Senior Rajen Tandel went on his first on a camp outing when he was only 16 years old.  The wilderness, however, is not always friendly, especially in the middle of December. This was Tandel’s most recent experience with camping, and so far, his worst.

He prefers to go in the spring and fall because the weather isn’t too hot or too cold. Tandel usually goes camping in the mountains around Lexington, Virginia. “It started to snow and we couldn’t get a fire started because all the sticks and wood were wet. That was not one of our best ideas,” Tandel said.

Tandel’s best experience camping was when he first went up to the North Mountain with a couple of friends. One of the friends had already camped up there so he guided Tandel and the others. “I typically go with my cousin and some of his friends. Sometimes a few friends who live in Lexington,” Tandel said.

“Some of the sights were incredible but now we go there all the time,” Tandel said.

Tandel estimated that he carries around 10-15 lbs when he goes camping, but it varies on how many people are on the journey. The essentials for all camping trips include tents, sleeping bags, water bottles and food- for Tandel it’s a lot of granola bars. However, the amount of each item will vary from season to season.

“In the winter we need lots of layers of clothing, lighters and lighter fluid. We usually share tents so there’s usually like two or three tents at most. In the summer it’s similar, but sometimes we don’t bring tents because it isn’t cold. Also, we need more water in the summer,” Tandel said. The longest Tandel has ever camped out is two days.

Tandel’s advice for anyone interested or thinking about going camping someday is to check the weather and make sure you have enough layers.

“Always look at the weather before you go camping. [My track coach Gary Bugg says] when you feel like you’re wearing enough layers, always add another so you have it,” Tandel said.