Hi All,
You know sometimes it can be a funny old world. In the winter you can be sitting around camp wearing seventeen layers of clothing sat as close to the fire as you dare when wearing polyester clothing. And then comes the time that you’ll say to your camp mates how you can’t wait for those balmy summer months to arrive so that you can carry less and enjoy a good night’s sleep in nothing more than your underpants.
I remember thinking just that when I was wild camping in January and February. Now summer has arrived, temperatures have sky rocketed and I’ve just returned from two nights wild camping in my local woods. I took a cheeky half day off work on Friday, got home grabbed my fully loaded rucksack (that I’d spent many days preparing, packing and re-packing) and off I went like an excited kid at Christmas……
Five minutes into my walk to camp and I was sweating profusely, I was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt! I met my mate who was waiting for me at the halfway point and re-assuringly he looked to be melting at a similar rate. That’s when the thought first entered my mind….won’t it be nice when those cooler autumn months arrive!
After a bit of bush-whacking, we found our camp spot and what a wonderful spot it was too. Off the beaten track with plenty of decent trees from which hammocks and tarps can be suspended and a nice clearing on which we can have a small communal fire, I had a good feeling about this camp. Moments later I had the trusty tarp pitched and had my hammock set just so (we all have our own preferences on the angle of our dangle!). I settled down for a quick breather before carrying on with camp chores and in that moment I started to hear one of those other synonymous sounds of the British summertime…..the campsite was buzzing…..literally! There was a constant drone of mosquitos buzzing above our heads. At this point I reached for the bug spray and pondered my second thought of Autumn camping!
Having prepped some wood I was pleased to have successfully lit the fire with my traditional flint and striker which was quite nice as it was only the second time I’d done it. The tinder bundle was homemade (or dare I say camp-made!) char cloth and a nest of slightly less than adequate pine needles. Once the fire was lit we pretty much kept it going as a small and manageable fire for the duration of our camp. The fire is less essential in the summer but we had an ample supply of fire wood in what was a neglected section of wood. It cooked our dinner, boiled water for tea and crucially helped keep those pesky bugs at bay.
I was very pleased with my tarp and hammock set-up. Sometimes you feel like you can never get the hammock set-up as you like it and other times you get it bob on! Suffice to say I enjoyed two great nights sleep and, having ground dwelled for the last few camps, I’d forgotten how comfortable my hammock was. Indeed, the only time in two nights that I was prematurely awoken from my slumber was to the sound of myself snoring!
The second day was spent doing very little apart from some more wood prep a spot of camp fire cookery (bbq pork loin with new potatoes and corn cobs) and no camping trip is complete without a spot of whittling, this time with a new knife that my wife had bought for me (Enzo Necker – very pleased I am with it too!). It’s also great to just sit and listen to nature do its thing in the woods and to look around at all the trees and try to test your knowledge on what they are. In terms of the wildlife, it was great to see so many huge dragon flies (I believe they were emperor dragonflies) and hear the distinctive sound of a parakeet flying overhead – the first time I’ve heard them in my part of kent. It’s also always a pleasure to hear the buzzards ‘mewing’ high up in the thermals and the owls calling at night, I couldn’t make out which species of owl it was but am slowly learning. I’m steadily trying to hone my knowledge of bird calls because when you’re in the woods it is so often the case that the birds are heard but rarely seen.
Here's some of the other setups in camp.
My brother (setup on the right in this next photo) won the award for lightest loadout as he brought a basic dd hammock and a fleece blanket, just goes to show you don't need all the gear and gucci stuff to enjoy a nice night out!
And that as they say was it, I enjoyed a slow pack down in the morning and a considerably lighter pack to carry home. As always it was a very pleasurable and relaxing camp with good company.
The mosquitos though….they can do one!!
You know sometimes it can be a funny old world. In the winter you can be sitting around camp wearing seventeen layers of clothing sat as close to the fire as you dare when wearing polyester clothing. And then comes the time that you’ll say to your camp mates how you can’t wait for those balmy summer months to arrive so that you can carry less and enjoy a good night’s sleep in nothing more than your underpants.
I remember thinking just that when I was wild camping in January and February. Now summer has arrived, temperatures have sky rocketed and I’ve just returned from two nights wild camping in my local woods. I took a cheeky half day off work on Friday, got home grabbed my fully loaded rucksack (that I’d spent many days preparing, packing and re-packing) and off I went like an excited kid at Christmas……
Five minutes into my walk to camp and I was sweating profusely, I was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt! I met my mate who was waiting for me at the halfway point and re-assuringly he looked to be melting at a similar rate. That’s when the thought first entered my mind….won’t it be nice when those cooler autumn months arrive!
After a bit of bush-whacking, we found our camp spot and what a wonderful spot it was too. Off the beaten track with plenty of decent trees from which hammocks and tarps can be suspended and a nice clearing on which we can have a small communal fire, I had a good feeling about this camp. Moments later I had the trusty tarp pitched and had my hammock set just so (we all have our own preferences on the angle of our dangle!). I settled down for a quick breather before carrying on with camp chores and in that moment I started to hear one of those other synonymous sounds of the British summertime…..the campsite was buzzing…..literally! There was a constant drone of mosquitos buzzing above our heads. At this point I reached for the bug spray and pondered my second thought of Autumn camping!
Having prepped some wood I was pleased to have successfully lit the fire with my traditional flint and striker which was quite nice as it was only the second time I’d done it. The tinder bundle was homemade (or dare I say camp-made!) char cloth and a nest of slightly less than adequate pine needles. Once the fire was lit we pretty much kept it going as a small and manageable fire for the duration of our camp. The fire is less essential in the summer but we had an ample supply of fire wood in what was a neglected section of wood. It cooked our dinner, boiled water for tea and crucially helped keep those pesky bugs at bay.
I was very pleased with my tarp and hammock set-up. Sometimes you feel like you can never get the hammock set-up as you like it and other times you get it bob on! Suffice to say I enjoyed two great nights sleep and, having ground dwelled for the last few camps, I’d forgotten how comfortable my hammock was. Indeed, the only time in two nights that I was prematurely awoken from my slumber was to the sound of myself snoring!
The second day was spent doing very little apart from some more wood prep a spot of camp fire cookery (bbq pork loin with new potatoes and corn cobs) and no camping trip is complete without a spot of whittling, this time with a new knife that my wife had bought for me (Enzo Necker – very pleased I am with it too!). It’s also great to just sit and listen to nature do its thing in the woods and to look around at all the trees and try to test your knowledge on what they are. In terms of the wildlife, it was great to see so many huge dragon flies (I believe they were emperor dragonflies) and hear the distinctive sound of a parakeet flying overhead – the first time I’ve heard them in my part of kent. It’s also always a pleasure to hear the buzzards ‘mewing’ high up in the thermals and the owls calling at night, I couldn’t make out which species of owl it was but am slowly learning. I’m steadily trying to hone my knowledge of bird calls because when you’re in the woods it is so often the case that the birds are heard but rarely seen.
Here's some of the other setups in camp.
My brother (setup on the right in this next photo) won the award for lightest loadout as he brought a basic dd hammock and a fleece blanket, just goes to show you don't need all the gear and gucci stuff to enjoy a nice night out!
And that as they say was it, I enjoyed a slow pack down in the morning and a considerably lighter pack to carry home. As always it was a very pleasurable and relaxing camp with good company.
The mosquitos though….they can do one!!
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