The popular St. Paddy’s Day is still a month away and that gives you enough time to plan an amazing St. Patrick’s Day camping trip. You’ve probably been cooped up in your home for what seemed like ages. If you’re looking for a reason to spend some time outdoors, this could be it. Go ahead and enjoy your much-deserved St. Patrick’s Day outdoor adventure. Just don’t forget about to be careful and read up on some St. Patrick’s Day camping safety tips for good measure.
The best way to stay safe from the coronavirus is to stay home. If you have to go out, don’t forget to practice the safety guidelines that have been presented since the pandemic started. Wear your face mask, keep your distance from other people, and disinfect your hands as much as possible.
Now it’s quite understandable that you’d want to spend some time outdoors. While you can’t party like before, you can still celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but you need to be more responsible. That means no or less alcohol consumption and no going to pubs or parties.
The safest way to spend time away from the four corners of your home is to be in the great outdoors. Don’t confine yourself in a bar where it’s easy to get exposed to the virus. Stay in the open where it’s safer. Hopefully, you’ll consider any of the St. Patrick’s Day outdoor activities listed here.
Go With A Small Group
St. Patrick’s Day camping trips are always fun whether you’re with family or your best buddies. This time, however, you need to be doubly careful since the coronavirus is still out there. It’s best to go camping with your family or the people you’re living with since you don’t have to worry about exposure among yourselves.
If you’re heading out camping with friends, stick with a small group. Make sure each one hasn’t been sick or exposed to someone who has coronavirus. If you’re the one who isn’t feeling well, be honest and tell your mates. You can always plan another outdoor activity once you’re better or when the world is back to normal. Whenever that may be.
Find the Least Crowded Campsite
Check all nearby campsites. Give them a call to get a feel on how crowded their place may be. There could be a number of people thinking the same thing as you. Do your research and find the right place for your St. Patrick’s Day outdoor activity.
Drive in Separate Vehicles
Part of the fun of St. Patrick’s Day outdoor activities with your closest friends is the drive. Can you imagine all the stories, laughter, singing and chips you and your friends could have been sharing if not for this pandemic? Well, there’s nothing you can do right now but to take the safer choice. And that is to drive to the campsite on your own and meet everyone else there.
Avoid Stops
Fill your tank before St. Patrick’s Day. Oh, and take a leak or dump at home before leaving. Since it’s a holiday, lots of people may be on the road. That means gas stations will have long lines and will be filled with people. Make sure you won’t need to stop at a gas station or store on your way to the campsite. This will prevent exposure from people possibly infected with COVID-19.
Make A List and Check It Twice
Make a checklist of everything you have to bring to your St. Paddy’s Day camping trip. Bring your own tent and sleeping bag if you’re camping with people not living with you. A single person tent like the ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1-Person Tent should be fine but you can bring a two-person tent if you want more space. Pack warm clothes and body warmers so you don’t have to squeeze into your pal’s sleeping bag when it gets too cold.
Bring ample food, drinks and other supplies. Better yet, pack more than enough. Bring a cooler such as the Frigidaire Professional FXWC1203-DOVE 12-Can Welded Cooler to keep your food and drinks cold. The Arctic Ice 1200 Alaskan Series .75-Pound Ice Substitute should help. In fact, you should get one so you don’t have to buy ice on your way to the camping grounds.
Pack your own portable stove, cookset and utensils, too. You don’t want to be sharing them with anyone. The BioLite Campstove 2 Combo includes the Portable Grill, KettlePot and FlexLight. This set should be enough for cooking simple meals and boiling water.
Don’t Get Wasted
It is St. Patrick’s Day so there’ll be some booze. Since, we can’t do anything about that. Just make sure you don’t drink too much. You’ll likely regret a lot of stupid things when our sloshed like calling an ex, climbing a tree, or getting too close to strangers and exposing yourself to the coronavirus. Bring just enough booze to keep you happy.
No Sharing
You can make your own meals. That would be the safer choice. If you want to have group meals, designate some to be the server. That person should be the only one to touch the serving utensils. Avoid sharing food or drinks from each other’s plates or glasses.
Don’t share your soap, shampoo, toilet paper and the rest of what goes in your hygiene pack. Add Duke Cannon’s Tactical Scrubber + Soap Bundle to your hygiene pack. You can choose any of their Big Ass Brick of Soap variants to go with their Tactical Scrubber soap pouch.
The U.S. military-grade Tactical Scrubber, made of 550-mil-spec paracord, is designed to help you thoroughly clean your body. This makes showers more enjoyable after a day of roughing it out in the woods. Your friends may get envious with how clean and fresh you are after using your Tactical Scrubber and Big Ass Brick of Soap. Don’t let them anywhere near your Duke Cannons.
Steer Clear of Other Campers
Once you’re there, keep to your group. If there are other campers, a simple wave or “Hi” from a safe distance should be enough of a greeting. You don’t have to go near them for a little chitchat. In case someone in the camping grounds disregards the pandemic safety precautions, don’t be afraid to call them out. Keep your distance and be respectful to avoid confrontation.
Avoid Public Areas
Even if there are no fellow campers around, it still unwise to use public facilities in the camping grounds. Someone else might have been there some minutes earlier. If that someone happens to be a carrier, he could’ve left something nasty behind.
Bring a shovel to camp. Use it to dig a hole and bury human waste. Another option is to bring a portable toilet. The Camco Portable Travel Toilet comes with a detachable 5.3 gallon holding tank with a sealing slide to keep the contents from spilling or seeping out.
When it comes to showers, you can use something like the Solar Heated Shower from UST. The bag holds 5 gallons of water, which is heated by the sun. Simply hang the Solar Shower nearby and turn the switch on for that refreshingly warm shower at the end of the day.
Practice Pandemic Safety Guidelines
Keep your face masks on. Even if it’s just you and your mates, you should still mask up. Moreso if there are other campers nearby. There’s a rising belief that cloth masks are no longer effective on their own particularly against the new coronavirus variants. This can supposedly be addressed by wearing a medical mask in addition to your cloth face mask if you don’t have an N95 respirator.
Give Alpha Defense Gear’s Alpha Face Shield a try as your base mask. The tubular bandana is made of polyester, which is breathable and wicks away sweat. This is important since you’ll be doing a lot of physical work at camp. Top that with a medical mask to further help prevent the spread of virus.
Keep your hand sanitizer handy. Have one in your pocket at all times so you can disinfect your hands any time you need to. The Duke Cannon Bloody Knuckles Hand Sanitizer is made 70% plant-based alcohol, which passes the requirements set by the Center s for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Bloody Knuckles also contains Aloe Vera and Vitamin E for hydration and healing. Its light citrus scent should give you a boost when you’re exhausted from doing camping stuff.
Protect Yourself from the Elements
You should check the weather on your St. Patrick’s Day camping trip. That way you’ll be better prepared. Bring weather-appropriate clothes and gear.
When it gets a little too sunny, for example, you should put on sunscreen and wear something to cover your head. The Alpha Defense Gear Mahi Under Brim Straw Hat is perfect for just sitting around in camp under the sun. Wear it when you go hiking or fishing, too.
Bring Important Gear When You Leave Camp
It’s not just the pandemic and the elements you should be wary of while on your St. Patrick’s Day camping trip. There’s always the possibility of accidents, getting lost while on a hike, encountering wild animals, or chancing upon a marijuana plantation guarded by goons with AK-47s. Maybe they’re unaware that marijuana is legal now. Who knows?
Anyway, you should bring some food, water and survival gear whenever you leave camp to go hiking or biking, if that’s possible. Before that, apply the buddy system so no one is left wandering alone. As for your gear, don’t forget your solar powerbank, GPS tracker and LED headlamp.
The QuadraPro Solar Powerbank gathers energy from the sun and uses it to charge your phone and other portable devices. Use it on your Spot GEN4® Satellite GPS Messenger so you can always keep track of your whereabouts. The Spot GEN4 also updates your family with pre-programmed text messages showing your coordinates.
The BioLite Ultra-Thin HeadLamp 330 can also be charged using your QuadraPro Solar Powerbank. You’ll need your headlamp in case it took you too longer to head back to camp and it’s starting to get dark. The BioLite HeadLamp 330 has a red flood light mode, which should tell people who see it that you’re in trouble.
Other survival tools that should be in your pack include a pocketknife, multi-tool, compass, whistle, signal mirror, personal water filter, and fire starter. Fire is vital to survival especially if you’re stranded in the cold. A fire starter such as the Tough Tesla Lighter 2.0 by Frog & CO will help you start a fire you can use for warmth and light. It’s also a good way to get your friends or rescuers to pinpoint where your lost bum is.
You should also bring a bivy sack, emergency blanket and poncho. These would also help keep you from freezing to death in case you’re forced to spend the night away from the campsite.
The pandemic basically ruined St. Patrick’s Day as the usual parades and parties have been cancelled. Fret not, though. You can still celebrate the occasion in simpler and safer ways. A St. Patrick’s Day camping trip should do the trick. Aside from the camping safety tips we’ve listed here, go to Gentleman Pirate Club to learn more about camping hacks and survival tips.
