While camping is a great time to spend with your friends and family and truly enjoy the great outdoors, it’s definitely not without its challenges. If you find yourself having to camp in rough conditions especially, you may initially believe that the great camping trip you envisioned yourself having has been ruined.

Fortunately, camping in bad weather or rough terrain can still be fun. Here are some tips you can follow to ensure it is:

Check the Weather Forecast

The very first thing that you need to do before you go camping is to check the weather forecast for the area in which you plan to camp. Ideally, you’ll want to plan a time for camping when the weather is good and also select a specific place where you can easily set up a comfortable campsite.

Of course, things don’t always go the way you planned. Even if a warm and sunny day has been forecasted for your camping weekend, it’s still possible for the weather to change in an instant. If this happens to you, it’s still important for you to be prepared for it.

Accept the Conditions

The weather is something that is outside of our control. This means that even if it’s raining or exceptionally windy outside, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. As a result, the best thing for you to do rather than to complain about the bad conditions will be to accept those conditions and then begin working on ways to adapt to it.

Set Your Camp Out in the Open

This may not sound like the right thing to do. After all, if it’s raining outside, don’t you want your campsite to be covered by as many branches and natural shelter as possible?

The reality is that setting up your camp under trees can make you vulnerable to debris and falling branches from high winds, and it’s important that you keep yourself and the rest of your camping group out of harm’s way as much as possible. This is why searching for an open spot to set up your camp will be the best path for you to take.

Stay On the Lookout for Hazards

Speaking of falling debris, it’s important that you’re in a constant state of awareness and always on the lookout for any hazards that could cause injury: falling limbs and branches, flying dust, dirt, landslides, flash floods, and so on.

Put Time Into Your Camp Setup

You never want to go skimpy on your camping set up anyway, but this holds even more true for camping in rough conditions. A poorly set up camp isn’t going to offer you much protection against crazy weather, which is why you take the time to secure your tent with stakes and rope, and securing all of your other items as well. You don’t want a loose cooler or chair to go flying and crash into someone after.

Invest In High-Quality Gear

The higher quality your camping gear is, the more resistant it will be to bad weather. This is especially true for your tent. Don’t try to save money by buying a cheap tent. The truth is that tent isn’t going to last you for many trips anyway and you’ll end up buying another one in the future, meaning you’ll only spend more money in the long run. You want to get the most durable and moisture resistant tent that you can buy.

Dress Appropriately

Even if the weather forecast promises a hot and sunny day, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bring warm clothes with you. Bring raingear for everybody (such as ponchos) as well as warm clothing such as wool. While cotton is very warm, it also does a terrible job of resisting water and moisture. Wool is equally as warm and insulating in addition to being moisture wicking. Additional clothes that you’ll want to be sure to bring with you include a hat, sunglasses, hiking boots, sandals, and a swimsuit.

Bring Good Sleeping Equipment

A tent isn’t the only thing you can bring with you to ensure you sleep well. You also need to bring a sleeping bag, sleeping pad or cushion of some kind, a pillow, and possibly a blanket if the weather does indeed become cold. How well you sleep at night can make or break your camping trip, since you don’t want to spend an otherwise excellent day cranky and irritated just because you didn’t get many hours of shut-eye.

Don’t Make a Fire

Wait a minute, you shouldn’t try to make a fire when camping? Isn’t building a fire one of the most critical survival skills to learn? And how are you supposed to cook s’mores?

The reality is that a fire isn’t going to do you much good in rainy or windy conditions. While there are certainly techniques out there on how you can get a fire going in the rain or the wind, in gusty conditions you run the risk of the fire becoming out of control and setting the woods around you into flames. You would be better served by spending your time securing your campsite and choosing a good location.

Bring Plenty of Food

The best foods to bring for camping are foods that are filling, nutritious, long lasting, and easy to make. Examples include protein/energy bars, jerky, peanut butter, soup, jerky, trail mix, and coffee or tea. In bad conditions you may not even be able to cook food, so steak and lobster may not be an option. And of course, don’t forget to bring plenty of water (at least a half gallon per person per day).

Get Ready to Make Repairs

Finally, even if you buy the highest quality camping gear there is, wild weather conditions will take its tool. Bring along a sewing kit and other repair tools to get ready to patch up any holes in your tent or damage to your other gear.

Also, don’t forget to bring a well-stocked medical kit too. You have to be prepared for the possibility that you may have to make repairs on an injured member of your group, not just on your gear!