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Good checklist could save your camping trip
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Making and using a good checklist could save your camping trip from unexpected disaster.
Have you ever left on a camping or hiking trip, only to discover several miles down the highway -- or several miles down the hiking trail! -- that you forgot something you needed? Chances are, it was something obvious that you never thought you'd be without. From food bags to tents to basic first-aid equipment, rushing through preparation and packing for a camping trip can cause you to forget anything.
Prevent such embarrassments by creating a camping checklist for yourself. It isn't hard to do, and it really doesn't need to be elaborate. (If you want, you can probably find online templates for such a list, or simply adapt a "To Do" form from your daily business planner.)
Start the list with the most obvious items, food, clothing, fundamental camping gear such as the tent or tents, tent assembly parts, cooking utensils and cook stove, etc. Try picturing when you arrive at a campsite, how it will look before you set up camp. Then picture what it will look like after you've set up camp. Now simply "fill in the blanks" with the necessary equipment and camping gear you've just mentally gone over. Take time to list items and "sub-items" grouped together, i.e., tent, tent poles, tent footer.
Then think about the activities you have planned for your trip and fill in items you'll need for that -- perhaps fishing gear, hunting gear, recreational balls and nets, swimming gear, etc.
If you focus carefully on such planning -- especially if you compile your checklist with the help of family or friends who are going with you -- you should be able to create a useful, "life saver" camping check list in less than 15 or 20 minutes.
A good checklist isn't hard to make and doesn't require a great deal of time, but it can sure save your camping trip. Try it yourself!
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