Heading into the wild? Follow these directions

The first time I slept in a trailer, I felt like a traitor to my tent. Then the heater kicked in, my kids slept in and I had a fancy feast for breakfast. Being a traitor has its benefits.

"We bought a motor home two years ago, and we love it," says Jim Mac, director of communication for Keystone RV. "We tow our jeep behind us. We take our dogs with us. It's really all the things I liked when I tent camped, only a lot more comfortable."

Things to consider:

This is the easiest kind of camping when it comes to packing. Once your trailer is stocked, all you have to do is make sure you haven't outgrown the clothes still in there from last season and add a few perishables.

Hard-side camping is not cheap. You'll spend at least $10,000 on a new, small trailer. High rollers in luxury motor homes easily push a second mortgage with their rides.

Your water supply is limited only by the size of the large tank in the trailer's underbelly. And not even by that if you're in a campground with hookups.

Fifth wheels are easier to back up than pull-behind trailers, but they require more horsepower to pull and take up your whole pickup bed for hitching.

Pull-behind trailers weigh less and cost less. They're harder to back up, but you have the whole truck bed for bikes and the dog's crate.

BASIC WHEELS

I've tented my whole life, but I haven't packed up camp in the middle of the night since I was little. Long gone are the days of broken zippers and rain running through weak seams. Improved tent technology is evident in the happy medium of car camping.

"I don't have the means to buy a trailer nor do I have the vehicle to pull something like that. I've got a smaller, younger family and car camping just works for us," says Steve McGrath, marketing director of Camp Chef. "Advances in cooking and sleeping outside have come a long ways. You don't have to rough it anymore to enjoy the outdoors." Consider:

If you don't want the responsibility, or the maintenance, that comes with a house on wheels, car camping with a tent is for you. Trunk space is a limiting factor, but weight is not.

Keep a 5-gallon water jug in camp so you don't have to find a spigot every time you need to wash your hands.

You can have hot meals with all the works. A two-to-three burner stove or even a portable oven with a stovetop is a realistic option for car camping.

Camping in bear country? Keep your food and toiletries in the car not the tent. Even toothpaste smells good enough to eat to a bear.

Camp in an area with multiple view sheds. Set up a spotting scope and keep binoculars nearby for wildlife watching.

NO WHEELS

I like the challenge of surviving on what I can carry. If self-sufficiency is what drives you, leave the wheels behind and go under your own power.

"Innovation makes backpacking more comfortable, more attractive and ultimately more approachable for people," says Michael Meyer, Granite Gear senior director of design and development. "The outdoors will draw you in and, hopefully, the backpack and gear you take with you will not interrupt that draw."

Some things to think about:

Pack light. If you don't need it, you don't want it. Carry no more than 30% of your body weight on your back as a beginner.

If you don't mind sleeping roofless, save yourself the weight and don't pack a tent. If the thought of bugs crawling across your face keeps you up at night, tent it. Just know that backpacking tents are not for comfort. They're for cover.

A good sleeping bag is mandatory with or without a tent. Pay attention to the bag's temperature rating, and strap a light, roll-up mat to your pack.

Lose the water weight. Carry a well-made water filter and make sure you know how to properly use it so you don't get sick.

Pack flip-flops. Your feet will thank you when the boots come off after a day on the trail.

Set camp close to water and pack a fishing rod. There's usually a simple way to attach it to your pack, and it's lightweight entertainment.

I'm an outdoor journalist. I work and play outside often enough to say I also live outside. My life and my livelihood depend on my ability to survive in the woods, so I pay attention to what works. Whether you're heading out with a full trailer, with a packed car or with just the stuff you can carry on your back, camping's not as rough as it sounds.

About Kris Millgate

The quiet cast of a fly line cures writer's block for outdoor journalist Kris Millgate. Many of her multimedia production ideas come from the time she spends in her Idaho base camp. She investigates outdoor and environment issues for TV and web with cross publication in newspapers and magazines.

Millgate graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in broadcast journalism in 1997 then worked for one TV station or another around the country for a decade. Shemade the move to multimedia as a freelancer in 2006 with her production company, Tight Line Media.

Millgate won first place for Outdoor Ethics with OWAA in 2009 and the President's Choice in 2011 and 2012. The Idaho Press Club honored her with Best Documentary in 2010 and 2013 and Idaho Fish and Game honored her with Outstanding Service for Wildlife Conservation in 2013.

She placed in National Geographic's Top 10 film competition in 2014 and two of her films toured the country with the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in 2013 and 2014.

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