Any Type of Travel is Better During a Pandemic With These Camping Tips

Campers got game. Use their superpowers to make your own travels safer and more interesting.

Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash

Act as if there are snakes and bears in the woods — even if you aren’t going to the woods

Keep the image of vipers hiding under rocks and grizzlies lurking around every corner at the forefront of your thoughts on your near-future travels.

Park rangers describe being “bear aware” as learning to keep your distance from bears you encounter on roads and trails while keeping your campsite almost sterile to avoid attracting them. Here’s what that includes when you camp and how to spin it for any traveling you do post COVID:

• Change out of clothes you cooked or ate in before bedtime and lock those clothes up in a bear-proof place like the trunk of your car. If at any point you have been near other people on a trip, change clothes and bag them up until you can wash them. You might even consider spraying them down with antiseptic aerosol as you bag them.
• Keep small children within arm’s reach at all times when you hike — never allow them to run ahead on a trail. You don’t want your kids running smack into an infected person in an airport, hotel, or museum any more than you want them to run into a bear in the woods.
• Camping with small pets is prohibited in many locations because it does two things: it forces you to walk them in the woods where you might encounter a bear and it provides a possible snack to entice said bear. While other forms of travel with your pet in the COVID era aren’t quite that scary, the simple act of having to take the dog out for a walk might put you in contact with other people more than you might otherwise be. Plus, there is evidence this particular virus can jump to other species, particularly to cats. It’s probably best for everyone, at least in the short run if you travel pet-free for a while.

Clean everything

Viruses hide in, on, and around surfaces for hours, or even days. It’s up to you to either avoid their possible hiding places or seek them out and ensure you aren’t exposed. We all know the basics of using sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer by this point in the game, but traveling outside your home will require even more caution. Along your journey and when you arrive at your destination, wipe down all the visible touchable surfaces. Then start looking for snakes.

Where else in your space might the three little bears who stayed there before you have hidden their virus particles?

Campers are not particularly concerned about viruses most of the time, but I can assure you their butts don’t plop down on any old log without checking for unwelcome critters first. Consider covering upholstered furniture with sheets you bring from home and wipe down toilet seats, bathtub ledges large enough for sitting or foot-resting, and hard-surfaced chairs with sanitizing wipes. And the bed linens wherever you are staying? Um, no.

Take sleeping bags

At the very least, take your own pillows and pillowcases, but a better option is to strip the beds of any provided linens and snuggle into your own sleep sack or sleeping bag. I know, it’s more stuff to pack, but it certainly beats worrying about what might be crawling around on the sheets with you.

Take your own food and water

If at all possible load up your vehicle with food and water. First of all, you don’t really know what the supply chain is like where you’re going. Secondly, wherever you travel in the near future — at least until there are vaccines, could be subject to shutdowns, lockdowns, and quarantines. You can still help the local economy by dining out with care, but having enough food of your own to fill in the gaps keeps you from depleting supplies the locals may need to get by.

Take your own toilet paper

If you’ve got it, take it with. No camper ever leaves home without a trusty roll or three.

Pack your own eating utensils and glassware

You aren’t actually considering drinking from hotel water glasses, are you? The more of your own stuff you take, the more options you have in terms of take-out food, self-prepared food, and avoiding other people potentially touching your stuff.

Get off the beaten path — like way off

Sure, people sometimes camp in large campgrounds, but the best camping is often not found in famous national parks or tourist hotspots. Travel during the next year to eighteen months is best accomplished by seeking out the tourist cold spots. Ideas to get you started include small rural towns away from Interstate highways, places with sand dunes (think deserts) to play on since any beaches that are open may be crowded, unheard-of mountain towns, and any state with a low case count.

Stay warm and dry

This is the number one goal of every camper and keeping it in mind as you plan to travel in the upcoming months can work to your benefit. How safe do you really think pools and water parks are, when it comes to infectious diseases, even in a year without a pandemic?

And as tempting as it is to head to the ocean or lake, everyone else might be right there with you. Instead, consider visiting the vast deserts of our country — they’re likely to be, well, deserted.

Plan your own activities and entertainment

Because avid campers tend to go where there is no WiFi, they are usually pretty good at entertaining themselves and each other. Since theme parks and other amusement centers aren’t likely to be the best choice this travel season, make like a camping aficionado and find ways to have fun with just the group you brought with you.

Keep your own company

You should be really good at this by now, huh? Trust me when I tell you that camping is best accomplished with just you and your travel family. Nobody likes the guy who wanders a campground striking up conversations with other campers. Whatever type of travel you settle on for your escape from quarantine, keep your social distancing intact.

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