So there's some stuff you could keep in mind when you're going to be sleeping in a tent
for the first time or pitching a tent for the first time.
First, you want to make sure that you're pitching your tent on dry ground and you really want
to look at all the ground that your tent is going to be laying over and make sure there
are no tree roots, no rocks and the ground is level.
If you pitch your tent so that your head is lower than your feet, you could end up with
a really bad headache.
So you want to make sure the ground is level.
If the ground isn't level, you actually just want to make sure that you sleep with your
head higher than your feet.
Clear away any rocks, tree branches, all that stuff because you will feel it when you're
sleeping.
Don't get lazy about putting the stakes in your tent.
So the stakes are what keep the tent stretched all the way out to it's full capacity, keep
it down.
So if there's wind your tent could end up getting lifted up and taken away.
That happened to a tent of mine.
It actually was pulled with the stakes and everything and one of the poles broke, and
the tent was done for.
So you want to make sure you stake your tent down.
The other thing about staking the tend down is that if you don't stake it down it'll start
to get all bunchy on the bottom and that's not going to make for good sleeping either.
Another big piece of tent etiquette is religiously zipping up the door when you come in and out
because if you don't your tent will get filled with bugs, which stinks.
Mosquitoes all through the night when you're tent camping is one of the worst things that
could happen.
If your tent has a rain fly, you probably want to use it.
They're usually designed so that they don't block off the ventilation.
You're still able to get a nice breeze in the tent.
But if it starts to rain you don't have to fumble looking around for your rain fly and
put it up in the middle of the rain.
Another thing that I really like to do and I know a lot of other campers like too is
to bring flip-flops.
So as soon as you get to your tent door you're going to need to take your boots off or your
sneakers off, and the nice thing to have around is flip-flips.
They're great for walking around your campsite.
They're really easy to take on and off.
So you'll make sure that you keep your tent clean and there's not all kinds of dirt and
sticks and rocks inside your tent.