Ask whom? lol The poor scout master is the only experienced camper going and he has five kids of his own to tend to, plus three other non-camping parents to cope with. I am on my own. It'll be fine though. It's not like I'm backpacking the Grand Canyon alone. There's a service station within 30 minutes and if we're super miserable or forget something important, we can run out and get it or just go home. I do want to make sure it's a good experience for the kids though. My daughter is super excited.
! I would not have had the foresight with the rain/ incline. That's exactly what I meant with this question. If you don't go camping, there are some really basic no-brainer things that are super easy to overlook. Thanks!
Wondering off a trail can be a mistake it's easy to get lost in the woods or get hurt. A common entertainment ,mistake is not bringing glow in the dark paint - it's fun to paint up some rocks and place them around the camp site and see them glow at night plus you can bring them home with you as souvenirs. Cheers!
Unless going with someone experienced at wild camping I'd suggest the first is a one- or two-night experience somewhere benign and reasonably accessible, or even on a small-scale commercial camp-site (I do NOT mean the busy sort that try to emulate towns, with shops, bars etc!), simply to get used to the equipment and how to pitch and pack the tent and sleeping-bag.
Oh, sleeping-bags... you will also need some sort of thin mattress, of appropriate type such as the self-inflating ones. It gives not only some comfort but also heat insulation from the cold ground.
And if the rain comes? Assuming it's not also accompanied by destructive winds, which you don't want to be camping in if at all possible. It is part of the skill of camping, and satisfying, being able to live dry and warm inside the tent, especially and vitally the inner tent where you sleep.
Reverend Muhammadovsky 