Alec, the manager of our Keswick store is a keen wild camper. Here, he talks us through a little trip he took recently, and provides an insight into setting up a wild camping pitch.
The Plan
With spring well and truly here and the evenings getting longer, it's about now when the draw of wild camping starts to take grip on me.
In all honesty, I'm not one for going out in the freezing cold over winter, and I do not particularly enjoy sleeping in a small tent in heavy rain or overly windy conditions. Don’t get me wrong, I will if I have to, but one of the many great things about living in the Lake District is being able to choose the best times to get out and about. This particular Saturday night was the hottest day we have had for a while, with a clear night and a clear morning to follow. All in all, a great night for a camp.
A Short Walk
So I arrived home after a typically busy Saturday in the Keswick store, finished sorting the last of my kit I had started to sort the night before, kissed the kids and my wife goodbye and swiftly headed on my way. Not that I was keen to get away from the family, but the light would fade quickly and I wanted to set up the tent in the while the sun was still in the sky, ideally.
I live in Cockermouth, about 20 minutes from Keswick, where I have great access to the North Western Lake District. A short drive followed by a short walk would get me to my location, a remote part of the Lakes in a nice wooded area surrounding a small body of water. After about a 30 minute walk, I was ready to start step 2 of a simple 3 step setup to wild camping.
Set Up Camp
I was using a trusty old tent, a Vaude Hogan UL1 which I have had for many years. I want to start using a tarp or hammock (or both) soon but for now, my faithful one person tent will give me enough comfort for a good night's sleep.
The Vaude Hogan UL1 is simple to set up, very light, stable enough in the wind and has a fully separate flysheet so can be pitched as just an inner during hot summer nights!
A quick scout around and I found a flat(ish) bit of ground, covered in some moss so it was pretty soft. I did a quick sweep of the area to remove any twigs or other bits that could damage the tent, I found quite a few roots and twigs under the moss to be removed. There were small pine cones scattered around so I kept all those for some kindling to be used later.
5 minutes later, the tent is up, I throw my Therm-a-Rest and sleeping bag in, and then it's onto the last step of a wild camp...
“Man Make Fire”
There's no point camping without a fire in my opinion. Fire gives heat, light, deters insects and allows you to cook, therefore making it an essential for any campsite.
It also gives me something to do! Obviously having a fire in a woods has a certain potential amount of danger to it, so I always keep it small and dig a small pit first to prevent it spreading. I follow the "Leave No Trace" mantra, so I make sure I take everything with me when I leave, and ensure all of the fire remains have been adequately scattered and the soil I remove has been replaced.
I have become pretty skilled at getting a fire going now with tinder and a flint and steel. As mentioned, whilst clearing the area for the tent I found a lot of small dry pine cones which burn well. I also found a lot of dry pine needles laying about from some of the dead branches, these are also great to burn as tinder.
I carry with me a Light My Fire (LMF) tinder on a stick and also Maya dust. These are both dry resin soaked so catch a spark easily. I cut small shavings from the tinder stick to get the fire going, it takes a few minutes of striking a spark for the shavings to catch. I soon had some small flames so I started building up the fire using smaller bits of twigs/needles and cones.
I prefer to use bigger logs once it gets going a bit so I can get more heat with less flames and also don’t have to keep going and getting smaller stuff that burns off quickly.
Once I'd got the fire going, I grabbed the axe and went to find some bigger wood I could cut to size to stockpile for the night. I found a tree that had fallen down a fair while ago, and dead dry branches burn well. Wielding the axe, I started to chop away and 3 swings in….the head of my axe flies off, the handle broke! Oh well, not a lot I could do about it, I found some smaller stuff, broke it up by hand, went back to the fire and settled into my Therm-a-Rest chair and watched the flames.
Sleeping...5-6 Hours Is Good Right?
Well I think so.
I normally get into the tent about midnight, I can’t say I remember ever sleeping past 6am, what with the light and noise of nature. It’s nice to be able to get up, re-ignite the fire, make a drink and get packed up and on my way!
For a quick camp out, I will get home for breakfast with the family, if I have the luxury of some extra time then I will take some food with me to cook on the fire before heading out of the woods or down off the fells.
So there you have it, a taste of wild camping in the Lakes. For me there is a sense of escapism about it, it serves as time to relax, switch off and for a brief moment strip things back to a simpler level. Keep warm, eat, drink, ponder and sleep. It might not be everyone's cup of tea but personally, I love it!
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