Breaking Camp

When to use this

Start the breakdown the evening before departure — don't leave it all for the morning.

• Last morning of every trip
• Moving to a new site mid-trip
• Teaching the whole family what pack-out means in practice

What you need

• Whatever you brought in

Step by step

1. 1.The night before: clean the kitchen area, dispose of gray water, and consolidate all small items into bags. A packed kitchen takes 20 minutes in the morning; an unpacked one takes an hour.
2. 2.Cold fire first. The fire ring should have been drowned, stirred, and drowned again the night before. In the morning, check it — cold to the touch means cold. If there's any warmth, add water and stir again.
3. 3.Take down the rain fly and tent in reverse assembly order. Stuff the fly in the stuff sack before the tent body — it goes in the car last (first in = last out).
4. 4.Police the entire campsite at ground level. One person walks the perimeter; a second walks through the center. Pick up everything not nature — tent stakes, wrappers, zip-locks, twist ties.
5. 5.Dismantle any guylines, clothes lines, or extra stakes. Count stakes — it's easy to leave one in the ground.
6. 6.Restore the site: scatter any woodchip piles, fill any holes, replace stones you moved. The standard is: the next camper can't tell you were there.

Pro tips

• "Leave it better than you found it" is not a slogan — spend 5 extra minutes picking up trash left by previous campers. It's the difference between a campsite and a degraded one.
• Assign breaking camp tasks the night before so no one wakes up to a disorganized scramble.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the fire is cold because it's been overnight. A buried coal can stay warm 12+ hours. Drown it, stir it, drown it again, then feel with your hand.
• Waiting until morning to start packing. The kitchen and gear prep happens the night before.

Analog companion

Prefer the full landing page first? See the leave no trace quick reference.

Continue learning

• Camp Setup

  Campsite Layout

  Three zones, in this order: sleep, kitchen, fire.

• Camp Setup

  Camp Hygiene

  The dishwashing, hand-washing, and personal hygiene habits that keep everyone healthy.

• Fire Basics

  Extinguishing a Fire

  Drown, stir, drown again — until cold to the touch.