Visiting The Smokies Summer 2020
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Backyard camping tips: don’t be intimidated By BLAKE TOPPMEYER KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Backyard camping has a certain brilliance to it that goes beyond experiencing nature. If something goes wrong, your house is just paces away. “If it all falls apart and blows up on you, you just go inside,” said Kevin Hill, owner of Uncle Lem’s Outfitters, an outdoors clothing and equipment store in Pigeon Forge. “So, there’s no reason for it to be an intimidating experience, because you’re in your own backyard.” Hill’s family enjoyed backyard camping in April as part of an event organized by Trail Life USA, a churchbased boys youth group with an outdoors focus that is an alternative to Boy Scouts. Backyard camping can be particularly appealing amid social distancing if you don’t want to deal with crowded campgrounds or if it’s frustrating to secure a campsite when reservations fill up well in advance. Here are some backyard camping tips.
YOU NEED A TENT It’s hard to call it camping if there’s not a tent involved. If you’re just getting started and want your kids to have a backyard camping experience, don’t feel like you have to break the bank. Stick to a tent in your price range or try to borrow one from a friend and see how you like camping life. As for setting up the tent, let YouTube help you. That’s another bonus of camping in your backyard. You don’t have to worry about internet service. Pull up a video tutorial on a device in your backyard to help set up your tent. “You can never have touched any of this stuff, and in your backyard, you can sit there with an iPad or your phone, and every product you buy, you can get YouTube tutorials on how to use it,” Hill said. “So, it’s a great learning experience.” The top concern with family camping, Hill said, is staying dry. Continue to page 30
