Spent 3 hours yesterday gathering all the stuff, checking if the tent still has all the poles, finding the sleeping bags that aren't moldy. Then I gotta pack food, make sure the cooler works, check for gas in the stove. We haven't even left yet and I'm exhausted. But somehow once we get out there it's worth it.
I feel this in my soul. Between my night shift and trying to prep for family stuff during the day, I'm exhausted just thinking about gathering all that gear. Hope you at least got to enjoy it once you finally got out there.
The prep is definitely worse. Finding all the poles though - pro tip, take a photo of your packed tent next time so you know what you're looking for. Saved me from that same hunt.
100% this. Three hours of gathering feels like chaos. Once you're actually out there it's great, but yeah those three hours before are brutal.
Try making a camping checklist and keeping it in the tent bag. Sounds simple but you only have to hunt for tent poles once before you learn that lesson.
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The prep is brutal man. I'm already dreading our next trip because I know I'll spend way too much time looking for gear that's scattered everywhere. At least you got it done though.