College Student's guide to "Camping"

College Student's guide to "camping"

In all of the College Student Articles I will tell you what you want to have, why and I will give some extra tips. I am trying to supply the college students of today with a little bit of help for their first "college experience." I am currently a student at Cal State University Channel Islands. If you would like to contact me this is my photography
page. Check it out and check out some of the other College Student Guides; College Student's Guide to the Macbook Pro, College Student's guide to Ipad, College Student's Guide to Move In Day, College Student's Guide to a Successful First Month and College Student's Guide to having a fun Dorm Room


What is it?

The reason that I put camping in quotations is very simple. I went "camping" with a few friends a couple months ago, and I expected to be out in the wilderness, just us and the woods. However, I was mistaken. Everyone had their cell phones, and iPods and iPhones; it was like we were home, minus the other people and the roof. So if you want to actually go camping as a college student I would not recommend this article. However, if you want to go on a modified camping trip this is an article you would enjoy.



Items you will need (and why)

iPod

An iPod is necessary for any "camping" trip.
You will need it to be able to listen to your favorite music and watch all the movies you haven't had time to in your busy life.
They also make for quite a helpful tool when trying to fall asleep. Personally I would rather listen to music than the unknown sounds of the forest or beach.

Speakers

Any "camping" trip, that has an iPod or any other music device, needs some speakers. I would recommend solar powered speakers like the one that we brought.
Not only was the sound quality great, but the speakers charged the iPod at the same time. So we never had to worry about a dying iPod battery.

Cell Phone

Whether your cell phone is an iPhone or just a regular old phone, a "camping" trip would not be complete without it. If you have an iPhone or other internet capable phone, you would obviously be able to update your Facebook and Twitter, which is apparently quite a huge deal. Along with that, you can remain in contact with everyone and their mother, so as not to miss a single drop of juicy gossip.

Camera

Even though we all have camera phones now, it is nice to have an actual camera to capture those amazing moment; whether the moments be funny faces, bears, or just a beautiful scene. Be sure that if you bring a camera you have a couple of extra batteries. This is beneficial so that if you have to charge your cell phone and you iPod, you have some extra batteries in case something fun happens that you want to capture on film.

GPS

Whether or not you get lost often, a GPS can't hurt. We had one that actually helped us find a couple of very interesting spots near where we were sleeping. This was also helpful in getting us back home once we got back in the car and had lost our printed directions. I would HIGHLY recommend a carrying case, because we did not have one and now there is a massive scratch in the screen of my friend's GPS (which makes the touch screen freak out quite a lot).

Battery Chargers

Make sure that, with all of your electronic devices, you are equipped with some convertible chargers. What I mean by this is that there are chargers that can convert from a car charger, to a wall outlet charger, to a battery charger and even to a 9 volt battery charger. The one that we had was a 4-in-1 that charged any 2 USB capable devices at the same time. This meant that since we all had our USB phone chargers handy, I was able to charge my battery while my friend could charge his. This is very helpful for continuous communication with the real world.

Frequently asked questions:

Why continue to use all of your electronics to communicate with the world you are escaping?

I too asked this question, but with the instant gratification and instant communication of everyone in the world, it is difficult to be away from people for too long. Remember, we want to be away from work and real life, we don't want to be away from the other people (there just wasn't room in the car).

Is it really fun "camping"?

I personally had a blast. When I went I was a little skeptical, but once I saw the real enjoyment in it and immersed myself it was really fun. I equate it with hanging out with friends, except that there is no work to be done or annoying things to ruin your day. It is you and the wilderness. And another major point I want to add is that you control when and who you talk to. If you are at home, everyone can contact you when they want to, but not when you are out in the wilderness.