Creating a Comfortable Campsite

1. Safe tent placement. If you remember only one rule, it should be this: Avoid trees, both above and below. “Never pitch a tent under a tree that looks like it might have dead limbs or could fall over in a storm,” says Pearson. Also avoid large tree roots, which can conduct lightning into your tent—not to mention keep you twisting and turning all night in discomfort. Find a flat, even spot, and aim for middle ground.
2. Starting a great fire. Pack a small firestarter (a weatherproof long-shafted lighter). Before it gets dark, gather enough fallen kindling and wood for the night: In either your site’s fire pit or a flat, well-ventilated, wind-protected spot far from the tent, gather a half-fist–sized pile of kindling and needles. Light it from below, and once it catches fire, slowly feed it, adding larger and larger twigs. This process may take 15 minutes or so to get to large wood. Douse the fire completely with water before you go to sleep.
3. A clean, organized tent. “Think of your tent as an inner sanctum,” says Pearson. Filthy clothes come off outdoors and go in the car or in the vestibule, eating is verboten, and no shoes are allowed. The only items permitted are “things that you need for the evening and night,” says Pearson. Leave everything else in the car or in your vestibule.

4. Minimal interaction with mammals. Never, ever store any items with a scent—food, toothpaste, deodorant, lotions—in your tent. Leave them locked in your car.

Source:woman’sday.com