How to Camp Off Grid in Comfort and Style: Camper Life 101

Since I have been off the Pacific Crest Trail, I have been craving that outdoor lifestyle more than I can describe. A few barriers include working a LOT as I have been saving up for the next life’s adventure, and my health, where I pushed my body too hard and needed a surgery before I could spend a lot of time hiking. Yet, this craving to be outside, to have a quiet campfire and get away from it all, is ever so present and almost like a deep ache that needs satiating. I’ve found the most affordable and accessible way for me to enjoy the great outdoors this year, has been to go camping off grid. I take that cute little truck camper deep into the forest, where there are only rivers full of fish, deer or black bear meandering for their next meal, and the stray hiker embarking on their weekend full of adventures.

I go to the places that do not have cell reception, to the rivers where the fish are unscathed by fisherwomen. I love the campsites that have been trashed or overgrown, so I can help clean them up for the next soul who is craving a weekend away from it all. I love to bring a book, my hammock, and in these cold winter months I like to start our little woodstove to stay warm.

Why Choose the Off Grid Life?

If you are wondering why anyone would want to be off grid, here are a few reasons:

Time away from social media
Time away from the news
Quiet time where the cell phone will not ring
Focus on books
Focus on card games or board games
Time to focus on yourself
A place so quiet you can hear yourself think
To prepare for a time when maybe access will be more limited

As I described above, one of the items I value most in my life is TIME. Being outside with myself and my dog, my partner and his dog means the world to me. Since I can’t start backpacking quite yet, I love to go camping in my truck camper off grid.

Where to Camp for Free

I actually have an entire post dedicated to this topic, where you can dig in, right here (How to Find Free Campsites with your dog)

Since I wrote that post, I do use both Freecampsites.net as well as IOverlander the app to help find free spots. I also have a couple books for free campsites in Oregon that I referenced frequently when living off grid in Oregon, before the PCT. While the West Coast is easier to find free sites than the East Coast, there are beautiful spaces all over the country where you can find free places to camp. Sometimes it is legal and free, and sometimes you have to be stealthy.

My favorite way to find legal free camping spots, is to drive around national forest roads. I will constantly save GPS coordinates for any camping spots I notice. My brother who is an avid hunter will share spots all over the Midwest with me, and I’ll share spots with him too. Sometimes, when I go hiking I notice roads that look like they might lead to campsites, or find some beautiful campsites close to trail heads.

One of my favorite Vermont camping locations was found at Emily Proctor Trailhead! (Shhh, don’t tell anyone about this spot- it is just between me and you, because I KNOW you will take good care of this secret.) Vermont’s Green Mountains are incredible for having fresh, potable mountain water available for anyone to stop by and fill up their drinking water. I’ve seen bikers, hikers, campers, and just regular people who live nearby stop by to fill up their water containers. I was on my way to hike Emily Proctor to the Long Trail when I drove past a water pipe flowing off the mountain. I filled up my tank (what a welcome surprise!) and then when I arrived to the trailhead I saw campsites right by the river. Ever since I found this site, it is one of my favorite spots that is not on any app or website- it just landed in my lap! When you are looking for the best campsites, keep your eyes open. You never know what resources might pop up available and free as you explore the national forests.

Minimalist Supplies

The most difficult part of off grid life is to keep your items to a minimum. For me, the most difficult area to remain minimalist is in my clothes. While my partner Seth wears scrubs to work daily, I have to dress business casual and find it really difficult to have a variety of clothes to wear. Luckily I have found a locker at my workplace, where I can store some of my clothing. I also found out about clothing rentals, where if you have a job interview, a fancy gala, or a themed event- you can rent clothing!

Beyond clothes, having a smaller refrigerator, and less storage for food definitely can keep the kitchen activities interesting! I typically fill a very large container of bulk food from the local coop (quinoa, lentils, pancake mix, beans, rice or oats). Then I have smaller containers for other bulk items such as noodles, sugar, chocolate chips etc. Keeping these goods that do not need refrigeration is extremely helpful, and allows us more room in our refrigerator and freezer! We usually need to shop for food weekly, but we try to go through our large container of protein (lentils/beans/quinoa) until it is gone, and then mix it up from there. Items that I find essential for off grid camping include:

10 Essentials for Humans
- Extra emphasis on the need for a flashlight for camping!
10 Essentials for Dogs
- All of these are important for camping too- I keep a long leash as well, so my pup can safely explore outside without chasing after any wildlife.
Communication Devices (Cell phone, SOS button, Walkie Talkie)
Navigation: remember those maps!
Poop Disposal: bidet, toilet, and a shovel
Full tank of Water & Food
Fresh Filled Propane (it is much cheaper to re-fill than it is to exchange!)
Kitchen Utensil Must-Haves – we have some camper ‘constants’ including:
- Can openers, knives, thermometer, metal spatula, cast iron pan, tea pot, instant coffee and tiny French Press. We keep a few mugs, dishes and utensils available as well (no glass, it shatters!)
Activities – books, cards, dice, laptops and download movies or podcasts
Trash Bags- clean up every campsite, keep our forests green! Since you don’t have to pay to camp off grid, donate 15 minutes to picking up all the trash at your site.
Work gloves- for the sole purpose of picking up trash!
In the winter, remember to bring local wood, and to only cut trees that are already dead for a fire.

What to do for Fun

When I am off grid camping, I love to do just a few activities to help me stay entertained, as well as truly relish my time off grid. I bring my laptop to write, I have a few books that I keep in the camper and if I am reading something I love to bring it with me. I enjoy hanging up the hammock and reading, writing, meditating, or just listen to a podcast that I downloaded while laying in some sunshine. I love to play with my dogs, let them fetch, smell or catch any fun scent. I also love to do some fishing, if I am close to a stream. In the winter months, I usually go skijoring with my dog, so I make sure to have our ski and harness system in place. I also sometimes go snowboarding, and it is so easy to camp out near some resorts that I bring my snow equipment too.

While in my previous solo travel life I had a kayak I would take out into the water constantly, I do miss it in my smaller truck camper living space. I have been looking into getting an inflatable kayak which could tolerate white waters, and that is a goal of mine to learn in the next few years! Inflatable options are great for small spaces such as truck campers or vans, as they are typically inexpensive and much easier to transport.

In Oregon and the Midwest I was very comfortable foraging for different plants to eat, and would make sure I harvested dandelion root, blackberries or other plants in a sustainable way. While I have found some delicious raspberries in Vermont, I am working toward learning more about edible plants and spending my time camping, foraging.

A Day in the Life

When I am off grid, there are a few things to think about. Toilets, showers, and hygiene take some extra effort and sometimes it is easiest to just come back into town and shower at the local Planet Fitness. There is something extremely refreshing about bathing in a rushing river, or a cool creek though, and if it is warm enough and you have the opportunity, I highly recommend bathing outdoors! We have an outdoor shower, but with a 10 gallon tank if we choose to shower using what nature has available to us, we can make our tank last a week; where if we are just out for a weekend, we can usually shower using our tank.

We have a composting toilet in the camper, which we prefer to keep outside unless we are stealth camping or having an emergency poop situation. We have a pop up privacy screen that we use for showers as needed, and we sometimes put our toilet inside that privacy screen as well. However, while most dispersed sites do not have toilets, we have been lucky to find a few sites that have actual pit toilets available! We also will often wake up in the morning, drink our coffee, walk the dogs to help us dig a hole in the ground. 6 inches deep is the key! That is also a great option to poop outdoors if needed.

Our routine also includes a fun outdoor activity- hiking, biking, kayaking, or skijoring of course; but sometimes we just sit with our dogs reading a book in the sunshine, and that is all that is needed when camping. The peace and quiet of being off grid is SO much more soothing than any state park or national park campground I’ve experienced.

Safety Tips

It is important to know that most off grid campsites do not have cell reception, water, nor toilets. I would say, never expect facilities, but when you find them, you can be extra excited about it! For this reason, I love to bring a few safety items when off grid camping.

COMMUNCIATION: It is essential to have a method to reach out for help when you are in the wilderness.
- Have a safety plan in place- ensure that your family, friends, or partner know your itinerary and when you are expected to check-in with them
- Bring an SOS device. I prefer the Garmin Inreach (we use the mini). My mom likes to keep an eye on my location, and when she can see that I have moved, she is reassured that I am doing alright.
- Walkie-talkies are old fashioned, but when on adventures with your partner they are very nice to have! If I am kayaking and he is cooking, or if I am inside reading and he is collecting wood for a fire- it is extremely nice to communicate. If we become separated we have a designated time to check in. For example, if we are separated, we both turn on our walkie talkies at 12:49, 1:49, 2:49 etc (choose the minute of each hour) until we can reconnect and make sure we are both in a safe place. It is also helpful for road trips with 2 cars, hiking at different speeds or white water rafting trips.
NAVIGATION: It is essential to know your surroundings.
- Download your maps digitally
- Bring a physical copy of a map
- Have a good and constant understanding of where you are set up for camp, so you can find your way back in any condition
TRUST YOUR GUT: Turn around, Don’t Drown
- Any time you arrive to a dispersed campsite, and you feel there is something off- do NOT stay there! People do sometimes do illegal things in these areas, and if your gut is communicating that to you, you should leave.
- If you notice any signs of illegal drug production, turn around.
- When you are approaching a bumpy road that might pop your tire, or you do not feel safe navigating, turn around
- When you arrive to your site, make sure to walk all around, looking for nails, glass that might hurt dog paws, or trash that needs cleaning. Look out for used needles, or unburied human poop, as these are more hazardous items, especially if you have dogs.
ASSESS YOUR CAMPSITE
- When you arrive to any dispersed campsite, make sure to check the notice board, usually at the beginning of a hike or a National Forest road.
  - Look for any updates about water quality (norovirus is AWFUL, blue-green algae can be fatal for dogs).
  - If there have been animals spotted (such as bear) there are likely going to be signs indicating bear activity.
    - BRING BEAR SPRAY when there is bear activity, and do not be outside without it!
    - Keep your dog on a leash if there is bear activity, for their safety as well as your own.
- Keep your food stored in a safe manner. No matter what animals may be around, if you leave food outside without it being packed away in a safe way, it exposes those animals to harm. SAVE THE BEARS, always use bear safe methods, even if your biggest concern is the local skunk or racoon population.
- Look up and all around you for Widow-Maker trees. It sounds crazy, but especially in burn areas or high winds, trees have fallen and killed people who have been outside. Always check to make sure your campsite is safe, where if any trees were to fall you would be safe.

Each image was captured at a free campsite, during off grid adventures!

These tips can help you get into the woods for an off grid camping adventure in comfort and in style. Next time you are feeling overwhelmed by society, and you aren’t quite up for a backpacking trip- or maybe you have a hike you want to explore, but you are like me and you love sunrises- or maybe you are on a quest to summit 67 peaks in a single season, or to kayak 100 lakes in a summer- no matter what draws you to off grid camping, I hope these tips will help you camp comfortably, safely, with everything you need.

So tell me – what do you ALWAYS forget to bring when you go camping? I told you my Vermont secret spot, do you have secret spots in your state? (Don’t spill the beans though, you can just show me photos of your favorite spot). Remember to leave no trace, bring a trash bag to pick up whatever someone else left behind, and continue to advocate for our green, national forests to remain a safe space for those of us who love nature’s peace. As Chloe Rue likes to say- Happy Trails and Happy Tails!

P.S. Thanks for putting up with me through my recent blogging hiatus! I have been working toward a huge, huge goal of mine to start a dog-focused business. Just know that more good things will be coming your way soon!

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