A couple of weekends ago we did a test camp with my son, Kyle, who is 19 months old. It is the first time my wife and I took him camping; the first time we have been camping since before he was born. I tried to make some attempts earlier, but work, weather and other things just kept creeping in. Oh, and we have a 3 month old mix puppy too, along with our nearly 13 year old Lab.
There is a military recreational area only a few miles from where I live. It has multiple types of camping spots from full RV hookups to primitive tent camping spots with no water or power. Some friends were going so we booked a spot where they were. It was right off the beach on big raised platforms and had running water, but no power. There was a porta-potty a stone’s throw away and a full bathroom in easy walking distance. We felt like this would be a great first camp with the kiddo and puppy because if shit went south we could be back home fast and come back for the gear later. But it turned out pretty great!
I had been gradually upgrading our gear to be more comfortable knowing that if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be doing much camping. The last time Katie and I had been camping it was using a lot less gear, essentially backpacking style stuff. We did some camping on the RV year, but to keep the camping items to a minimum it was mostly backpacking stuff. Prior to that it had been 2 up motorcycle camping so you definitely run with backpacking style gear for that.
Given the proximity I actually went out early and set up camp. Then I came back for Katie, Kyle and the dogs. No longer having the Titan and being relegated to the Impreza gives up a lot of space. I really thought we would be fine with a hitch hauler and Yakima Skybox, but pretty much all interior space is occupied by a person or a dog. My Lab takes up the entire hatch area! I failed to get a picture of the Impreza all loaded up, but I will next time. However, I did discover I need to be more efficient in my loading as it won’t work for a further trip where I can’t go set up in advance.
Being right off the beach had us in some trees so we had a some decent shade. But of course, Kyle just wanted to play in the water as soon as we arrived. At first Katie was frustrated having to constantly run around after Kyle, but really, that is what I expected. She was also very worried he wouldn’t go down to sleep in his Pack N Play in the tent, but he went down just about as easy as he does at home. We tried to keep it to a similar routine and timeframe and I think that helps. By the time we woke up, Katie was happy we had gone and was excited to be camping again.
The temps were great during the day in the 70s, but got down in the 50s over night. We could have used an extra blanket and should have brought the flannel sheets. The NEMO Puffin blanket, instead of separate sleeping bags, let us snuggle up to stay warm enough. The rest of our tent system was great. The Exped Megamat Duo was fantastic. The REI Hobitat 4 worked well for us. The Pack N Play separated the dogs from one another (the older dog doesn’t really like the puppy that much). Kyle was fine overnight as we put in him his warmest PJs and put a couple of blankets over him that mostly stayed in place. Our older Lab was fine chilling out on her camp bed. Our puppy was a bit annoying. She did not enjoy being on the leash all day. But she was really good in the tent at night, surprisingly.
We weather cancelled this past weekend, but we’ll have another go soon enough and I’ll try and refine the packing a bit.