My name is Henry.
I'm an eleven year old English cocker spaniel who lives in London with my daddy.
We've been to Japan, we ' ve visited the dinosaurs, we ' ve seen some of the most amazing animals on safari and we ' ve even been to the moon...
...this time we ' re staying closer to home and exploring the world of camping.
So what does camping actually mean?
Camping is an outdoor activity staying in a protective shelter. It also is a way of getting away from the hassle of a busy life for a few days!
Actually years ago, camping also meant surviving : all early humans could think about was hunting and gathering all they needed to stay alive and build a fire.
The earliest known camp site is in Argentina at the top of a flat hilltop with an amazing view of the land below.
About 14,000 years ago people set up camp here. Stone tools and sharp stones to hunt for bison and mastodon (an animal that looked like a mammoth) have been found.
Charcoal that comes from their campfire has been dated using clever science so we know how long ago they were there.
The person who made camping such a big thing was an English man called Thomas Holding. He has a LOT to do with why camping is so popular nowadays.
He was actually a tailor and also designed camping equipment.
He was born in England in 1853 but his family moved to America and spent their first five weeks camping on the banks of the Mississippi River until they were able to join a wagon trail heading West.
Every night was spent camping out which is where nine year old Thomas developed his love of camping.
Theirjourney covered 1200 miles and two of Thomas' siblings died along the way. They eventually settled in Salt Lake City but then went all the way back East before returning home to Britain.
It's an amazing story and Thomas learnt many amazing skills living under the American skies.
In 1877 Thomas camped with a canoe on a cruise in Scotland and he loved it so much he did it again the next year. He wrote two famous books about his adventures.
He later used a bicycle as his camping vehicle and wrote another famous book about camping in Ireland called 'Cycle and Camp' The book led to the first camping club being set up in 1901 called the 'Camping and Caravanning Club'.
He wrote 'The Campers Handbook' in 1908 so that he could share his excitement for the outdoors with the world.
It's
this book that
many
people believe really started the love for camping.
In America a man called William Henry Harrison Murray wrote a book called 'Camp Life in the Adirondacks' in 1869.
Very quickly the Adirondacks in New York were flooded with first time campers who loved the book.
Within 5 years, 200 camps were set up!
Overseas, the Thames River in England in the 1880s was the place to be: boating was all the rage and along with it, camping!
Folks used their boats to transport equipment or even used their boats as a place to camp
The very first official camp ground was called Gunnery Camp in Washington, Connecticut in 1861. This was a boys camping area developed by Frederick and Abigail Gunn who ran a boys school.
When the weather was good, Mr Gunn would declare a school holiday and take his students on walks through woodlands which became their classroom.
Sometimes the whole school would camp in the Summer.
In 1861, he took 30 boys and 12 girls on a 40 mile walk where they camped for 10 days.
By 1918 there were more than 1000 similar camps in America!
In August 1907, Baden-Powell took 20 boys from different parts of England and ran a camp - the very first scout camp in the world, He chose Brownsea Island as the campsite which is a small island in the South of England.
Over the week the group learnt various activites such as firelighting, navigation, observation, tracking, cooking and life-saving. All good things you need to know now if you go camping.
Baden-Powell then wrote a book called 'Scouting for Boys' which became so popular that within two years there were over 100,000 Scouts.
Soon after, campgrounds were developed by the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts all over the United Kingdom.
This is Cunningham's Camp on the Isle of Man in England - the first public camping ground in the world.
Built in 1894, it had 1500 tents The camp grew its own vegetables and fruit. It had a 100 foot long dining pavilion.the most popular meal in the dining hall was kippers and jam!
Over 600 men would camp every week
After the First World War, camping became more and more popular.
The Government even promoted camping as a way to improve people's feelings after such a difficult time.
It was important to build up everyone mentally and physically - so advertisements encouraged people to escape their city landscapes and get out into the countryside and go camping.
You would often walk down a busy, dirty city street and see huge adverts encouraging you to get away to the countryside with a good book.
Between 1916 abd 1924, four famous men kicked off the idea of car camping and the idea of exploring the natural world.
Henry Ford - the founder of the Ford Motor company, Thomas Edison - a famous inventor, Harvey Firestone - the founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and John Burroughs - an American naturalist (someone who studies nature)
These four men called themselves 'the Vagabonds'. and they went on a series of camping trips.
They camped in style - they had lots of support staff travel with them who would set up and take down camp, people who would cook for them, take photographs and maintain the cars and equpiment trucks.
They would drive around and tour places like the Everglades, the Californian coast and the forests of Vermont for two weeks every Summer for 10 years!.
World War I and II had a massive impact on camping. If you think about it, soldiers were really really good at campingthey were exposed to outdoor life and had really good survival skills.
After the wars there was a lot of left over military equipment like tents and sleeping bags which became available to the public and grew the camping trend.
By the 1960' s camping was HUGE and most families would take a vacation to 'be together' and enjoy the outside,
In 1961 apparently 16 million Americans went camping in the Summer
Camp sites were soooo busy it wasn't veryenjoyable!
In 1969 the first major outdoor music festival took place with people camping for days enjoying the music, The festival was at Woodstock in New York and 400,000 people attended. That's a lot of tents!
If you look at photos it looked amazing but was basically just a huge field. The music was amazing but it was a disaster as there was not enough food or water, no shelters if you didn't bring your own tent and very few bathrooms.
If everyone had a cell phone back then and took photos then the REAL day would have looked very different to the photos you can see in magazines and online.
But it started something very big - a musical revolution - and nowadays ther are over 800 musical festivals a year in the US and many festivals attract campers.
Glastonbury in England, 'Rock in Rio' in Portugal and Burning Man in Nevada are all huge festivals with campers but they are MUCH better organised and a much nicer experience than Woodstock was!
Camping today is SUCH a big activity there are over 15,000 camp grounds in the USA - many of them are in the 429 National Parks across the country.
The largest is Philmount Scout Ground in New Mexico with 140,000 acres of wilderness.
Sandy Pines in Maine is one of the most loved with beaches, pools, volleyball and everything you need.
In Hawaii, Haleakala National Park campsites put you on the slopes of a sleeping volcano!
Acadia National Park also in Maine has 50,000 acres of forests, 24 lakes and ponds and 159 miles of hiking trails.
At Joshua Tree Park in California you can sleep among the rocks and famous Joshua trees under a dark sky - perfect for stargazing. In the summer it can be over 100 degrees!
Acadia National Park is one of the smallest parks but one of the most visited - there are over 300 types of bird and over 1000 species of flowering plants.
How about setting up your tent under the HUGE red rock arches of Arches National Park in Utah
The top FIVE most popular places to camp in the WORLD are.....
Maerzouga in Morocco
arrive by camel and set up camp amongst the Saharan sandy dunes
Asturias in Spain
how about a tent on the beach and waking up to clear blue sea?
Connemara, Ireland.
rolling hills , tiny coves, bays and fishing villages to explore...bliss!
Right - I think that's enough history...me and daddy actually want to go camping so let's go!
There are basically 12 types of camping - let's start with tent camping - the most popular type of camping. But we need a tent for that and there are so many choices.
On a camping trip your tent is your shelter and even if it's a day at the beach, having a BBQ or listening to music at a festival, a tent is a great item to have and provides a home base and protection from the weather.
They come in different shapes and sizes...which one shall we pick?
Another type of camping is cabin camping.
It's still considered camping and there are lot's of fab reasons why me and daddy might choose this:
No matter what the weather - we will be dry!
Cabins are made from wood logs and so keep you warm in the winter. If you camp with a tent in the winter you need to pack a lot more to stay warm - much easier in a cabin!
Cabins also have a lot more space - which means you can invite more friends to camp with you! It also means you have more space to play.
How about bike camping?
So basically you tour around and camp but use your bicycle.
It means you get to travel around faster than on foot and when you want to set up camp you just pull over and set up your tent.
It has been around since the early 1900' s.
A man called Charles Edward Davis wrote a famous book called 'Camping Out: A Guide for Tourists' where he introduced the idea of cycling and camping.
Bike camping became really popular in the 1950s in America and nowadays people camp when they do things like ultra marathons and back country toruing.
Let's look at car camping.
You simply load up all of the gear you need into your car, pull up wherever you want to stop or at a campsite, set up a tent near or against your car and you ' re good to go!
Some people also call it base camping - you don't even need a tent - you can just sleep IN your car!
You just need to check if it's ok to park where you ' ve parked and if it's remote stay safe.
Dispersed camping is when you camp on land that is NOT a camp site.
When you stay in a designated camp site you get services like toilets, trash removal, tables and fire pits to use for cooking.
You do not get these if you use dispersed camping locations.
They are areas that have agreed you can camp there but its very very basic and not for me and daddy!
Some people call this type of camping boondocking or dry camping - because you have no access to water, electricity, sewage or wifi.
This doesn't sounds much like fun to me!
Yurt camping is a round, tent-like structure originally used by nomadic tribes in Asia.
Yurts can often be found at camp grounds and glamping sites (glamping means glamorous camping!)
Yurt camping is a great start for people camping for the first time - you can stay out in the wilderness with nature but have the comfort and warmth of a traditional tent - it might even have a bed and heating!
Now this camping I love!
What about backpacking?
Well - backpacking means everything you need on your adventure is in a pack on your back. That has to include clothes, food, toiletries and of course camping gear including your tent!
Normally you will walk for miles on a pre-planned route to get to your camping location, Usually the route people take is off the beaten track to make it a bit of an adventure.
Hiking is like a shorter version of backpacking and without an overnight camping adventure. So when you ' ve backpacked to your camp location - you might set up your tent and THEN go hiking with just a day pack and leave a lot of your backpack contents in the tent back at the base.
There are so many shapes and sizes of backpack to pick from and don't forget you ' ve got to put a LOT in it:
insect repellent tent
sleeping bag food cash
blanket sunscreen
compass
utility knife
map
toiletries
medical pack
Hammock camping is a great way to enjoy the outdoors AND get a great night's sleep.
With a hammock you can sleep ANYWHERE - you don't need ground so you can camp where tents can't go!
Hammocks also take up less space than a tent and are lightweight to carry too so they're great for backpacking.
They are also super comfortable and allow you to sleep in more positions than you would on the ground. Because you ' re off the ground it also protects you from bugs and some even have built in mosquito nets too!
They are also better for the environment - tents can damage the grass or ground - hammocks just strap on to trees and if you use special 'tree huggers' they don't even damage the bark of the tree!
How about RV camping?
65 million Americans take an RV vacation every year!
What is an RV - it's a Recreational Vehicle : basically a motor vehicle or trailer with living quarters such as a kitchen, bathroom and beds.
RV's need more space and services than tents so it's more expeisnve than basic camping but its much much nicer!
You can easily cook, comfortably sleep in beds and some even have AC.
Although many people will base themselves at a site, the beauty of an RV is you can just wake up and drive somewhere different that morning or you can unhook your car and travel around but come back to the RV for bedtime!
look at the space and the luxury!
Have you heard of Winter camping?
One big advantage of camping when its colder is it's MUCH quieter - so many people prefer winter camping - you get to enjoy the wildilife and nature without the crowds.
You don't have to worry about bugs getting in as creepy crawlies are less active in the cold.
What's also lovely in the winter is a good campfire!
Nothing better than sitting around a fire with friends talking about stories, playing games with s ' mores and a hot chocolate..
BUT it's cold and might rain - it could even snow...so you need to plan carefully for the right clothes and boots to protect yourself.
There are so many things you might need to take camping
- circle the things on these pages you would take!
Did you know there is a Guinness record for the fastest campsite setup?
Two friends from China set it up in just 74.48 seconds!
And the longest line of tents ever consists of 721 tents - another record from China in 2018 in the Wugong Mountains in China
make sure you ' ve zipped up your backpack so nothing can fall out or get in
always 'pitch before play' get that tent up first when you arrive
pick the right sleeping bag: you don't want to be too hot or too cold.
make sure you eat - it's easy to get over excited but you need food to keep up your energy
There are some really important things to remember when you go camping
be sure to have water with you at all times and a map you need waterproof boots that fit you well!
make sure you have a first aid kit for emergencies
make sure you pick up your litter remember to relax and enjoy yourself!
Of course you also have to be very careful when camping. There are lots of things to look out for and protect yourself from,
Bears can be dangerous- keep your campsite clean and free of loose food.
If you come face to face with a grizzly bear - play dead and they will walk away!
Berries can be tempting to try especially if you ' re on a long walk and want a snack - check with an adult first to see if they're safe!
Same with those amazing colorful mushrooms - some are poisonous so stay away!
If you see a snake walk away - if you get bitten then tell a grown up immediately.
Try to avoid insects - they can bite and sting and sometimes be very painful. Also stay away from damp areas, stagnant water and river banks because you might come across nests.
Another hazard but one you can't do much about is the weather.
Just make sure you check the weather before you go camping - you need to do everything possible to stay safe and avoid floods, storms and tornadoes.
Even wet, windy, bad weather can be dangerous but also it makes campingmiserable!
So stay home!
One of the easiest things to ruin your camping vacation is yourself!
If you don't drink enough water and stay hydrated you can become very ill .
If you are in the middle of nowhere and do not have water with you then you can become dehydrated and before you know it you are dizzy and can collapse.
So learn from an adult how to ration your water
Of course one of the BEST things about camping is dogs can come too. So I am VERY happy!
Camping with pets is an amazing experience for both of you - dogs enjoy camping and hiking too!
Your doggie will come across lots of different situations on your trip : from car rides, other animals and large groups of people and nature. So you need to prepare your pup to make sure they are safe and happy.
Check with your local vet if their vaccinations are up to date! Also ask your vet about flea and tick prevention.
It's a really good idea to micro chip your pet - just in case they get lost you can find them again!
Maybe also take your dog to the grooming parlor beforehand - there's nothing worse than a shaggy long haired dog getting caught in bushes or long nails getting snagged.
booties or some form of paw protection
a doggy back pack
your doggy's bed
Here are some top
So you ' ve arrived at the spot you want to set up camp.....now what?
Being bored when you going camping is NOT ALLOWED!
There are so many ways you can stay active and entertain yourself ...
No ipad. No iphone. No TV. Whatever will you do?
How about a scavenger hunt?
These are always a lot of fun - ask an adult before you leave for the vacation to print out the page opposite and bring it with you ....
...see if you can find all the things we have put on the Me & Henry scavenger list!
If you ' re camping by water there are so many fun things to do, of course you can swim and splash around but how about...
try kayaking - you will love it!
rent a boat
fishing is great - just check the rules first!
just sitting and chatting is fun!
CUMULUS clouds
puffy like candyfloss or cauliflower
Of course you don't have to do any of the exciting energetic stuff...you could literally just lounge around and read a book or gaze unto the sky and cloud spot
CIRRUS clouds high up like whispy paint strokes
STRATUS clouds low level and flat
CONTRAILS
the straight lines of clouds behind an aeroplane
NIMBUS clouds dark heavy and full of rain
ALTO clouds broken blobs
There is a chance it will rain...or it's late at night and you ' re not ready to sleep yet...or maybe you ' re hiding in your tent from annoying mosquitoes....the fun doesn't stop just because you ' re in your tent!!
There are so many ways you can have fun while you ' re inside your tent!
Playing cards is a great way to make the time pass by.
Board games never get boring - even when you ' re an adult!
How about journaling - with so many fun things happening in the day there is so much to write about and keep your memories.
How about simply reading a book...or if you prefer, listen to an audio book.
If all else fails and you ' re stuck in a small space with other peoplehow about telling a few jokes - if it's wet or damp or cold it will lift everyone ' s spirits!
One of the most important things for a successful camping trip especially at night is the camp fire but its not as easy as you might think to get one going!
stack wood in a pyramid shape
position wood wth few gaps place tinder on top place a circle of rocks around the fire
Now you ' ve made the fire it's time to enjoy it... .
Make sure you do some shine...and take lot
MONDAY
TUESDAY - frisbee day
One final thing to remember when you go camping is you should leave no trace you were ever there - make sure the beautiful surroundings around you look the same when you leave as when you arrived
always camp on hard surfaces always plan and prepare ahead
Follow these basic guidelines but most of all ENJOY YOURSELF!
dispose of all waste and recycle respect wildlife minimize campfire mess respect others
