With spring little less than a month away I’m already planning my first hikes and camping trips of 2010. Still, warm weather can’t be here soon enough! This is why I recommend pulling your tent out and setting it up indoors. Sound crazy?
A few weeks ago I did just this. Setup was pretty easy since my Marmot Limelight 3 tent has a rainfly and footprint that can setup without the tent. This is meant to be used in warm weather camping and in Virginia it doesn’t get any warmer in winter than indoors at 72 degrees. Cannon got really excited when he saw me pull the tent polls out. And I gotta admit that having only used my tent a couple times, I got excited when I got a whiff of that new tent smell! The moment I go the ten setup my 80lb Ridgey was wandering around inside, waiting for me to get the sleeping bag laid down.
I made a couple small modification to this camping trip. I set the tent up over the rug in my living room to give me some extra cushion. I unzipped my sleeping bag and laid it out across the entire sleeping pad and then stacked a couple down comforters on top. We camped right in front of the tv and watched the olymipcs… it was fantastic!!!
For some extra ambiance to the night I made indoor smores. Graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate bar and fluff – just put it in the microwave for 7 to 12 seconds and you’re all set.
Now, I’ve been thinking – for those of you who haven’t done any tent camping with your dog, this would be a fantastic way to give it a test run. You can get your pup used to sleeping in the tent and see if he’s gonna try to sneak in your sleeping bag with you. Tip – sometimes dogs can pace around the tent a lot the first time they’re all zipped up in there with you. Don’t be alarmed, this is typical. Just relax and give him some time to get used to it. If you relax then he should relax and be curled up next to you in no time.
If you’ve got any tips on how to make a bigger better indoor camping experience then we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment here and share your tips and/or stories!
