that is more comfortable then a soft field that is full of bumps and hills.

After you found some good ground for setting up your tent on you will want to carefully clear out the area just under your tent. I say careful because you don't want to disturb the environment too much. Hopefully when hiking you follow the minimum impact technique. You want to do nothing more than check for large rocks and sticks that might make for an uncomfortable nights sleep.

LOOK AROUND

The perfect campsite doesn't always just jump out and bite you in the butt. Sometimes it takes some time to find the perfect spot. Once you get to the area you know you will be setting up camp in, take off your packs and hang them in a tree while you go look around. When you go venturing off for a campsite take your ground cloth with you. After you feel like you found a good spot that seems to be free of rocks and sticks take out your cloth and spread it out on the ground. Now, lie down and see how comfortable it is. You may find some not so comfortable things under the surface that would disturb your sleep. Laying down on your tarp also helps see what kind of an angel you are sleeping on and if you are going to end up at the bottom of your tent in the morning.

LOOK UP

Once you found a comfortable spot to sleep you're going to want to look around the campsite to make sure it is safe. You want to be aware of dead trees that are close by. Both trees that are dead and still standing as well as dead trees that have fallen but are being held up by other trees. With a small gust of wind the branches or the entire tree could end up on you in the middle of the night.

If you are camping in mountain country you will want to keep an eye out for falling rocks or areas that are avalanche prone.

MAKE SURE IT DRAINS

Now that you found a cozy place to sleep and made sure you won't be crushed to death in your sleep you are going to want to make sure you are in an area that will drain water during even the heaviest of rain storms. You will want to stay away from hard packed soil that doesn't absorb water like clay and sand stone. Also avoid flat areas that are slightly indented from the rest of the landscape.

If you are camping in the desert or canyons you will want to avoid camping in areas that have signs of a previous flash flood. Stay away from areas of loose sand and gravel that are far away from a river bed. These act as water marks for where water has risen to during a storm. These spots can be very enticing but also very dangerous.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT WIND

When setting up your tent you will want to get an idea of the general direction of the wind. If possible you should try to have the wind so that it blows through your tent. If the weather is nice and you can keep your windows up this will keep a cool breeze moving nicely through your tent. This also helps keep your tent from being blown over in windy times. The air is flowing through your tent instead of trying to blow it over.