*screaming intensifies*

Mablr pined hanging out w pinkie pie they'd be friends I think

theyr so special n whimsical to me..

i hope you might be the right person to ask but if not just ignore this lmao but as someone with little camping experience and even less finacial stability do you have any tips for starting camping? i'm going into biology and want to be able to camp more but i cannot afford much expensive equipment, and i dont know like, what i actually NEED, nor how to start getting out and camping in a safe and fun way. do you have any tips?

Are you in the U.S.? Drive-up spots at campgrounds! State parks, national forests, and similar spots often have established campgrounds with bathrooms & showers & even an outlet at each campsite. You just drive your car right up to the spot and camp there, so you can keep everything in your car without worrying about packing+carrying everything in. Find them on the ReserveAmerica website

In the summer, a lot of these campgrounds have camp hosts whose job is to live at the campground and answer questions. There are also often rangers on duty to cruise through. Point is, if you need help, it won't be long away.

Really all you need a tent, a tarp (goes under the tent), a cooler, basic first aid, hiking boots, a sleeping pad, and a sleeping bag. For the tent, get a cheap Ozark-brand tent at Walmart or online. I'm talking under $40. The sleeping bag, pad, and cooler you can find at the same place, thrifting, ebay, or army surplus stores.

If you can't swing a tent, do you have a car comfortable to sleep in? I do that a lot.

Learn how to build a fire (youtube, if you don't know anyone who can teach you). Keep your meals simple for now. Honestly, I could cook a four-course meal over a campfire, but on my last trip, my friend and I packed cheese, sandwich meat, and bread for our lunches. If you want to try your hand at camp cooking, just make sure you have something easy like that to eat in case it doesn't work out.

If you can't find/afford good hiking boots, honest to god just camp in a pair of sneakers you don't mind getting dirty.

There is a HUGE influencing community for outdoor recreation. They tell you to get the best boots, the best tent, the best sleeping pad, the best the best the best.

It's unrealistic for most people. I only own 90% of my high-end equipment because I need it for work. When I camp with my friends, we do drive-up spots with whatever we have. I still occasionally use a 5-person tent my mom bought in 2007, with a tarp as a rainfly lmaoooo.

I recommend summer camping with this equipment, because none of it will keep you very warm in cold weather, and cold weather camping is a skill you will learn later. If you live somewhere that gets extremely hot in the summer, I recommend camping in the shoulder season, March-April and September-October. When you won't boil during the day but it's still warm at night. Sites are usually cheaper during the shoulder season too! Bear in mind depending on the popularity of the park, sites could be anywhere from $20 a night to $80. My local state park is $12 in the shoulder season!

Above all, don't be afraid to bail, and definitely don't be afraid to try again. Shit happens. Maybe you put your tent's rainfly on and wake up getting rained on. Maybe it's 2 AM and you heard a weird noise and realize you're freaked out and can't make it all night alone. Maybe you didn't plan meals well and you're hungry. Maybe you're too cold.

So? Your car's right there. Pack up, and head home. There is NO reason to stick it out if you're going to be miserable the whole time. All that does it create a negative camping experience. If you want to go home, go home. Think about how you can fix whatever went wrong, and try again! There is no shame in saying, "this sucks. we'll try again next month."

As someone who's done search & rescue, my one wish is that people would admit defeat and learn when to say when. We'd be out on a lot less rescue calls!

The rest, you'll learn as you go. People generally only forget things like bugspray once and learn their lesson hahaha. You'll do fine!