Some Unusual but Useful Camping Situations and Skills

Here are some things we've run into during our camping adventures that you might not think you'll ever encounter.  They are not planned or even common happenings that you would normally associate with camping.  However, given the remote locations we all enjoy for our outdoor activities, you might run into one or more of these situations and it would be good to be at least mentally prepared and have some idea what do do.

Wildfires can happen in just about any remote area.  Whether ignited by lightning, careless campers, or inconsiderate smokers, fire can quickly get out of hand.   One large fire in southern California was started by a cigarette thrown from a car on the 101 Freeway.  It happened smack in front of a fire station and one of the firefighters witnessed the act.  By the time they could get their equipment to the other side of the freeway the fire was already out of control.  It then burned all the way through the mountains to the ocean, blackening more than 25,000 acres near Malibu.   If you had been among the campers in the area near the fire, you would have either been evacuated or conscripted to help fight the fire.   Conscription is not a frequent thing, but in an emergency, campers and even passing motorists have been known to to be "invited" to join the fire lines in some places. What would you do if you found yourself in a wildfire situation?  Do you have any fire fighting skills?  Having served as a volunteer firefighter I have had the privilege of being trained in fighting wildland fires and I can tell you there is a lot more to it than you might think!

On more than one occasion our dirt bike group was asked by rangers to ride into a normally off-limits wilderness area to help rescue hikers who had set the wilderness on fire!  It is ironic that the wilderness designation was promoted by environmentalists to protect the area from the (unjustified) threat of dirt bikes starting fires and then it was set ablaze again and again by bonafide environmentalists themselves.   In one case, the area had been used regularly by dirt bikers for more than 40 years without an incident. Then, the first year it after it was declared wilderness, a card-carrying Sierra club member, burning her toilet paper, set it on fire and burned 55,000 acres of their brand new wilderness to a crisp!  There were at least 4 more occasions om the next few years when the hikers set it on fire when we were camping nearby.

First of all, be vigilant.  You always want to monitor the weather.  If there is lightning in the area, it could start a fire.  Watch the skies for excessive smoke.   Brush fires usually put out copious amounts of white smoke.   The smoke from some forest fires may be darker, depending on the type of trees and other foliage and how dry they are.  If you see a lot of smoke (of any color), start making preparations to evacuate.   If you wait until law enforcement comes around telling you to clear out, you may not have time to pack up and get out safely.  Always have an evacuation route in mind.  Pay attention to access roads and alternate routes as you approach your campground.  Consider where you will go if the primary access road is blocked.

Park for easy exit.  The parking on camp sites in many forest campgrounds is often narrow and deep.  If you have a trailer it is often tempting to pull straight into the camp site when you get there and worry about backing out when the time comes.  However, if, when the time comes, it is an emergency evacuation, getting out will be easier if you are already headed out.  Taking the time to back into your spot when you arrive takes some discipline and commitment but will pay off if you need a quick get away.   Having the curb side of your RV facing the fire pit and picnic table may trump easy departure.  Wildfire and flood are two of the most frequent local emergencies that would trigger evacuation, but other, personal emergencies may also dictate a quick exit.   Illness or injury of someone in your party or some kind of problem at home may dictate a speedy escape.

If you are camped in an area threatened by wildfire, take precautions to protect yourself, your companions, and your equipment.  Blowing embers from a nearby fire can ignite or at least damage even "flame resistant" tents and canopies.  Pack up any flammable items before the fire gets close and begin planning your escape routes.  Gather in any members of your group or pets and seek a safe refuge from approaching flames.  RVs provide some protection but are still susceptible to catching fire if the flames get close enough.

If you do get involved with a fire fighting effort, will you know what to do?  THE most important thing to keep in mind is your own safety.   Placing yourself in danger only adds to the problem, so pay close attention to the instructions of rangers, law enforcement, and firefighters and do exactly what you are told to do.   Fire needs three things to burn: fuel, oxygen, and heat.   Take away any one of those and the fire will stop.  Cutting fire breaks is one way firefighters control wildfires -- it removes the fuel.   Small fires, like spot fires from blowing embers, can sometimes be put out by shoveling dirt on them.  That smothers the flames (removes the oxygen).   Fire often behaves in unpredictable ways, but experienced firefighters know how to recognize certain conditions that sometimes give them some indication of what the fire is about to do.  Watch and listen to them!  Don't try to just guess.   Changes in the color of smoke and the direction the fire is moving can be significant but unless you are an experienced firefighter you won't be able to recognize the signs and know what is happening.  If you do notice a sudden change in the color, volume, or direction of smoke, bring it to the attention of one of the firefighters.

Many of the precautions described for wildfires also apply to flash floods.   Flash floods can occur even if it hasn't been raining where you are.  Flash floods can rush down dry canyons from rain in the mountains many miles away and the results can be devastating.  Avoid camping in low-lying areas or sand washes that may be subjected to flooding.  Make sure you have a clear escape route in mind. Watch the weather and pack up ahead of time.

Loose livestock have surprised more than one camper.  Some of the public lands where we camp are also grazing lands for sheep and cattle. Try to avoid disturbing grazing animals.  If they stampede they can be very dangerous, causing a lot of destruction and serious injuries.  NEVER chase them with your OHV!  Grazing livestock is someone's livelihood and chasing them may cause injury or stress that is harmful and expensive. The act of chasing them may also damage critical grasslands on which they depend for food.  Stay on designated trails.  If livestock wanders into your campsite you may be able to shoo them away safely if there aren't too many of them.   Never approach them closely or make threatening moves that may cause them to charge you.  Even something as small as a sheep is surprisingly strong and can do a lot of damage.  You may recall the scene in City Slickers where Billy Crystal ropes a cow and then asks the old cowboy "what is wrong with that?"  The cowboy shoots off his gun and the cow takes off, dragging Billy Crystal behind him as the old cowboy grins and says "That!"   It is best to have multiple people working together to chase livestock back where they belong.  To encourage them to go where you want them to go, try to get in front of them or to the side opposite of where you are trying to direct them.  Wave your arms or a branch or rope and shout. They should move away from you.  Don't worry about wearing red.  The old myth is that bulls charge red flags.  Turns out bulls are color blind, so the color doesn't matter, the movement does.  BTW, running from an animal usually encourages it to chase you.  Sometimes making an aggressive move toward them will scare them off but it could also incite them to attack!  In most cases standing still or moving slowly and deliberately in a safe direction away from the animal is a better tactic.  You are unlike to be able to outrun anything that decides to chase you.

Bears and other wild animals are frequent visitors in many popular campgrounds.   I'm sure we all remember Yogi Bear and his obsession with picnic baskets.  He was always amusing but unfortunately, unthinking people who feed the bears, create problems for the rest of us and for the bears.  In the first place, table scraps are not proper nutrition for bears, so their health is compromised.   Secondly, feeding them tends to make them dependent on human handouts.  When the handouts get scarce, the bears starve -- and get sick or become dangerous.  Bears have been known to even break into cars to get to food inside.   Other wild animals, like raccoons, because they are smaller, are usually thought to be less dangerous, but they can still do a lot of damage when threatened and often carry diseases (like rabies) that you DON'T want to get.  Raccoons tend to be rather aggressive.  Mountain lions get a lot of bad press when one wanders into a campground or suburban area, but they are usually rather shy creatures.  If one does approach human beings, it is an indication of desperation and they are likely to be dangerous.   Give ALL wild animals wide berth, especially a mother and her young.  There is a lot written about the proper response to coming face to face with wild animals.   Should you run?  Should you make a lot of noise?  Should you remain still? Depending on the type of animal, the situation, and who is giving the advice, you will see all of these actions recommended.   To KNOW what to do, research the kinds of animals that inhabit areas you will be visiting and how to deal with them.  Check with local rangers about the level of threat and best response if you should encounter unexpected 4-legged guests.  You're on your own for 2-legged trespassers.  Usually, but certainly not always, making yourself appear as large and ferocious as possible will intimidate wild animals.  I've heard that works with grizzlies but playing dead works better with black bears. Sometimes aggressive action just angers or frightens animals and makes the situation worse.  When hiking making plenty of noise will give animals warning and many if not most of them will get out of your way before you even know they are there.  It is good to know that prey usually follows trails and predators usually parallel the trails off somewhere in the bush.  Since you will likely be hiking on the trails, you may appear to some animals as prey.  Some predators may follow you for a while out of curiosity to find out who/what you are and then drop back when they don't identify you as one of their normal meals but if they seem to be consistently stalking you they have probably decided you would be a tasty snack.  Avoid carrying foods whose odors might attract carnivores.

Dust storms are fairly common in desert areas or even areas near farms or construction sites where winds can pick up loose dirt from plowed ground.  It is a good idea to know what to do if you are caught in a dust storm.   First of all, if you're traveling, the best action is to seek shelter.  As the dust reduces visibility your risk of an accident increased dramatically, whether you're on the highway or on the trails on your OHV.  At least slow down.   If you can't see where you're going, find a safe place to pull over out of traffic and wait it out.   Don't stop in the road or trail or you'll just become an obstacle for other  (less careful) travelers to run into.  Use a bandana or other piece of clothing to cover your nose and mouth to filter as much dust as you can out of the air you're breathing.  If you're in camp, close all the windows in your tent or RV and go inside. Make sure all your equipment is secured so it doesn't blow away.  Cover any sensitive equipment with tarps and protect the air intake on vehicles to prevent clogging air filters.

Obnoxious neighbors.  First of all, make sure YOU are not an obnoxious neighbor.  The most frequent camper complaints are noise and trespassing.  Keep your stuff, including sounds, smoke, and cooking odors from intruding into someone else's space whenever you can.  If smoke from your campfire is blowing smack into someone else's space, minimize or douse your fire and avoid fuel that will create more smoke.   If you are experiencing problems with another camper you have three choices: 1) endure it 2) report them to the campground host or manager or 3) confront the offenders yourself.  Enduring it not a comfortable solution but is often the one with the least risk.  Reporting them to the host can sometimes solve the immediate problem but all too often creates hard feelings that continue to generate issues.   No one likes a tattle tail.  Diplomatically confronting the offenders is usually your best bet.  Sometimes they simply didn't realize they were causing a problem and are willing to make adjustments . I once had a bunch of teenagers arrive at primitive camp ground (no host) about 3:00 am. They set up right next to my motorhome, car doors wide open and stereos blaring at full volume while they blithely deployed bright lights and began setting up their camp. After about a half an hour of enduring the situation I finally go up and got dressed and approached them.  Though by then I was fuming, I did my best to use a diplomatic approach.   When I explained, as politely as my anger would allow, that they were disturbing me and my family they apologized, turned down the music, and redirected their lights.   I think I was lucky.  Loud groups often have already begun to form a kind of mob mentality that has a life of its own, independent of the normal behavior of the individuals.  On rare occasions we had some loud party types join one of our family-oriented Desert Rat outings in the Mojave Desert.   We would usually ask whoever invited them to ask them to hold it down and usually that worked pretty well without causing hard feelings.   In most cases people who really wanted to party all night long found other groups to go out in the future with without us having to say anything.

Sewing was once a basic skill familiar to both girls and boys.  Girls sewed clothes and household items, boys learned to sew leather to make harnesses, saddles, chaps, and shoes.  Today, with so few people making their own clothes, it is nearly a lost art.  But it can have a lot of benefits when camping.  Being able to mend torn clothes and repair tents and sleeping bags can prevent a minor accident from having major consequences.  Sewing is not difficult to learn but you should learn which types of stitches are best for various applications and have some knowledge of how to match thread size and material and needle to fabric and use for best results.  And, of course, you'll need to bring along a sewing kit with proper needles and a selection of threads.  A few extra buttons may also come in handy.  The kind of thread and style of needle you will differ depending on the repair.  You might  use the same needle and thead to repair a tear in your shirt or sew on a button, but you'll need a bigger needle and heavier thread to fix a torn tent.

Knot tying and use of twine can be handy skill around camp.   Ordinary binder's twine is cheap, easy to carry, and can be used for a myriad of tasks around camp.  If your belt breaks you can even use it to hold up your pants.   Enterprising campers can make camp furniture from firewood or other sticks. lashing them together with twine or natural cordage.  Some folks like to "rope off" all or parts of their camp sites to control unwanted traffic or create designated areas for specific activities.  It might be a good idea to refresh those knot-tying skills you may have learned in scouts when you were a kid.  Forgotten how?  There are lots of helpful instructions, many with videos, to be found on the Internet.  Knowing the right kind of knot to use for various situations can save a lot of time and frustration and avoid failure.

Keep learning new skills!