Sleeping When Camping

[Tye Possum]

I wake up early as well but I don't mind, I've never liked to sleep in. The thing I don't like is that I'm stuck waiting for everyone else to get up. I like getting up early outdoors, breathing in the crisp cool air, making myself some breakfast and sitting down next to the remains of the fire while having a hot drink... Too bad that the people I camp with don't bother with that stuff, they just sleep in for hours because they went to bed late and had to sleep on the hard ground instead of their nice comfy bed. I don't go to sleep when it gets dark but I don't get up with the sun either. I wouldn't mind it though because it's the natural way and makes you feel more at home in the woods instead of just a visitor who didn't like the guest bed.

 

[w00dsmoke]

Go with the flow.

When it gets dark, go to sleep, when the sun rises, get up.

Live with nature, don't fight it.

Yeagh I agree. Go to bed when it gets dark, get up at first light. I'm not a great fan of camping with loads of others. I can't stand pxxx heads with their drunken antics when I'm trying to sleep and I'm nearly always up first and early.

I guess the only time I lie in is when I'm having a bad night or when it's so cold/wet/dreich and I'm snug in my hammock and just want to enjoy it and watch the world go by.

For ground hugging you can't beat a traditinal canvas rubber airbed but a hammock beats them all.

 

[jabbadahut]

I like to be up early, it doesnt matter what time, when at home i get up at anything from 4.30 to 7.30 but when im out im always up with the first light have a brew and then usually go back to bed and just have a light snooze for a while.
i'm not too bothered about people making noise when i'm trying to sleep as i can sleep on a chickens lip at a disco!

 

[verloc]

This is a good thread. I tend to rise earlier than everyone else I camp with - don't know what it is but I never seem able to sleep in. Almost feels like a waste - especially if Its the weekend or you out in the woods. Light comes up, I get up and time for brew and bacon.

I don't know if this is going to make sense but when I sleep in a tent I do get more sleep but since discovering the ways of the tarp / bivvy I feel like I get a "better" sleep. I agree completely with sentiments of BorderReiver that it is best to go with the flow, they're always the trips I return home from being the most relaxed.

 

[xylaria]

I find I can sleep later in a hammock than I can in a tent, esspecially if the sun rises behind my head. There is something very pleasing about the sun rise warming up a tent though.

It is nature, I just go to bed earlier. The other half can lie in bed to 10;30, which I quite frankly find really annoying. I get up, tell the kids to be quite as it is 6:00am, re-kindle the fire , make coffee, get the kids to cook first breakfast, Fetch more water, heat the water, wash stuff, get dressed, stoke the fire, cook second breakfast, wash up, then he gets up and pityfully says is there any bacon left? GGrrrrhhhh! if only aluminum pans didn't dent so easily:twak: .

 

[rik_uk3]

I can sleep anywhere, anytime, sleep is not the problem, its the "hi de hi" brigade that do my head in. I work shifts so my sleep pattern is messed up anyway hence I've learned to "shut down systems" on demand, this really annoys the wife when we travel; I just say "wake me up when we get thereZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz all the way.

Big camping area and and 'my own space' is doable most times. All this said, I do take into account that normal folk are in bed earlier than me and give them respect with regard noise from my area/space/mates at night.

 

[Sisyphus]

I find I can sleep later in a hammock than I can in a tent, esspecially if the sun rises behind my head.

That's a good point I hadn't considered as a hammocking newbie, just setting up the hammock east to west...best for the view of the sunset then too.

 

[inthewids]

Im just back from Orkney, slept in a 2 man tent, i only managed about 30 minutes of sleep it was SO windy/ rainy/ snowy, i had ear plugs in but it didnt help. I sleep well at home but usually have a few hours off and on camping, still you cant beat waking up in the woods even if you are knackered

 

[w00dsmoke]

I may have missed something but I didn't know Orkney was famed for it's woods...:yelrotflm

 

[Chinkapin]

The worst night's sleep I ever got in my life was one night kayaking down the Illinois River in Oklahoma. My wife and I spent the night in a public campground, sleeping in a too small tent, without matress pads, next to a large tent full of people playing Poker, and getting drunker and drunker and louder and louder as the night wore on. It was a relief to get up with the sun.

 

[Chinkapin]

By the way, parts of Kansas will have up to 15 inches of snow by the end of the day. We do not normally get anywhere near this amount of snow.

 

[inthewids]

hahaha, yeah i meant in general. indeed i only saw a handful of spindly trees there, no hammock action up there!!

 

[rik_uk3]

Im just back from Orkney, slept in a 2 man tent, i only managed about 30 minutes of sleep it was SO windy/ rainy/ snowy, i had ear plugs in but it didnt help. I sleep well at home but usually have a few hours off and on camping, still you cant beat waking up in the woods even if you are knackered

Sounds like you lack confidence in your kit, when you know and trust it, sleep will come, not sure of kit means you will wake up often in the night.

 

[inthewids]

It was a borrowed tent, it was seriously windy!! Its usually my pillow situation that wakes me up, need a better one, and a bigger, warmer sleeping bag.

 

[NatG]

nope sleep like a baby the secret is to have your sleep kit well chosen.

for example, i'm a bit on the hefty side, so i have a big sleeping bag to allow me room to move about, i like a relatively soft bed so i use a small light blow up mattress instead of a mat, it just gives that bit more lift off of the floor. I also use a cotton bag stuffed with clothes and stuff as a pillow, it keeps my head up and helps keep me comfortable.

on top of that, try and make sure you camp in a level place with as few bumps as possible something tiny like a pebble will give you HOURS of grief.

a few bevvies will help you sleep if all else fails

 

[xylaria]

I can sleep anywhere, anytime, sleep is not the problem, its the "hi de hi" brigade that do my head in. I work shifts so my sleep pattern is messed up anyway hence I've learned to "shut down systems" on demand, this really annoys the wife when we travel; I just say "wake me up when we get thereZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz all the way.

It must be woman thing, like your wife I get really annoyed when the driver says that as well.

I can sleep through noisy parties. We went to shell island in the first week of summer holidays, and the din from the parties and people on the weekends was really loud, but we no problem sleeping through it. The wind however often wakes me up, it doesn't wake anybody else in the family up, but then I have had some near misses with high winds.

 

[sandsnakes]

I'm a bit of a troubled sleeper and when I'm camping it really annoys me that I'm waking up at 5am when the sun rises because the tent lets so much light in. I know that you may as well get up early and enjoy the day but sometimes I like to go, have a few beers and relax the next day preferrably not before 9am

Anyone else have the same issues?

Jonnno

I have the same problem. A couple of things that may help.

People when sleeping out burn more fuel to stay warm, as a result the need for a morning wizz is much greater ! Just before dawn is often the coldest part of the night. So that's the point when the load on the metabolisum is highest. So get up have a wizz, go back to your sack and have a brew of something like miso soup to raise body temperature. Dont have tea or coffee as they are stimulants. You may also consider adding a silk linner to your bag as it may be a cold issue. If you are a ground gripper like me, have a volcano kettle or a Swiss kettle preloaded and ready to go. so wizz, get back in your bag, brew up, get your core warm again and you will have the joy of watching the morning change and getting another hour or so sleep.

Using the same principle I have had wonderful weekends when its been snowing or just raining cats and dogs. Works every time.

Sandsnakes

 

[Landy_Dom]

I find the waking too early can be a problem at times, but the last several times i've been it's not been an issue - don't seem to find it a problem in Jan / Feb - not sure why?

Dom.

 

[jonnno]

Top advice all round - cheers. I think I'll invest in a sleep mask. I didn't want to because it seemed a bit at odds with the outdoors lifestyle but I'll give it a go and see if it helps. Just need to find one now - they're suprisingly hard to lay your hands on..

 

[firecrest]

The only times ive slept well in the woods is through sheer exhaustion of being awake from the night before! I usually dont sleep the first night, its my own fault, I tend to find Im either too cold, or not set up right, or I go to bed with a headache from dehydration - either from having a tipple or because Ive been busy setting up I tend to drink much less than normal.
As for the light waking you up, I usually wake up with my head buried under blankets. I know you arent supposed to breath into the sleeping bag, but some time during the night I inevitably cocoon myself.