It sounds harsh and even a little bit silly, but the first rule of camping safety is: don’t do anything dumb. You wouldn’t think it should be necessary, and it might be useless, to point out how that’s unsafe. But one can always try. Two common dangers that are easily avoided are lightning and inappropriate climbing.

Over 100 persons per year die outdoors from lightening strikes, most of those in wilderness areas. It kills more people in an average year than any other weather related phenomenon.

Lightning occurs most frequently within clouds, but a small percentage forms CG (cloud-to-ground) strikes. If you happen to be the tallest thing around, such as when you are standing on top of a hill, your odds of getting struck are higher.

Humans have substantial amounts of salty fluid within their bodies and that often makes for a preferred conductive path, relative to other nearby objects. You are even more so when you get wet, as from rain that precedes or accompanies lightning.

But it isn’t necessary to be the highest, or even the most conductive, thing around to get seriously injured from lightning strikes. Being higher or more conductive makes you more likely, but the odds are still far from zero even when you’re not.

Further, it isn’t necessary to be struck to be injured. Lightning carries enormous voltages, it’s true. But it requires only a modest amount of voltage to push electricity through you. The current (the amount of actual electrons flowing) is the primary killer. And lightning contains extremely high currents. Obviously, anything which can split a tree transmits considerable energy.

Just being near a lightning strike can knock you down or disturb physiological processes, such as injuring your eyesight, breaking an eardrum or singeing your skin.

A second major way in which some campers exhibit less than stellar reasoning is taking unnecessary risks in climbing or hiking.

Standing too close to cliffs is an obvious no-no. Rapid, unexpected gusts of wind are common in camping areas. It takes very little to push you over, especially if the ground near the edge is loose (as it often is). Don’t tempt fate by moving closer than a couple of feet from the edge.

Climbing up can be just as dangerous. Rocks can loosen, leading to a fall and producing falling debris on your partner underneath. Trees growing out of the mountainside are clinging to rock by fragile roots. Small disturbances, such as you grabbing them for a handhold, can easily pull them loose. Bad for the tree, worse for you.

Even if you don’t fall a dangerous distance, minor cuts and scrapes can turn deadly outdoors. It’s rare, but improve your odds by keeping them minor. Breaking a bone, especially a leg, outdoors is no minor matter when there are no medical facilities nearby.

Don’t try to exceed your limits by a wide margin. Risk for the sake of adventure is part of an exciting life. Foolish risk for the sake of impressing your fellow campers is dumb.

One of the great joys of camping is experiencing the outdoors - fresh air, beautiful scenery, peace and quiet. But there are advantages to modern civilization, too, and not all of them have to be left behind. Cooking, lighting and powering cell phones, GPS units and other devices all require some kind of power.

Most power sources are gas or electric, though liquid fuels like ‘Coleman fuel’ or white gas, kerosene and unleaded gasoline are used as well. If you drive an RV to the campsite, you may be able to power a number of things off the RV, either by connecting to large batteries, or using it as a generator. But most sources will require a self-contained source.

In times past, kerosene was a popular choice for both cooking and lighting. But the unpleasant smell made it less than ideal. Today, most lighting is electric. Coleman-style lamps are everywhere, even though Coleman is far from the only manufacturer. Being copied is the price of producing a successful design.

Solar powered lighting is becoming more common. Most campsites, at least during non-winter months, have ample sunshine anywhere outside heavily tree-shaded areas. Photo-voltaic cells are used to absorb all that free energy, storing it up for later use. They convert that radiant energy into electrical power, typically storing it in rechargeable batteries.

The efficiency of contemporary solar cells is so high that lamps can now be used for up to 12 hours, and some have mechanisms for powering other devices as well. One type, the Everlite (http://www.newlite.com), can supply power to recharge cell phones, Blackberries, iPods, GPS units and other devices.

One way solar powered lamps accomplish that amazing task is by using bulbs that use electricity very efficiently - such as LEDs. The older generation will remember LED clocks and watches from the 1970s. Those clocks had red numbers, made from a series of dots or lines composed of Light Emitting Diodes.

Back then, they required substantial power, but they’ve been vastly improved. LEDs (no longer just red) can now produce very bright, natural spectrum light with a minimum of power. LED bulbs used in the home (not solar powered), for example, can last 10 years or more, while consuming much less electricity to illuminate them.

One of the drawbacks of traditional electric Coleman lamps is the need for heavy batteries - either the large, rectangular (and massive) 6 volt type or several D-sized. With modern fluorescent or LED-type lamps that’s no longer necessary. The power requirements are much lower.

An alternative to electrical lamps is the still-popular propane or kerosene. Either can be used as a means of producing light, and they are cost-effective and produce adequate light. But refilling propane devices is less convenient and kerosene still has that unpleasant smell. For those who prefer them, however, they are available and usually at lower cost than solar powered or LED lamps.

Whichever method you prefer, always pack at least two lighting sources - a Coleman-style table lamp with a handle that can be hung on a branch or set down and a flashlight. You’ll use both frequently.

The three most common toxic plants that campers are likely to encounter are poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. Any one of these can cause a painful, itchy rash.

Poison ivy is probably the most common of the three, since it grows throughout most of North America. Shrubs can be as tall as four feet (1.2m), but it is frequently found as ground cover between 4-10 inches (10-25cm) high. It rarely grows above 5,000 feet, but most campsites are below this elevation.

There’s an old saying ‘leaves of three, let it be’ that makes for a good start on identification. The leaves tend to be a dark, dull green but can be purplish at certain times of the year.

Poison oak also has multi-lobed leaves, with fuzzy fruit on the branches. Sometimes the leaves are scalloped around the edge and can be wrinkled rather than smooth as poison ivy leaves are. Three lobes are more common, but five lobed leaves exist as well.

Poison oak grows in sandy soils from southern New Jersey to Florida, but occur in western parts of the U.S. too, such as Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The range extends north to the Sierra Nevada all the way up to southwestern British Columbia in Canada and as far south as northern Baja California in Mexico. Some types are found in Washington, in the Columbia River gorge, Oregon and Nevada.

Poison ivy is more common in the east, poison oak in the west and south.

Poison sumac is the least widespread, since it prefers very wet soils such as swamps and peat bogs. The leaves are bluish green, sometimes with red tips or tints. The berries on the bush are cream colored. Though less common, it is the most toxic of the three.

All of them produce urushiol, which is the material that sticks to the skin and produces the unpleasant rash. One particular problem with contact is that since urushiol is oily it can easily be spread to parts of the face, hands and elsewhere by casual brushing. The oil tends to stick to parts it contacts and then stays there, where it quickly binds with skin cells.

The rash can range from mild to severe and cortisol creams are usually used to treat the symptoms. The first step to treating it, once you know you’ve made contact, is to avoid spreading it. Don’t touch your face or other parts of the body.

Washing thoroughly with soap and water helps, but once contact has been made some amount of effect is almost inevitable. Fifteen minutes after contact, washing has minimal effect, since the urushiol has already bonded to the skin. There are a fortunate percentage (around 15%) of individuals who are immune to the effects. There’s no vaccine and extreme cases can lead to blistering and a burning sensation.

Apply a spray or cream to treat the effects and avoid scratching, no matter how great the temptation. That will only make it worse. The effects take about two weeks to fully wear off, but if treated the itching will subside in a few days to a week.

Avoidance is the best policy.

Camping should be spontaneous, fun and relaxing. But in order to relax and enjoy that spontaneity, advance planning is a must.

Camping has been a tradition for over 100 years, but back then it wasn’t camping so much as just living in the wild for a while. It began in earnest, as a widespread form of vacation, in the 1940s. But it really got going over the following 20 years as the post-WWII economy improved and the highway system developed.

Now, with RVs and the advance of technology camping became enormously popular. Tents, sleeping bags, GPS units, cell phones and much else is much different than 20 years ago. The result? Many campers vie for a spot during certain weeks of the year for a limited number of campsites.

Commercial campsites sprang up to satisfy the need, but there are limits from economic constraints (many campsites don’t make profitable businesses). The number of desirable spots outside National and State parks is limited, too. There’s only so much great scenery around.

So, the first step in planning your camping trip is to decide when and where you want to go, then make a reservation. There are hundreds of places online to do that. Two are ReserveUSA (http://www.reserveusa.com) and The National Park Service Reservation Center (http://reservations.nps.gov).

Like booking a good cruise, you’ll need to book at least three months ahead and, for the best spots, possibly as much as a year or more. Rooms at the famous Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, often require booking two years in advance. Pretty extraordinary considering that the cheapest room is $350 per night.

Once you have a confirmed reservation you can prepare your packing list. You could throw everything into the SUV and take off. But the odds are high you’ll overlook something essential.

You’ll need a well-stocked first aid kit. You should spend time reviewing the list of most common toxic plants for the location you chose and any wildlife warnings for the area. Bears are common in some areas, wild cats in others.

Make a complete list: tents, sleeping bags, clothing, tools, stove, lighting, … that’s appropriate for the place and time of year. That list will be at least one page of four columns full of things even just to hit the basics.

Investigate any road closures, especially if you’re planning a winter camping trip. Floods, rocks slides, snow avalanches, ice and other problems are still fairly common.

As the trip date gets close, check the weather. Most camping areas are in the mountains or away from urban areas. Those areas tend to have less predictable weather with sudden rain squalls, thunderstorms, etc. But, you can get a good idea of what you’re likely to encounter anyway. Pack accordingly.

Plan ahead carefully and you’ll be in a better position to relax and forget about controlling events during your trip.