iBakeMemories

Camping – it’s something I’ve wanted to do forever!

Nahyan and I went on our first camping trip together with Ontario Parks’ Learn to Camp Program! We went to Sibbald Point Provincial Park, only an hour away from Toronto!

It was so nice to spend some time out in nature. We read books, cooked together, talked for hours, and drank a lot of tea of course 📚 🥘 🗣☕️

Reservations and Booking a Learn to Camp Ambassador

You can reserve a camping spot on the Ontario Parks website. Make sure you click the ‘Campsite’ tab on top, and fill in the details such as date, and the party site. It will show you the spots available, and you can choose the one you like. 🙂

You can also book a Learn to Camp ambassador for a 30-minute workshop right at your campsite! There’s different skills you can choose from – Camp kitchen, How to build a campfire, Campsite clean-up, How to keep a clean campsite, and more!

Since this was my first-time camping, we booked an ambassador to help us set up camp, and it was very helpful 🙂

Food at Camp

If you’re planning a camping trip, of course you’ll want to enjoy the food on your adventure. But keep it simple – not too much prep, cleaning or cooking time.

What gear did we use to cook?

• Portable propane stove
• Propane tank (there are small ones that are easier to carry)
• Cast iron skillets
• Basic Utensils

What can you make at the campfire?

• Marshmallow + skewers or sticks to hold them over the fire
• Corn – you can put it directly on the grill, we wrapped it in aluminum foil
• Tea – we put our little kettle on the grill
• Burgers – yeah, we took frozen patties, dropped them on a skillet over the fire, and toasted the buns as well

How did we make a fire?

There are so many ways to do this, but we stick to the teepee style:

• We put a fire starter in the middle, surround it with kindle, and then firewood (everything can be found at places like Canadian Tire and Home Depot)

• Because there were light drizzles on the weather forecast, we took some fire starter fluid spray for good measure
• Fan – it wasn’t the plan, we found the closest thing to a Bangladeshi pakha if it got too hot, but it was perfect to fan the fire to make sure it catches on the firewood

Now the main event, what did we make?

Nachos are a perfect simple meal!

I chopped up most of the veggies at home, got shredded cheese, and a bag of chips. Took everything in a cooler with some ice (put the ice in ziplock bags so the water doesn’t leak!) and you’re good to go! Full recipe here.

To cook, we used a portable propane stove and it’s super easy. You can do it over the campfire itself! 🔥 (but you’ll need more patience and the right tools)

Breakfast idea – Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet

After a cozy night in our tent, listening to the sounds of rain and the wind, we woke up excited for breakfast!⁣ We made sweet potato breakfast skillet, with coffee on the side, and took it to the beach to enjoy the view! Full recipe here.

For most of my cooking, a cast iron pan, some spatulas and aluminum foil to cover the food was enough.

How did we pack our food:

• We pre-planned the meals and cut veggies in advance, put them in separate ziplock bags
• Pack it all in a cooler and surround it with ice
• We froze a bottle of water, so as that thawed, we had some refreshing ice cold water available too
• Store condiments and dry food in a separate bag

How did we clean up:

• Bring several garbage bags to throw away garbage, helps to double bag it so the smell doesn’t get out, because you’ll need to keep garbage in the car (don’t want some invite local animals to your camp site)
• If you have dishes, you can wash them there, and there are places to dump the soapy water (not at your camp site)
• We mostly took disposable things or packed it in a separate garbage bag to wash them at home

Ideas for next time?

This was our first camping trip together, so we kept it simple with just the two of us. Definitely want to take Zakariya next time, he loves being part of our adventures.

For food, I love the idea of frozen chilli, it’s literally all cooked, just warm it in a pan and bring some garlic bread! Also, because cooking takes more “effort” outdoors, I’d take more snacks to nibble on (that don’t need any prep). And definitely not forget to take sugar for my tea…

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Well, that’s my first camping trip. But definitely not the last!

If you have any advice, recommendations, or questions, I would love to hear your thoughts. 🙂 

Bye!
-Tasnim

PS: To see more from our camping trip, check my story highlights called “Camping” on @ibake_memories 🙂