10 Tent Camping Life Lessons

New helpful insights after living off-grid for one month now.

This spider web can only be seen at 0845 Eastern because of the way the morning sun hits it. The rest of the day, it’s invisible. (Photo by author.)

On July 8th, 2022, Maycee, my eight-year-old Great Pyrenees, and I began tent camping in the woods of Upper Michigan, and we/I, have learned much about survival on multiple fronts.

Now these may seem like lessons that are only applicable to off-grid tent camping, but without too much effort, you’ll soon see they apply to living life on a daily basis regardless.

Life lessons learned while tent camping include:

1. The importance of reducing dependence on others and using more of what you have
2. A “no news” diet is best of all
3. A Great Pyrenees needs to adjust to change, too
4. Bug spray does not keep the bugs off
5. You need specific tools on hand and a budget to purchase when needed
6. Tent rain flies work well when installed correctly
7. There’s a tarp for that
8. Managing electronic devices’ power consumption and develop charging methods takes considerable effort when there’s no electricity
9. Being lost is as simple as one wrong turn
10. Do not waste time or energy on distractions and naysayers