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At the start of the year, I set myself the objective of camping out every month of the year. Twelve camps that shouldn't be too hard should it ? After all I tend to do more than that each year. But what I've struggled to do is maintain my tent-dwelling evenly over a year, and … Continue reading Camp of the Year 2015
It could have been a great trip, were it not for the weather and the way I dealt with it. Here's the story of the trip - how it was planned, what happened and the lessons learned. The individual posts telling of the story of the trip are indexed below: Initial Planning - The initial phases of planning … Continue reading Trip Report: A Far Eastern Odyssey
Every year on the weekend nearest to my birthday I go away for one or two nights with the tent. Whilst it's good to get out, the main driver is the fact that my daughter's birthday is 3 days after mine and she somehow manages to pull rank when it comes to any parties scheduled … Continue reading A Birthday Camp
A trip with the express purpose of having my first wild camp. I chose an area I'd visited before, with reasonable options for a bail out if needed, but which also gave the opportunity to revisit places I'd not been for a while, some favourite places and to mop up some fells missing from my … Continue reading My First Wildcamp
Monica is in the garage, sprawling languidly over a selection of discarded furniture and old boxes, as she dries out from the trip. It was sods law that having been dry as a bone both nights up high, that she should be sopping wet on the morning I travel home. I lay in my sleeping … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 4: Job Done
I woke (yes actually woke, thereby signifying that I'd actually slept!) early and stuck my head out the door to see if there was any sort of sunrise going on. Not much happening of interest, so I had a lie in. Sleep had come courtesy of no musical wind, a better set of nocturnal sartorial … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 3: Drawing the Line
All night the wind gusted around the tent, setting off metallic twangs as the crossing poles resonated. I lay shivering in my sleeping bag, barely dozing for much of the seemingly endless night, willing the dawn to come. Yes it really was that cold. So cold that the slightest movement brought me into contact with … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 2: Tired, Cold and Hungry
Quite literally, in fact... It was a struggle to get everything in my new Golite Jam, but I really wanted to avoid going up a rucksack size to my Lowe Alpine Khumbu 65:80 for what is a relatively short trip. So the Jam really was jam packed and bulging. I was also pushing the boundaries … Continue reading My first wild camp – Part 1: Jam Packed
This week my work situation became a little clearer, and I've felt able to view a trip at the end of April/start of May as something which is going to happen. And in order to enjoy the spontaneity that the trip will bring, some further planning and decisions will be needed. What's also happened is … Continue reading Wild Camping planning 2
I really don't know how to say this, and not feel pathetic, so I think I'll just come out with it: I've NEVER wild camped. No, not once. The nearest I've come is a deserted camp site, which I'd love to count, but don't really think I can. I've always wanted to do it, have … Continue reading Planning my first wildcamp