Tim MacWelch: I am Tim MacWelch of Earth Connection School of Wilderness Survival and Ancient Skills in Fredericksburg, Virginia. This is our series on how to go camping. In this clip, I am going to show you what to take camping. So we have found our campsite. We dropped the heavy backpack. The first thing we are going to do is set up a tent. I've got my tent on the outside of the backpack. Here are my poles, tent pegs to secure the tent and body of the tent down here. Always make sure that you try that tent out before you actually go camping with it. Set it up in your living room. Set it up in your yard. Make sure you know how it works and what all the pieces are and how to use them properly.

Follow your directions that come with the tent. You don't want to be set it up for the first time in the dark, out in the woods and find that you didn't have the right stuff in your package. So we have got our tent. We got water. You can't have too much water. I have only got a quart here, but I have also got water purification equipment. I have got another bottle. I have got a chlorine based product and an iodine based product to disinfect the water, to make it safe to drink. I've got my food, easy to prepare food, just a little bit of heat, little bit of water. I have got my cook set. This is a pot, inside the pot I have got toothbrush and soap, the simple hygiene items, little bit of sugar, got a camping stove. This is a very simple little alcohol based camping stove. We are going to set that up and show you how to cook in a later segment. I got my handle for my pot, my fuel for my stove. Some matches, a candle. I am using an extra cap to protect the pot from all these metal items that might scratch the surface of the pot on the inside. So that's our cook set.

I have also got a sleeping pad; this is going to make my night a lot more comfortable. I am going to put this pad underneath my sleeping bag inside my tent and here is my sleeping bag, packed down real tight. I have got a Katadyn water filter. This pump I can use to pump the dirty water out of the stream and make safe drinkable water, to add to my supply. I also have very important items that I keep readily accessible on the outside of the backpack, TP and a little trowel. We are going to how to use those in a little while. Also got things for entertainment, I have got some playing cards, which also double as wild food identification cards. I like as much of my gear to be multipurpose as possible. So this is in a plastic bag. Anything that can be damaged by water, you should have in some kind of waterproof bag when you go camping. You never know when you are going to get rained on or fall in the creek. I have got some hand sanitizers clipped on the outside of my backpack. I have got this little safety flasher. It's reflective and it also has a little light that blinks that you can see in the dark when you hit the little button there.

Now this outer pouch I have got an extra garment. I have got a waterproof windproof jacket with a hood on it. So just in case I get cold, in case the weather turns worst than was anticipated. You should have all kinds of extra clothes with you when you do go camping. For activities, like your target playing cards. I brought a book 'Wildflower Book'. Again a paper item can be damaged by water; I keep it in a waterproof bag. Got my map and compass, again in a bag, so I know where I am going. I have got some matches in a little waterproof match safe, inside this little metal case I have matchsticks and the little striker strips to go with the matches and I have a backup compass in the top of my match safe.

I have also got some gloves in case the weather turns colder. In this other pouch I have a first-aid kit, again on the outside of the pack, readily accessible. This bandages analgesics, anti-inflammatory, Neosporin, tape gauge all kinds of stuff you need for a minor medical emergency. Also have a length of rope and a knife. My knife can be opened with one hand, in case I was injured and needed one hand to open it. My knife also has an emergency whistle built in to the handle, in case I need to signal for help. Three whistle blasts in a row, do this over and over again if you are injured or in trouble and you need this signal for help. Also my knife has a spark rod in it. This spark rod can be used as a backup source for fire. I also have safety items tucked in all around my backpack in little pockets, in little crevices. I have got extra lighters to make fire. Fire is one of the most important tools you can have in the great outdoors, other than the clothing and the shelter that you brought with you.

If speaking of safety items, I have in a belt pack a survival kit. This I wear independent of the backpack. If there was an emergency and I needed to drop the backpack, I would still have my survival equipment with me. In the survival kit I have a lot of different items to help me acquire shelter, water, fire and food. I have got an emergency bag, the space bag, is something I can crawl inside, that will keep me warm, even if I am wet, even if I am cold. It's like a sleeping bag made of nylon. Got a metal cup that I can use to cook in or boil water to purify it. I have a survival kit which includes items to make fire, like matches and lighters. I have first-aid items. I have a little bit of food in here. I have got floss, dental floss, which I use for emergency thread. I have plastic bags, water purification tablets, little bit of fishing equipment, a whistle to signal for help and a few other important items like a fire starting device, safety pins and a bit of rope.

Now, if you are a family out camping and you have children, I have mentioned twice already the whistle. I have one in my knife and I have one in my survival kit. This cute little orange whistle is a fox forty. This is one of the loudest whistles on the market. Referees use this in sporting events. You could hang this around the neck of each one of your children. If they get lost while you are out camping, instruct them to blow this until you come get them.

Alright, now we have got all of our gear laid out and we have talked about what to take camping. Our next clip is going to be, how to set up a tent.