Have you ever felt inclined to work up a good sweat with a great hike, then not change your clothes or bathe, and crawl into a tiny space with your beloved (who is in a similarly rank state) and stay there for about nine hours? No? Ah, well, I can’t say I blame you, but that’s my idea of a perfect date night.
DEVELOPED CAMPING VS. PRIMITIVE CAMPING
Developed (also referred to as full-facility) campsites are ones that offer man-made amenities. These amenities will vary from campsite to campsite but often include restrooms, showers, electricity, fire pits, grills, etc. You can typically drive up to a developed site, and often sites for RVers will be nearby. Developed campsites are great if you’re just starting to tent camp, meeting car-camping or RVing friends, or looking for a more social experience.
Primitive campsites have only what nature provides! A flat (fingers crossed!) spot for your tent is all you should expect. You will likely need to hike out to a primitive site, but it’s not always a long hike. If you’re looking to get more wilderness experience or in need of solitude for the night, definitely try out a primitive site.
BEFORE YOU GET TOO EXCITED…
…check the weather! Check the weather when you first have the idea to go camping, and check it frequently throughout your planning. Not that a little rain should stop you from camping, but you just want to ensure that you are properly prepared for both comfort and safety.
For day hikes and short overnights, The Weather Channel’s forecast and radar has served us well. We can also check the weather while we’re out camping, if necessary, on our Garmin inReach.
KISSIMMEE PRAIRIE PRESERVE STATE PARK
The Florida State Parks website makes it fairly simple to figure out which parks offer camping via the filters on an interactive map. We first checked out the individual park websites, then called around to a couple different parks to speak with the rangers about primitive campsite conditions. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park easily had the most favorable conditions. Many parks throughout Central Florida are still experiencing the aftereffects of hurricane Ian, but Kissimmee Prairie Preserve is relatively dry, likely due to the fact that it does not have as many nearby large water sources as many of the other parks.
“A breathtaking expanse of infinite grassland” in the Florida heat may seem unappealing, but with this cold snap we’re in it should be quite enjoyable. The Kissimmee Prairie Preserve (KPP) website provided pretty much all the information one needs when planning a camping trip:
- Do we need to check in somewhere? If so where and when? For primitive camping, we need to check in at the main office at least two hours before sunset.
- How do we dispose of our waste? Most primitive camping requires the campers to pack out all trash, and KPP is no different. This lets me know not to bring items that will create a lot of messy trash.
- How can we obtain water? For the primitive sites at KPP, we will need to plan on carrying our water to the site.
INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY DESIGNATION
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park is one of only 195 parks worldwide recognized by the International Dark Sky Association for responsible lighting practices and community education. As such, it’s excellent for stargazing!
You can look for Dark Sky Places near you via the IDSA’s interactive map.
Neither Tom nor I have much experience with night sky photography, but we plan to begin changing that with this trip. We may be a little too late in the year to get a great view of the Milky Way, but we are nearing a new moon which is the best time to view the night sky.
PACKING FOR A SINGLE OVERNIGHT
Other than an enjoyable evening, we plan to use this trip and the trips hereafter to test out our gear for our upcoming thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. I love all my gear, but backpacking with a partner isn’t something I’ve done before so I’ll be making adjustments for that reason. Tom is still researching most of his gear choices, and will be trying some of mine to see if he thinks it’ll work for him as well.
Since Tom hasn’t yet chosen his backpacking pack, we will use my ULA Circuit (68 L) and Waymark Gear Mile (28 L) Daypack to carry everything. We’ll likely switch packs at some point, to take turns carrying the heavier pack.
Shelter & Sleep System: This trip will be our first time tent camping together, and we’re going to test our Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL3 tent that we’re planning on taking with us on our PCT thru-hike. I have an old Therm-A-Rest Z Lite foam sleeping pad that I’ll use, and a brand new one that Tom will use to determine if he can sleep on one for 5 months. It’s not that comfortable, but it’s convenient!
We have one sleeping bag, a Western Mountaineering Versalite 10 degree bag. The plan is to bring that bag to spread over top of us like a quilt, and a household blanket to lay underneath us (overtop our sleeping pads). We’ll be sure to let you know how that turns out!
Tech Gear: We’ll bring my Nitecore NU25 headlamp, headphones, an old Anker 20,000 mAh battery bank, the Garmin inReach, and a wealth of camera equipment.
Camp Kitchen & Food: On this trip, we’re going no-cook so we won’t need to bring a stove or pot. We plan to bring foods that don’t need to be prepared.
Girly Stuff: Even though it’s a camping date, it’s still a date and therefore some level of cuteness must be obtained. This will mostly be achieved through the use of wet wipes, mascara, and a hair brush.
