Dome Tent

For two people get at least a 3/4 person tent. In fact, even for one person, a three or four person tent is nice. Dome tents are quite inexpensive - go to any of the large discount stores to see what they have. If you want, you can bring a hammer or mallet to pound stakes into the ground. Most often I haven't needed to put stakes into the ground since the weather is pretty mild, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. But, as with other tools, if you don't have a tool, one of your neighbors might have it so it's not crucial by any means.

Ground Cloths

It's nice to have two. One is good underneath the tent but if it pours, it's sometimes nice to have a second one to put over the tent (besides your rain fly). Get one with grommets if you think you might ever use it as a roof rather than under the tent. (You'll need rope if you want to do that.)

(If you wanted to get fancy, you could bring a rake to rake the ground before you put your tent down. I seldom bother with this.)

Sleeping Bags

Everyone has different theories on what they like. For couples, you'll probably want to get two matching that are designed to zip up together. In the discount stores, they may not mention what they do - you'll just have to try them and see. For couples, you'll want the kind of bags that can open up to be totally or almost totally flat, rather than staying as a mummy bag. For one person, it's a matter of individual preference. Mummy bags are good if you expect to do much cold weather camping. But, as a single person who camps in warm weather mostly, I prefer the kind that can unzip altogether to form a quilt. And I bring sheets and make up a regular bed. In cold weather, I can still zip up the bag.

Sleeping bags are made with down or with man-made fabrics. Down bags are warmer in my experience, but are useless if they get wet. Man-made ones are usually bulkier, easier to keep clean, and less expensive. But personally, I've never stayed warm in a man-made one. (Lots of people have disagreed with me on this - probably most people are perfectly comfortable in the man-made fabric kind.)

Pad

No two people seem to have the same thing. I use a futon - I like being comfortable. Others love the therm-a-rest pads sold in camping stores. Also, a foam mattress works. Since I haven't backpacked in years, I go for comfort. If you look at a few stores, you might find a folding pad - the kind that fold into three sections - that's another option. Foam can usually be purchased at Army/Navy surplus stores - perhaps a 2 inch thick piece of foam would work. Of all the possibilities I've suggested, the therm-a-rest takes up the least amount of space in a car.

Lighting

A good flashlight is essential for each person, and one lantern per campsite. I go for battery-operated lanterns these days - the propane ones were incredibly time consuming. My most recent purchase came from Walmart.

Pillows

Just bring what you use at home.
Folding chairs

Bring at least one for each person. If you have more and have the room, it can be nice to have two. Then you can leave one by the fire, and keep one by your tent.

Food

If you want to cook, I recommend getting a propane cook stove, either one or two burner. For two people, a two-burner might be more useful. For one person, a one-burner is all I've ever needed. And I buy the green bottles of propane that you screw on - they cost around $2.99 or $3.99, and you can purchase them in camping stores, hardware stores, even supermarkets and drug stores often have them. I always bring my stove with the idea that even if I just want to have a cup of tea, it's be nice to have. But if you bring the stove, then you need a pot (for boiling water) and matches. And if you want to cook (or heat anything up), you need a frying pan, oil, spatula. Cooking is a personal choice in terms of how involved you want to get. For a weekend camp out, I both cook ahead of time, and bring food that doesn't require cooking - like cheese and apples, sandwiches, etc. Minimally I bring dishes (paper or plastic), cups or water bottles, silverware (regular or plastic), the cook stove, a pot, a frying pan, a spatula, salt, paper towels, a cooler or blue ice cooler (for one person a blue ice cooler works), tea bags, olive oil, sweets, munchies. If you expect to drink, you can add alcohol to this list.

Potluck

At CSN camp outs, there will be a potluck on Saturday night. It's easiest to bring something that doesn't require either refrigeration or cooking, but if you have a cooler with extra space, that will work too. Also, it can be fun to prepare your item at your campsite. It all depends on how you want to spend your time at the camp out. Remember to bring serving dishes and serving utensils to go with whatever you are bringing.

Water

I bring at least two gallons - for two people, four might be good.

Cleaning Up

Bodies - I've started bringing a big plastic bowl to wash my face and body with. If you get fancy, you can boil some water and combine with the cold water. If you want to get even fancier, you can buy yourself a little solar shower for about $6 but it takes water, rope and some time to tie it up and use it. When I showed other people my notes, they said they didn't feel any need to wash up at a camp out. To each his own.

Dishes

If you use paper plates and plastic silverware, you don't have to do any cleanup. If you bring hard plastic stuff - 99 cent store can be a good source - for a weekend you can just scrape off the dirtiest stuff and wait until you get home to clean things. Or you can get into it, boil water, bring a sponge and dish soap and do it in the same bowl I mentioned above. Depends too if you want to buy the kind of soap that doesn't harm the environment - Dr. Bronners is a liquid soap that's good for people and dishes and is intended to be environmentally friendly. For me it depends how much I use whether I dig out my Bronners.

Table

I have a tiny little low table (about 15 by 9) that cost less than $10.00. When I go camping in a campground, the table is provided and I bring a picnic-type tablecloth. When I'm wilderness camping, I make do with the little one. But it doesn't cost a lot if you want to buy one. But for now, you might even have something that folds up - like those wooden ones they sell at Walgreens - that you can bring. My friend has a Coleman table that folds in half and fit into my car extremely easily. If you plan to use the cook stove for much at all, it's very useful.

Miscellaneous Items

Toiletries, etc. - Toilet paper, paper towels, plastic bags for garbage, tooth brush and paste, suntan lotion, bug spray if you think you'll need it (I seldom do), etc. If you want, you can also bring a spade or other kind of digging tool for toiletry needs. (Or find a stick.)

Bring things you enjoy doing - I bring shoes (and socks) to hike in, a Frisbee, books, cards, paper to write with, camera, binoculars. I also sometimes dig out my futon from my tent during the day and lay down on it. If you want to read, you may want a backrest or a chaise lounge type chair.

Clothes

Warm clothes in case it gets cold, a warm hat to keep the heat in when you sleep if you expect it to be cool at night, and a sun hat for the day time.

Final Thoughts

Once you've gone camping a few times, you may want to keep a lot of your camping gear together so you don't have to start packing from scratch each time. And I personally keep a lot of my camping gear in my car year round, including salt, binoculars, rope, ground cloths, folding chairs, a sponge, my small table, a pot, my bird book, and warm clothes.