Sleep outside / Camping
The tent-night kit that stops the 2 a.m. spiral
A short packing list for Colorado nights that drop 30 degrees and still surprise you.
Colorado camping is not “it’s summer, we’re fine.” The sun leaves and the temperature files for divorce. Pack for the night you will actually get.
In the kit, always
- Sleeping bags rated colder than the forecast
- Fleece or puffy in the sleeping bag, not in the car
- Wool socks dedicated to sleep. Day socks do not get a second job.
- A pee plan: bottle, walk, or “we are putting shoes on”
- Earplugs for the person who hears every zipper
Leave in the car
- The extra toys. They become gravel.
- The giant stove if you already have a backup breakfast
If someone is shivering, you add a layer and a snack before you add a lecture. Warm people sleep. Cold people narrate the entire forest.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Mueller State Park
Starter story for the launch site. Use it, tweak it, replace it.