First Solo Night

[WeeWildyCamper]

Well, I finally managed to get out for my first night ever in a hammock! I packed my 40L rucksack (waaaaay too small for everything lol, but I was determined!) and headed out to a spot I've known for years after growing up here...what I saw when I got there however, gave me a bit of a shock

[video=youtube;4d0iDlQVLdc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d0iDlQVLdc&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

(Beware, I probably should have shortened it more, too much of me blethering lol!!)

Eventually managed to find somewhere to hang for the night, and yes I've missed out a whole lot of things I should have mentioned about hammocking with a disability, but I'm new to this whole youtubing vblog thingy lol! It's as much of a learning process as the bushcrafting...but at least I know what sort of things to do next time

Suffice to say I had an awesome time with the dog...the most difficult challenge I encountered was actually walking to the spot - I use a walking stick & had to park as close as I could which I hate having to do, and I would have liked to go further but couldn't as I was in a fair bit of pain. Anyway, I learned a lot about what I could change while out there which is always beneficial.

Any advice would be well appreciated!

 

[Mick721]

Great vid! I bet your dog was comfy!

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

Thanks very much Mick aye, when she got settled that was her sound - made trying to turn in the sleeping bag extremely difficult though lmao!

Sent from my SM-T310 using Tapatalk

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

Great little vid and thanks for sharing.
Its been and still is a learning curve for us all but that's part of the fun.
You said you were cold, what did you have under your sleeping bag as insulation?
When its chilly I still use a bottle filled with hot water pushed down by my feet. If there warm so am I.

 

[ReamviThantos]

Nice wee trip, thanks for sharing.

 

[Goatboy]

Great wee video,

Looked a good set up, especially as it was your first time out with the kit. The Pup looked happy (despite the swinging) and seems the whole thing was a success with just a few tweeks needed. Pity about the rain; I was actually having difficulty seeing the screen due to the sunshine as I'm sitting outside on a glorious day!

Sound and picture quality was great, all came out really clearly. Nice spot you were at too - pretty sure I know it. Nice to see the flowers out.

Hope to see more - just remember the chocolate sprinkles next time .

ATB,
GB.

 

[redandshane]

Fair play to you. Nice to hear/see a video diary
Did you use rubbing alcohol in the meths burner? might be better with meths here s a summary of different fuels its in Americanese but translates OK http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/alcohol-as-stove-fuel.html.
Re Cold feet did you have wool socks on?

I admire you for getting out there despite the difficulties you have with back etc; hopefully inspirational to others who have stuff they feel may prevent them getting out so keep it up and keep the vids coming.
Thats a well behaved Staffy you have there and the bond between you is obvious to see

 

[crosslandkelly]

Good report. I enjoyed the video a lot. Glad you had a good time, and nearly every trip out is a learning experience.

 

[GordonM]

Nice video of your overnighter. Thanks for sharing.

 

[weekender]

Good video report great fun to watch, lovely looking staff. Nice looking set up. Liking the wood stove as well. Thanks for posting.

 

[smojo]

You are one brave person well done. How did you find the comfort level in the hammock with a bad back. I imagined it would put a strain on it as you must be sort of curved like a banana in a hammock. Never used one so am interested.

 

[kaizersoza]

great video, WeeWildy, I too have had some serious surgery on my spine, I recently bought a TW hammock Green Hornet and can't wait to try it out, I went out a few times last year with my little coleman bedrock tent up in the Brecon Beacons and really got the bug for wild camping, so I have upgraded my tent set up as well to a vango banshee 200, but its the hammock camping I am looking forward to most, love the staffie, I have had one as a constant companion for 13 years and he is 'da bomb' I don't know whether I will post any videos on You Tube yet but you did a great job and I hsve also subbed your channel, happy swinging Kaizer

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

Great little vid and thanks for sharing.
Its been and still is a learning curve for us all but that's part of the fun.
You said you were cold, what did you have under your sleeping bag as insulation?
When its chilly I still use a bottle filled with hot water pushed down by my feet. If there warm so am I.

Thanks Johnnyboy I only had an old army green foam mat, one of the older ones that's really thick - I'm much the same as you in that if my feet are warm, I'm warm...if they're cold, I'm frozen lol! I'm building my kit as I go - my existing gear is getting on for 10-16 years old and needs replaced with smaller, lighter items to make it easier on my back to carry (much as it pains me to retire some items...they still perform wonderfully!) The dog made a wonderful wee hot water bottle in her own right, she was a braw heat on my back!! Tbh, I wanted to get out with the gear I've got, to get a good gauge of what's most important to replace, as money's a bit tight - and also to find my own comfort zone

The water bottle idea's a cracker - I'm considering filling my Camelbak bladder with hot water and sticking that at the bottom of my bag

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

Great wee video,

Looked a good set up, especially as it was your first time out with the kit. The Pup looked happy (despite the swinging) and seems the whole thing was a success with just a few tweeks needed. Pity about the rain; I was actually having difficulty seeing the screen due to the sunshine as I'm sitting outside on a glorious day!

Sound and picture quality was great, all came out really clearly. Nice spot you were at too - pretty sure I know it. Nice to see the flowers out.

Hope to see more - just remember the chocolate sprinkles next time .

ATB,
GB.

Aww thanks GB...aye, she was the proverbial pig in sh*t...lotsa sticks to 'kill' & dismantle lots of smells & interesting things ~and~ getting to sleep in the bag with me and she was over the moon!
Tbh it was the rain that had occurred over the previous weeks/months that was the problem, everything was totally saturated - the wee drizzle in the night/morning had stopped by the time I packed up to go

TYVM for the lovely compliments, any tips or things people would like to see more of/explanations of kit are always welcome, good to know where I'm going wrong as well as compliments And as for the sprinkles, I'll need to make my own wee tub to take, they don't put them in the boxes anymore

WWC

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

Fair play to you. Nice to hear/see a video diary
Did you use rubbing alcohol in the meths burner? might be better with meths here s a summary of different fuels its in Americanese but translates OK http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/alcohol-as-stove-fuel.html.
Re Cold feet did you have wool socks on?

I admire you for getting out there despite the difficulties you have with back etc; hopefully inspirational to others who have stuff they feel may prevent them getting out so keep it up and keep the vids coming.
Thats a well behaved Staffy you have there and the bond between you is obvious to see

Thankyou so much! She's my wee gem, I've literally had her since the minute she was born, after my ex and I bred a litter (it was kind of the one thing I was bothered about making sure I kept when we separated lol!!) it's lovely to hear that the bond is noticeable

I was indeed using surgical spirits, I had some from playing about with making some popcan stoves lol...I don't think any shops here sell meths, and just took what I had with me, but it's been rectified now...the meths is ready and waiting for the next trip

As for me feet, wool socks were worn, but I've got a touch of Reynauld's Syndrome (crap circulation to yer extremities) so trying to keep my feet & fingers warm is like trying to shoot fish in a barrel but will try out the Camelbak hot water bottle on the next one

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

Good video report great fun to watch, lovely looking staff. Nice looking set up. Liking the wood stove as well. Thanks for posting.

Thanks weekender, I can honestly recommend the woodgas stove, it's a great piece of kit, 14cm in diameter but packs a lot of punch heatwise & leaves a ridiculously small amount of ash because of the secondary combustion...it's incredibly efficient and I had great fun using it - it's amazingly relaxing just feeding wee bits and bobs into it

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

You are one brave person well done. How did you find the comfort level in the hammock with a bad back. I imagined it would put a strain on it as you must be sort of curved like a banana in a hammock. Never used one so am interested.

Cheers smojo, on the contrary, it's an awful lot more natural than lying on the ground, as the hammock sort of moulds to your body shape and it provides a very comfortable sleeping position...I think I mentioned in the vid that it was no worse than sleeping in my own bed, which has a memory foam topper - I can honestly say I woke with a slightly lower amount of baseline pain than usual, and although I woke a few times with the dog moving or my feet being cold, I felt like I'd had a refreshing sleep...not something I have the luxury of at home. At home I often wake up feeling the same level of tiredness as I have when I go to sleep due to constantly waking with pain in the night (I have a bed rail to help me turn over & get out of bed in the morning, and the pain during the night is horrendous) - hope this makes sense lol?

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

Just be careful as many bottles won't hold hot water due to them expanding.
This is the one I use and happy with the temp ratings.
http://www.heinnie.com/product.asp?P_ID=2577&strPageHistory=related

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

great video, WeeWildy, I too have had some serious surgery on my spine, I recently bought a TW hammock Green Hornet and can't wait to try it out, I went out a few times last year with my little coleman bedrock tent up in the Brecon Beacons and really got the bug for wild camping, so I have upgraded my tent set up as well to a vango banshee 200, but its the hammock camping I am looking forward to most, love the staffie, I have had one as a constant companion for 13 years and he is 'da bomb' I don't know whether I will post any videos on You Tube yet but you did a great job and I hsve also subbed your channel, happy swinging Kaizer

Heyhey kaizersoza...thanks for the compliment & smiled at your name - superb film ...will return the sub! (what's yer username lol?)

The Green Hornet is an awesome bit of kit, especially when you're on a budget & want to try hammocking...I was impressed with the zips on both sides, and the midgenet 'compression' straps - the uprated ripstop is great for Shadow's claws, I was paranoid I'd be dumped on my **** in the middle of the night and I wasn't disappointed with the performance looking forward to hearing how you get on with yours!!

I had to give up wild camping with a tent after my surgery as I found I was in agony all the time & trying to get into a low tent & sleeping flat on the ground was just making life unbearable - tried buying a Vango Icarus 500 and an Outwell Vacanza double height air mattress, but I'm just not a car camper at all...takes away the connection to nature for me! So finding that I can nip out and wild camp with a hammock and tarp was almost literally a lifesaver for me - I was stagnating in the house, getting increasingly depressed and at a few points suicidal because I had to give up every hobby I had, all of which were active & sporty.

Staffies are just amaaazing dogs, very demonized by the press and anyone that doesn't understand dogs - you don't read in the MSM about collies and labs attacking people, although it does happen - they truly are the 'Nanny Dogs' they used to be nicknamed when they're brought up and trained properly...it's the neds and eejits that want status symbols & have no idea or can't be bothered to look after their dogs properly that give them a bad name, which is a terrible shame. I'm a firm believer in deed not breed, and that it's the owner, not the dog that is the problem a large percentage of the time!

 

[WeeWildyCamper]

Just be careful as many bottles won't hold hot water due to them expanding.
This is the one I use and happy with the temp ratings.
http://www.heinnie.com/product.asp?P_ID=2577&strPageHistory=related

Cheers for the link, will keep it in mind but thankfully you can fill a Camelbak bladder with steaming hot tea or coffee with no problems...I can vouch for that might give boiling water a minute or so to cool down before I put it in the Camelbak as there's no milk to cool it slightly.