Saturday, June 27th, is the date of the Great American Backyard Campout (as designated by the National Wildlife Federation), in conjunction with June as Great Outdoors Month. The event encourages individuals, youth, friends and families to camp out together for one night. The purpose is to encourage people to spend some time outdoors, enjoying nature, but this can also be a great time to test out your camping equipment.
Camping equipment is often recommended as emergency equipment, as a part of or companion to your 72-hour kits. It is quite possible that you will never have to use camping equipment for anything other than recreation. However, if you do end up needing it, is what you have adequate?
One likely area for issues is with sleeping bags. It is completely possible that the sleeping bag in the tent will not provide adequate protection from the ground. Dampness may seep through, or it may just be that you feel the ground too much without some kind of mattress. Also, even though sleeping bags are often thought of as one size fits all, sometimes they don’t. Take a moment to wiggle in and out of yours before you need it. This is a good idea with tents as well. Sometimes they are easy to assemble, and it can be done quickly, but that is not always the case.
There is such a wide selection of camping equipment available that you should be able to find anything that you want. You may discover that your wants are expensive, or that they are not particularly portable. Let’s say you decide that it is not worth the hassle, you will just rely on your solar blanket and poncho. Spending a night doing so will at least help you know what you are in for. After all, preparedness means being mentally ready as well as physically ready.
Even if you are never in a situation where you need to sleep out of doors, people end up without electricity inside their houses on a regular basis, and camping equipment can come to the rescue here. Flashlights and lamps can provide an alternate source of illumination, and cooking equipment can improve your dining options. Taking advantage of the campout can be a great way of testing your options during a power outage or when there are issues with the water supply. Think of it as a chance to explore.
Part of sleeping outdoors involves exposure to the elements. With so many summertime recreational activities occurring outdoors, it makes perfect sense to consider these issues as well.
Concerns about West Nile Virus have abated, but no one really likes getting mosquito bites. A recent article stated that the hard economic times have led to many pools going untended, creating fertile breeding grounds for the pests. There are many options for repelling mosquitoes; are you covered?
Sun exposure is another concern, originally merely for the pain of sunburn, and now more so due to concerns about skin cancer and premature aging. I was once researching sunburn, and was interested to see that the list of items increasing your risk of sunburn all sounded good. These were things cool breezes, cloudy skies, spending time in water and wearing white clothing. White clothing and water can intensify your sun exposure through reflection and magnification, but the issue with all of them is that they should help you feel cooler. Feeling cooler lets you forget that you are cooking. So, let’s just make a mental note that when you are out in daylight, you are cooking. You do want about fifteen minutes a day for vitamin D production, but after that you are cooking. Specifically, you are cooking the proteins in your skin.
Sunscreen that is labeled broad spectrum protects against both UVA (cancer and wrinkles) and UVB (sunburn) radiation. SPF 15 is the recommended level of protection. You can find higher SPF numbers, but the increase in protection does not keep up. For example, SPF 15 sunscreen will absorb 93% of the radiation, while SPF 34 will absorb 97%. Therefore, do not let higher ratings lull you into a false sense of security. Applying thoroughly, and then reapplying, will be the best protection.
Protection is not foolproof. For this reason, you should be aware of the signs of skin cancer, and you should know how to treat sunburn. Good information can be found at http://www.melanomafoundation.org/ and http://www.skincancer.org/.
Two of the sunburn remedies that stick out are drinking water, because there is an increased risk of dehydration, and bathing in tepid water. There are two really good pieces of general advice in here. In warmer weather, especially with increased physical activity, there is increased risk of dehydration. Water helps your body function smoothly all over, and needs to be replaced regularly. If you are losing water through sweating, your are losing minerals with it, so may wish to consider a sports drink or a children’s drink with added electrolytes. Pay attention to your bodies needs.
The tip about the tepid water reminds me of a vacation where one member of the group got badly burned (it was around water, and no sunscreen had been worn). A friend handed over a bottle of soothing gel, which she had placed in the freezer so it would feel really nice and cool. Well, suddenly the burned cool, who had been quite toasty, went the other way. Her teeth were chattering, she was shivering, and it would not have been surprising if she had gone into shock.
Extremes are hard on your body, and moving suddenly from one extreme to another is really hard on your body. Try to be a little bit observant, so that if you are in the process of overheating, you will notice and react when a small amount of change will still be sufficient. Remember, a lot of swimming accidents don’t happen so much because of rough water as because of really cold water. Yes, the cold was the point, and people were trying to cool down, but it became too much of a good thing. Exercising moderation with your enjoyment can make it last longer. Have a safe and happy summer.
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