How to build a perfect campsite

A good campsite must be practical, safe and functional, but at the same time it should also be a nice place with a good atmosphere. When building and organizing a campsite for a bigger group divide the campsite into smaller areas. For Example:

• Place for tents and tarps
• Kitchen area
• Place for chopping wood
• Campfire
• Living areas
• Garbage zone
• Toilet

Remember to take the weather and wind into account and ensure convenience and safety. A campsite must be, comfortable, but also organized well. Prepare well in advance, and choose a campsite near a water source, if you don’t want to bring it yourselves.

The most important part of building a campsite is knowing how to leave the campsite properly. Leave nothing, but footprints. Footprints should be the only visible thing, that reveals you have been there. Untie your pioneering constructions, douse and cover your campfire (if it isn’t permanent), fill the holes with soil and cover them with turf, pack your things and collect all garbage.

How to build a tripod

A tripod is an essential tool when building a campsite. It can be used for a lot of different purposes. It can be used for cooking, garbage, wastewater etc. You have to find three posts, roughly the same thickness. Place the posts parallel to each other. Two of them have to be in the same direction while the one in the middle have to be in the other direction (see picture). Start the lacing from the middle of the rope approximately 20 cm from the top of the pole and continue with making a figure of eight lashing to each side. The two parts of the rope have to be braided 6-8 times around the three lathes. The braids have to be close and parallel to each other. Finish by tightening the rope lashing by making a tight lashing perpendicular to the braids. When the lashing is done pitch the tripod by pulling down the middle lath.

A place for wastewater

It is important to have a place for wastewater, when you are going camping in the wild. In Danish it is called a “fedtfælde”, which means a grease trap. It is an approximately 60 cm deep hole with a cloth or spruce branch on top, serving as a filter to catch grease and leftovers. When you are done using it, the branch can be burned over the campfire. Always mark the hole with a tripod, so no one falls into the “grease trap”. When you are leaving your campsite, remember to put the soil back in the hole and put the turf on top, then nobody will notice you have been digging a hole. Always place the grass turf upside down, so the roots can be watered daily.

How to build a toilet in nature

A toilet is an indispensable part of everyday life, also in nature, allthough it is a bit different than at home. Some locations offer nature toilets you can use, but if you are going camping for a couple of days, far away from a toilet, it would be a good idea to build your own. Find a suitable place, not close to a water source, path or road. Dig an approximately 60 cm deep hole some distance away from the campsite. Leave shovel and toilet paper at the hole. To minimize odors, throw some soil into the hole, when you are finished using the toilet. If you are far away from your camp when you have to go to the toilet you have to improvise. Remember to find a spot away from the path and dig a small hole with your boot or a shovel. Push the paper down the hole with a stick and cover it with soil. If it is winter you can burn the toilet paper, but at summertime you are not allowed to do it, because of fire safety.