Let's Go Camping: How to Travel on the Cheap and Explore the Great Outdoors

When Rachel Hunt was about 6 years old, she went camping on a Girl Scout trip in Rockville, Maryland. "It was stormy and rainy all night, no one got any sleep and no one really had much fun," says Hunt, who is now 41 and a public relations professional in the District of Columbia. From that moment, Hunt swore off camping for life. But after she met and married her husband, Steve, the topic of camping resuraced because he grew up camping with his parents and two brothers.

Initially, Hunt says she was "staunchly anti-camping," but she warmed up to the idea after realizing how much cheaper it would be than staying in hotels. (Campsites often cost $25 to $30 a night.) Fifteen years later, Hunt says, "We still camp and backpack and take turns speculating on which one of us is more hard core for camping."

Camping is the type of vacation that becomes cheaper the more you do it because it's an investment of time and money. If you just camp once, especially only for one night with new equipment, it may be the most expensive "cheap" vacation you'll ever take.

[Read: Glamping Brings Comforts to Conventional Camping .]

So if you're a novice or a first-time camper and the idea of taking an inexpensive vacation and experiencing the great outdoors appeals to you, here are some things to consider before gassing up and hitting the road.

If you can, pack someone else's camping equipment. This isn't a way of tapping your inner cheapskate. Before laying out a lot of dough for a new tent, stove and other supplies, ask friends and family if you can borrow camping equipment. After all, you may discover that you hate camping.

"Most camping gear really doesn't have a shelf life," says James Pillow, an avid camper in Orlando, Florida, who sells college apparel online. "Sure, it can dry rot, but if it is maintained, it will last a long time. So the best thing to do is borrow a friend's gear and go and try it out. I think most people spent way too much on their gear and are happy to loan it out to people."

You could also rent camping equipment. For instance, the outdoor store REI, which has locations throughout the country, rents camping equipment, including tents, sleeping bags and backpacks.

Places to buy discounted camping gear include SteepandCheap.com. Meanwhile, sites like GearTrade.com sell used camping equipment.

Buy only what you need, then upgrade as necessary. The camping cycle of Eric Hannan is instructive. "I used to camp with a backpack, a tent and a sleeping bag. That's all I needed," says the Newport Beach, California, entrepreneur who also has a camping blog, ShoreLooksNice.com.

But after camping a few times with his girlfriend and future wife, he says, "she said she needed running water and toilets, so we had to be more civilized in the places we camped at. The next progression was comfort, and the first thing we bought was an air mattress. I fought this because I didn't think it was manly to camp with an air mattress, but once I tried it, [I decided] I'll never go back."

From there, he bought a bigger tent and eventually an RV. "We have every amenity of home, minus a washer and dryer," says Hannan, who now lives in the RV with his wife.

The lesson is that you should start with the basics. If you find that you love camping, you can upgrade or add to your gear collection down the road.

The basics. To get an idea of what to put on your packing list, here's what some avid campers recommend.

[Read: How to Pack for a Safe, Healthy Camping Trip .]

A tent and sleeping bag. "You don't have to spend the big money for comfort. Just think dry," Pillow advises. "Dry equals comfort." You can find plenty of tents in the $150 to $300 range, but for an example of how low you could go, Wal-Mart sells a two-person hiker tent for $30.

Michael Kobylarz, who has a personal finance blog, MoneyBeagle.com, agrees that a tent that will keep you dry is of utmost importance. "We went on a trip once that was supposed to have a brief rain shower. It ended up thunderstorming for eight hours straight," Kobylarz says. Fortunately, he says, he purchased a "highly-rated tent that was advertised as waterproof, and it lived up to its expectations, as we were dry all night."

Cookware. Think small and simple. Two-burner propane stoves are popular and sell for as low as $30 to $40, though you can certainly spend more.

A lot of people waste money on food preparation, says Akshay Nanavati, a success coach based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. "You can go cheap on a simple pot to cook in and one cup for all your food, soups, everything. You need nothing more than a Nalgene [bottle], an insulated flask, a pot, a spork and a bowl to eat from. All super lightweight and cheap."

For would-be campers who don't like the idea of dining on wieners, CampingForFoodies.com features camping-friendly recipes and videos to help you make such creations as grilled turkey and sage sausage dressing.

And pack matches. "It seems obvious, but people forget them all the time," Pillow says.

A flashlight, headlamp or lantern. It gets dark out there.

Ibuprofen or something along those lines. "Hiking and camping uses muscles that haven't been used in awhile," Pillow warns. It's also smart to pack a kit containing insect repellent, medicine to treat cuts or poison ivy and some bandages.

A pad to go under the sleeping bags. "A must-have," Hunt says. "The ground is hard." Pads provide cushioning and insulation and can be made of foam or require inflating. Expect to spend $30 and up.

Camping reservations. Once you have your supplies, your next task is choosing a place to camp. In many areas, you can find campgrounds with spots that are first-come-first-served, but competition can be fierce during the summer months and for coveted, scenic spots. One way to guarantee you have a place to lay your tent is to reserve a site through ReserveAmerica.com, which lists thousands of public and privately owned campgrounds. It allows users to search for a campground by name or location, type of camping spot (such as tent, boat or RV) or specific features (such as a waterfront site or one that allows pets).

[See: America's Coolest Campgrounds .]

F inally, bears. You were wondering about this, weren't you? Hunt says she and her husband, in 15 years of camping, saw their only black bear in the wild last year while camping in California. They were driving, and the bear was far enough away that they felt comfortable getting out of the car to look at it.

Hunt says she worries more about moose ("they're huge and intimidating") and even deer ("fearless and can become aggressive").

"I don't worry about bears," she says. "It's the small things -- poison ivy and bug bites are likely to be the biggest threat on any camping trip."

But to keep bears away, camping experts advise storing food securely and out of sight in a bear-proof container or a bag hung from a tree. Some campgrounds even provide lockers to store your food. You don't want to have snacks -- or even toothpaste -- in your tent.

Following this rule will protect not just you and your family, but also your camping investment. After all, if a bear wanders through your campsite, you probably won't be thinking about the several hundred or thousand dollars' worth of camping gear you're leaving behind as you sprint for the car and speed off toward the highway.