Setup your tent first

One mistake I've seen a lot of novice backpackers make is to make dinner before setting up their tent at the end of a tough day of hiking. This is a bad idea for a couple of reasons:

1. After you've eaten dinner a lot of the blood that would normally be bringing oxygen to your brain is now going to your stomach to help digestion. If your tent is even the least bit complex to assemble this will make things much more difficult.


2. The later and darker it gets the more tired you'll feel and the harder it will be to see so you're likely to take less time in prepping your site and you may end up sleeping on twigs, small rocks, etc. that normally should be cleared from under your tent.

Typically the first thing I would recommend you do when you reach your camp site is begin clearing the ground where you plan to set up your tent. Once you've cleared out all the small pokey things you can set up your tent and I usually suggest unrolling your sleeping bag as well (this gives it time to fluff up). After all that is done, make yourself some food and know that when your done eating you can climb straight into bed.