Outdoor Book Club | Discover your inner heroine.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Book Club Schedule
  • Contact
  • OBC Store
  • Monthly Book Themes

Outdoor Book Club Blog 

Newsletter sign up:
    Built with ConvertKit

    Pinterest camping: how to plan your camping or backpacking trip

    4/8/2014

    0 Comments

     
    Picture
    Pinterest camping has turned into one of our favorite places to find outdoor-related inspiration and hacks (it's been the inspiration for my posts how to stay warm when camping in the cold and how to start a campfire, and I use it almost exclusively to find content to share on my Facebook and Twitter feeds). It offers a wealth of recipes, destination ideas, hiking/backpacking/camping tips and of course gorgeous "memes" that remind me why I started the Outdoor Book Club in the first place. (Have you followed me there yet?) Lots of people use Pinterest to plan weddings; why not use it to plan your big adventure?

    Four stages of camp planning: Fantasize, Plan, Experience, Share
    Any planned adventure starts with an idea. Maybe you heard a friend rave about her camping trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes and want to have a similar experience. Perhaps you read an article, saw a picture or even had a dream about backpacking. That's when you start fantasizing about what an awesome trip you would have if you were the one planning the experience.

    Once you decide you're at least somewhat serious about making your epic adventure happen, that's when you start planning. You look at your calendar, you research campsites, starting taking inventory of your gear, look up recipes and think about who you'll invite along. For many of us, planning is our strong suit and can be one of the best parts of camping. Pinterest makes it even more fun and inspiring.

    The third stage is that you actually go on the trip. You use all the tips and resources you found, and take lots of pictures. You lose yourself in the beauty of the great outdoors, hike to places you've never seen, enjoy the warmth of a campfire with some amazing food and friends. You bring back a Petoskey stone from the beach, lots of gorgeous pictures and, after months or maybe years of wanting, found a sense that you've rediscovered your inner heroine.

    How to use Pinterest for camping planning
    I'm assuming here that you have a basic understanding of how Pinterest works. So I'll only give you a simple warning (which you probably already know, but bears repeating): Pinterest can be extremely addictive. You can spend hours and hours there, falling down one rabbit hole after another, your brain tweaked up on projects and ideas that might sound amazing and mind-blowing, but will in all likelihood, never happen. Planning your camping trip is no exception. So either accept that's your fate, or put a time limit on your browsing. Let's get started!

    Create your boards
    Boards help you organize your pins into categories like recipes, activity ideas, gear, inspiration and more. Don't go overboard with pinning everything that you find inspiring or interesting, otherwise you'll have a hard time finding the information you really need to plan your camping trip. Often using the "favorite" option is a good alternative to pinning everything you like. Questions to ask as you begin to create boards:

    • Where do you want to visit?
    • What experiences do you want to have?
    • What kind of gear will you need?
    • What kind of food will you cook?


    For example, if you're planning a backpacking trip to Isle Royale, you might want to create boards called (here are links to some of my boards):

    • Isle Royale
    • Gear
    • Hiking
    • Camping tips & tricks
    • Camp chow
    • Books to read while in the great outdoors


    Follow other people's boards
    In order to find the best and most useful information, you need to start following boards and people. There are probably at least a handful of people who have started similar projects as yours.

    Now you might not love every single one of their pins, but that's the beauty of Pinterest. You add the pins you do love to your own board. Once you've followed a board (or person), his or her pins will start populating in your  home feed (similar to Facebook). Now each time you login to Pitnerest you'll have a fresh crop of camping, hiking and outdoorsy pins ready to peruse (and pin on your own boards).

    Use the general search option to get started
    This is as good a place as any to start your journey. Type in a keyword, like "hiking" or "camping" and you're off. Once you find a couple of good pins, you'll be well on your way to creating some truly inspiring boards. You can also start pining photos from some of your favorite outdooors sites. Found a helpful blog post on your destination that you want to revisit later? Pin it. Discover an inspiring travel photo? Pin it.

    Make sure that you use the "related pins" option. Here's where you'll find some of your best stuff. (Remember what I said earlier about rabbit holes?) This really is the most awesome way to find the best pins. You'll move around the underworld of Pinterest, finding new and wonderful things on a variety of boards.

    Got friends who camp? Follow them on Pinterest!
    The best way to find the friends you already have through Facebook or Twitter is to click your name in the top right corner of the homepage, then use the Find Friends option in the drop-down menu. You can decide which friends you want to follow. To "tag" a person to a pin, simply use their Pinterest username with the "@" symbol.



    Group boards are your friendHave you decided to bring along family members or a group of friends? Bring a little communal inspiration to a board, and invite them to add their own pins. This will keep everyone inspired and on the same page.

    Pay it forward & create a post-trip boardPinterest is not only a great place for fantasizing & planning, but for organizing and sharing your adventures. After you come back from your camping trip, make sure you create another board where you can share photos and experiences of the trip (and help the next woman who comes along who's using Pinterest to plan her trip).

    What are your favorite boards when it comes to the outdoors? Share in the comments below.


    0 Comments



    Leave a Reply.

      Jill Hinton Wolfe,

      Chief Heroine

      I love helping women discover their inner heroines.

      NOTE: Affiliate products are clearly marked with an asterisk (*) and you can always ignore the link and go straight to the company website if you prefer. Or... if you enjoy this site, buying through my affiliate links is a great way to support my efforts get more women outdoors & reading :)

      Jill's books

      Kindle Bestseller Publishing: Write a Bestseller in 30 Days!
      Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
      Dumplin'
      Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message
      News of the World
      The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters
      Summary of Essentialism: by Greg McKeown | Includes Key Takeaways and Analysis
      Dolores Claiborne
      An American Marriage
      The Shining
      Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying
      Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
      Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
      Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
      Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body, and Live a Healthy Life!
      Exit West
      This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
      Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel
      Educated
      Summary of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: by Mark Manson | Includes Key Takeaways & Analysis


      Jill Wolfe's favorite books »

      RSS Feed

      Categories

      All
      Backpacking
      Book Club
      Books
      Celebrities
      Gear
      Inspiration
      Michigan
      Mountain Biking
      Outdoors
      Planning
      Reviews
      Skills
      Travel
      Video
      Women

      Archives

      June 2022
      January 2020
      September 2019
      August 2019
      February 2019
      January 2019
      September 2017
      August 2017
      June 2017
      September 2015
      July 2015
      June 2015
      May 2015
      April 2015
      February 2015
      January 2015
      December 2014
      November 2014
      October 2014
      September 2014
      August 2014
      July 2014
      June 2014
      May 2014
      April 2014
      March 2014
      February 2014
      January 2014
      November 2013

    ©2019 Outdoor Book Club Terms of Service
    • Home
    • Blog
    • About
      • Book Club Schedule
    • Contact
    • OBC Store
    • Monthly Book Themes