What do you wish you had known?

[Ape_Ogre]

A couple of mates and I are heading out camping in a couple of weeks, we are all in our forties and due to family, work, etc. its been a good decade since any of us spent more than a single night out in the wilds. We have found what looks like a nice site, North Wales, camp fires allowed, between a wood and a small lake. I have read the top tips and they are excellent, but more information is always good

So my question is this: What do you wish you had known when you first started sleeping out?

 

[Nevyn]

Bringing a hat of some sorts!

 

[boatman]

Nothing, if chilly etc then put up with it.

 

[Harlequin1974]

Good question - top 5:

1. Insulation from the ground is as important as your sleeping bag.
2. Long sleeves and long trousers are your friends in the war against mozzies (along with a good repellent).
3. Test your kit out first - its not fun learning how to put up a tent for the first time in the wet.
4. If you end up having to sleep on a slope make sure your head is uphill.
5. Marshmallows cooked over a fire and a mug of hot chocolate make everything seem more idyllic.
Have fun
Jim

 

[MartiniDave]

Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

 

[Philster]

Wet sucks!

 

[Janne]

To put mozzie reppellant on all exposed skin before bed time.
To go for a number 1 and 2 before you snuggle in the sleeping bag

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Insects can make your trip hell. Take good repellent, a mossie head net is worth it's weight in gold, and have some anti histamines for any that get through.

J

 

[dewi]

Take what you want to take that makes you comfortable rather than leaving stuff behind because you're worried about what others might think.

For example, the first couple of times I went to meets I didn't take anything to sit on... I thought people would frown at me wandering the woods with a foldaway chair for whatever reason. Now I take a chair and I take a small table most of the time that I use as a sort of kitchen. I still get raised eyebrows at the volume of food I take with me... but I like my food.

One thing I've learned as well is plan your ablutions in advance... digging a hole when you're desperate isn't very pleasant.

 

[Janne]

Dig a hole?

Behind a rock/tree is fine with me. Away from the track or site.

 

[santaman2000]

I wish I'd known I was going to live this long; I'd have taken better care of myself.

 

[Janne]

I wish I'd known I was going to live this long; I'd have taken better care of myself.

Very, very true.
So many "important" things I would not have done!

 

[dewi]

Dig a hole?

Behind a rock/tree is fine with me. Away from the track or site.

I was told many moons ago... faeces is the biggest killer, so I bury it.

Besides, I'm a guest wherever I go (ie its not my own woodland) so it would be terribly rude to leave a mess.

 

[Macaroon]

I was told many moons ago... faeces is the biggest killer, so I bury it.

Besides, I'm a guest wherever I go (ie its not my own woodland) so it would be terribly rude to leave a mess.

Fully agree with both the above points - no excuse at all to ever leave your own waste in the open for it affect others, never mind yourself. Very bad practice on the grounds of both health and manners. And especially as we live on such a small and soon to be overcrowded island.

 

[Janne]

In Sweden we are not overcrowded, and are happy not to dig any holes that can damage the roots.....
And feces are only dangerous if infected then ingested or similar...
first rain will dissolve it.

 

[Macaroon]

In Sweden we are not overcrowded, and are happy not to dig any holes that can damage the roots.....
And feces are only dangerous if infected then ingested or similar...
first rain will dissolve it.

You must do what you see fit and right, I don't want anybody defecating on my doorstep and I certainly won't on anybody else's: That's it and all about it

 

[santaman2000]

In Sweden we are not overcrowded, and are happy not to dig any holes that can damage the roots.....
And feces are only dangerous if infected then ingested or similar...
first rain will dissolve it.

Yes the rain will dissolve it (albeit not necessarily the first one) and wash it into the nearest stream unless you've chosen you spot well (law here in Florida for public lad requires it to be at least 100 feet off any trails and campsites, and 200 yards away from ponds, streams, lakes, etc.

In areas such as the bigger national forests or the open range out West, it's not a problem. In the UK I imagine a quite different situation. In either place, good outdoor manners and trail etiquette cost nothing.

 

[sunndog]

not to dig any holes that can damage the roots...

Damage roots?......we are talking about a little scrape here. it would be quite a challenge to do any damage to a tree's root system with the alu snow stake i use
In this country it is a big rule to bury your waste and either burn or carry out anything that wont degrade quickly, i have a small bottle taped into the curve of my snow stake that fuctions as a handle and somewhere to put used wet wipes

 

[Janne]

Yes, customs vary between countries. No sane Scandinavian would defecate close to a house or a stream.
we have something called Allemans rätten, which most of us follow

When I dig, I dig deep. But I never dig in nature!
You talk scraping a bit of top soil on top, which is different!

 

[dewi]

I don't understand how digging a 6 inch hole is going to damage the roots of a tree, but then again I may be a little naive when it comes to trees in Sweden.

Personally I would feel a bit uncomfortable just dropping on the ground (trying to say it in the politest way possible) and even if I did, I'd be concerned about what it would attract... especially in a country with bears. I'm not suggesting bears are pant-sniffers to be clear... I'm sure bears are far more concerned with other more pressing matters such as picnics and train stations.

Maybe I'm a repressed Brit... just seems odd to leave waste laying about... and at the same time I have that voice (however comical it sounded and still does) looming in my ears of the sergeant telling me "Faeces is the biggest killer".