Wild Camping

Quoted message said:

I too have an Hilleberg Akto as recommended by Chris Townsend-
Its great!

Quoted message said:

But, the Akto is very good-easy to errect and very
lightweight.

I second that! I too have the Akto, it's been in a couple of
high winds - pitched the wrong way and it's been fine.

Anthony

I am seriously considering the Hilleberg Akto, Field & Trek
have them for £280, anyone know of any cheaper sources

Cheers

Paul

"Anthony Dyer" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I too have an Hilleberg Akto as recommended by Chris Townsend-
Its great!

Quoted message said:

But, the Akto is very good-easy to errect and very
lightweight.

I second that! I too have the Akto, it's been in a couple
of high winds - pitched the wrong way and it's been fine.

Anthony

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I too have an Hilleberg Akto as recommended by Chris Townsend-
Its great!

Quoted message said:

But, the Akto is very good-easy to erect and very
lightweight.

I second that! I too have the Akto, it's been in a couple
of high winds - pitched the wrong way and it's been fine.

I second the seconding - for the weight the Akto is
phenominally stable and easy to use with a huge vestibule to
cook and store gear. You may be able to get better, but not
at the same weight as the Akto
- and if the weather gets too bad for that tent - you
seriously don't want to be there. The only problem it has
is condensation, mainly because it is so damn good at
keeping the weather out. I try to face the doorway away
from driven rain, so that I can leave it unzipped in the
night. Doesn't always work (not with my luck anyway) as
the wind has a penchant for turning during the night to a
more unfavourable direction, except that is, when I try
the 'double bluff' routine and park it into the wind to
start with! If you don't take any other advice froom the
posting, DO get yourself an Akto. A few extra quid spent
now saves you buying one in the long run, which you will
probably end up doing anyway if you are going to take up
wild camping seriously. Another thing is that although the
lakes are beautiful, if you want solitude and peace, you
cant go far wrong in the montains of Wales. I have spent
several days on the Cambrian Way without seeing a soul,
even on fine weekends.

Steve Jones

Paul said:

I am seriously considering the Hilleberg Akto, Field & Trek
have them for £280, anyone know of any cheaper sources

Cheers

Paul

You could try Knoydart (www.knoydart.co.uk). They were the
cheapest when I got my Akto a few years ago. They were good
to deal with and delivered overnight, I think.

Ooops! I just checked their site and there's a notice saying
to come back tomorrow!

Judith

I've just got back from 4 days wild camping in the lake district - a few
things that spring to mind:
- camp near a good water supply, ideally from a stony stream
or a spring but I've had no problems drinking water that's
just draining out of marshy ground (not ideal though!). I
carry a premac filter but don't use it unless the water
looks very iffy. I wouldn't drink water from a tarn - or
any standing water come to that. Avoid carrying water,
look on the map and plan for where you think the next
water will be available.
- keep clothes and pack as dry as you can while walking as
there's not much in life that's worse than sharing a tent
with a pile of wet clothes and having to get into them
again next morning. Use a liner of some kind to make sure
your sleeping bag stays dry.
- don't bother with any change of clothes apart from one
pair of pants and a couple of pairs of socks
- make sure you take enough food, I've run out of food on
previous trips and that's not much fun. I can recommend
safeways pronto pasta, travellunch, jordans crunchy
cereal, essential flapjacks, homemade trail mix (use loads
of dried fruit). Important thing is calories (I aim for at
least 3000kc per day), don't worry about fat and protein.
Basically any dried food with a high calorie count from
carbohydrates rather than fat.
- at this time of year peg your tent out as if expecting a
gale - one can easily spring up during the night. I use a
Saunders JetPacker Plus by the way and it hasn't blown
away - yet.
- don't take anything you don't need! Hope this helps Tony

"Paul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all

I am planning a wild camp for 5 days in the Lake District,
I have not ever wild camped before, I have experience in
camping from my boy scout days,

and

Quoted message said:

also High Pike, I am fully aware of posible dangers, and
am constantly reading reasearching the area so my wild
camp will be as enjoyable and

SAFE

Quoted message said:

as i can make it, I would be pleased if any other wild
campers with experience in the Lake District could offer
me advice on equipment, what

to

Quoted message said:

take, what not to take, areas to avoide posible areas to
make good wild camps (I dont want your exact grid refs for
wild camps i would like to

find

Quoted message said:

my own) but general locations close to fresh water
supplys, my trip is in the very early stages of planning,
so any help and advice will be valuable to me.

I thank you in advance for any help, advice, and anything
you could offer
me.

Regards

Paul

Paul said:

I am planning a wild camp

Quoted message said:

I thank you in advance for any help, advice,

1. Don't forget the matches (keep them dry, take a lighter,
or two). Nothing worse than being stuck in bad weather
and not being able to light your stove. Ray Mears
firelighting techniques aren't much good on a mountain
top in the pouring rain.

2. Wrap all paper stuff in plastic bags, especially maps,
toilet roll, matches etc. Paper stuff has a habit of
getting wet from moisture and condensation inside the
tent, even if the tent is fully waterproof.

3. Try to camp on east facing slopes if possible. There are
two reasons for this. One is that the wind usually blows
from the west (southwest to northwest) so easterly
slopes tend to be relatively sheltered. The other is
that the sun rises in the east. Not only is it pretty to
look at when you wake up, but more importantly it warms
up the tent and helps to dry the condensation before you
pack it up.

It may seem cool to camp on a westerly slope to watch the
sunset, but it isn't much fun waking up in a cold damp
shadow looking across the valley to beautiful sunshine on
the other side. Even in good weather you can get a lot of
dew and condensation during the night which takes a long
time to dry if there's no sun on the tent.

Paul
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Paul said:

A good tip about safety with my stove, every little bit of
advice helps, and on the subject of stoves, any
suggestions on how many cartriges i should take

I find that a 250 cartridge lasts me about 7 days. When you
get back from a trip it's a good idea to mark the number of
days you've been out onto the cartridge with a felt tip pen
to give you an idea of how much is left.

Alternatively you could weigh a full and empty cartridge to
find out how much the cartridge weighs then subtract the
cartridge weight from any partly used cartridges to find out
how much gas is left.

Paul
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Paul said:

I've been looking at the Vango range of tents im not sure
if should purchase a four season tent?

No.

Quoted message said:

would i need it in the british climate at high altitude
even during winter?

No, not unless you pitch in a bad spot on purpose. The main
thing is to find a spot out of the worst of the wind. It
could be behind a wall or a small crag, or even just a small
depression in the ground (but beware of flooding). A little
bit of care in finding a relatively sheltered spot can make
a huge difference.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My favourite spots are generally on high ridges with a
good view down a valley from where you can watch the
sunrise through your tent door.

I could'nt agree more, although i havent seen for myself
yet i have seen other peoples photos, beautiful, this is
the type of camp i will be looking for.

Be wary of high ridges, it can get seriously windy up there.
A gentle breeze down in the valley can be a raging gale up
on a ridge, especially if you camp in a "wind gap", which is
a low point on a ridge where two valleys meet (a col), or
even just one valley if it's aiming the right direction. The
wind is funnelled up the valley and becomes compressed as it
flows over the ridge.

Even seemingly sheltered spots can suffer from vortices if
there's a valley on the other side funneling the wind up and
over into the sheltered area. Watch out for wind-funnelling
valleys. The wind can curve around too if the valley is
steep and changes direction. I once got hammered by a north-
easterly gale when camped in an east facing cwm due to the
wind funneling up and around.

Paul
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Paul said:

when i say close to water I mean a couple of hours walk,
im sure i can find a decent camp within 2 hours walking
distance.

I really, really, strongly recommend that you don't carry
a load of water for 2 hours. You will not enjoy it. Water
is bloody heavy. I presume you'll be taking dehydrated
food to save on weight? Why save weight on food and then
carry the water?

I always make a point of camping very close to a water
source, ideally right next to a stream, but within say 15
minutes walk at the most. If I don't camp next to water I
set up camp first then walk to get the water. I've tried
carrying water up on to a ridge and added to the weight of
my pack it was torture. Not to be recommended.

I have camped on ridges but I usually manage to find a spot
with water nearby. Even up on a ridge the streams can start
high if they are fed by a bog on the ridge. Sometimes you
can even find springs near the top of ridges. Walking a long
way down a steep slope to get water and then having to carry
it back up to the ridge is very demoralising after a long
day's walk. Been there, done that, no thanks.

Of course, I take a lot of dried food and enjoy quite a few
cups of tea. Some people require less water depending on
what food they take and how many cups of tea they drink.

If possible, camp very close to water. It's pretty easy
to do in the hills because there's water everywhere up
there, just look at all those blue lines on the map. But
beware that those blue lines may be dry high up after a
long hot spell.

Paul
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Andy Howell said:

I wouldn't worry too much about the Akto. I bought a
Nallos and used it in Snowdonia over New Year for the
first time. We had terrible weather and incredibly high
winds on New Year's eve. The tent was fine. I've read
about people talking about their tents just bouncing
upright again - and it works!!!

Really? I still haven't risked my Nallo in high winds. Is it
v1 or v2 that you've got?

Paul
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Steve Jones said:

I try to face the doorway away from driven rain, so that I
can leave it unzipped in the night. Doesn't always work
(not with my luck anyway) as the wind has a penchant for
turning during the night to a more unfavourable direction,
except that is, when I try the 'double bluff' routine and
park it into the wind to start with!

Here's a tip. The prevailing wind in the UK is south-
westerly. This is the direction it blows when a frontal
system is moving in. Most frontal systems pass to the north
of us. As the system crosses the wind "veers" to the north-
west, where it is at it's strongest. As the system passes
the wind then "backs" to the south-west ready for the next
frontal system (although if you're lucky you may get a lull
in the wind if there's a ridge of high pressure in between).

So as a general rule it's best to face the door of the tent
to the east. Since the wind can often shift direction by 90
degrees during the night, it will typically vary from 45
degrees behind you on one side to 45 degrees behind you on
the other.

Of course, this only works with a "typical" frontal system,
which usually arrive from the west and pass to the north of
the UK. Sometimes they can pass to the south in which case
the wind direction will change from south-east to north-east
as it passes. This is more likely to happen the further
north you are, so it may be quite common in Scotland, but
it's quite rare in Wales.

If the system crosses directly over you then the wind will
change from the south to the north with a deadly lull in
between (the eye of the storm!). This is pretty rare.

Also be aware that the complex shape of mountains can alter
local wind patterns due to wind funnelling up and around
valleys and over cols. This is very interesting and often
difficult to predict. If you know which direction the wind
is supposed to be blowing in (check the weather forecast)
look at the shape of the valleys on the map to try to figure
out how they could affect the flow of the wind. Something to
do while you're in your tent trying to figure out why my
advice didn't work... ;-)

But as a basic rule of thumb, pitch the tent facing east.

If it's raining then it's probably coming from the west. If
it's snowing then it's probably coming from the north,
which is a different matter entirely. If it's blowing from
the east it will be very cold but probably won't rain or
snow. If it's blowing from the south you may get sand
deposited on your car (from the Sahara, very rare this but
it does happen).

You know about Ballot's Law don't you? If you stand with
your back to the wind the centre of the low pressure system
is to your left. Usually this means that if your left faces
northwest then there's a pressure system moving in, if it
faces northeast then it will pass soon.

It's important to remember that the wind direction on the
ground is not the same direction that the system is moving
in. Sometimes you can see high clouds moving in a different
direction to the wind on the ground. Sometimes you can see
high and low clouds moving in different directions.
Fascinating stuff. Using Ballot's Law and watching high
clouds can give you a good idea of where the low pressure
system is and which way it's moving, helping you to predict
wind direction. Very useful if you're out for a while and
haven't heard a recent forecast.

Paul
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Quoted message said:

I am seriously considering the Hilleberg Akto, Field
& Trek have them for £280, anyone know of any
cheaper sources

£270-00 but probably p&p on top
alpenstock.co.ukhomeindex.htmOpen ↗

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Be wary of high ridges, it can get seriously windy up
there. A gentle breeze down in the valley can be a raging
gale up on a ridge, especially if you camp in a "wind
gap", which is a low point on a ridge where two valleys
meet (a col), or even just one valley if it's aiming the
right direction. The wind is funnelled up the valley and
becomes compressed as it flows over the ridge.

Winds can be pretty weird, I've walked up from almost
totally calm weather into a wind that was so strong all I
could do was crawl through it, then just a few metres higher
back to total calm again with the wind still raging below.
It was on that hill behind Ben Alder... Beinn Bheoil?

Judith said:

You could try Knoydart (www.knoydart.co.uk). They were the
cheapest when I got my Akto a few years ago. They were good
to deal with and delivered overnight, I think.

I may have given you bad advice. I received a Knoydart
catalogue through the post today..... and the Akto is £310.
Not exactly a bargain.

Judith

AndyP said:

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Be wary of high ridges, it can get seriously windy up
there. A gentle breeze down in the valley can be a raging
gale up on a ridge, especially if you camp in a "wind
gap", which is a low point on a ridge where two valleys
meet (a col), or even just one valley if it's aiming the
right direction. The wind is funnelled up the valley and
becomes compressed as it flows over the ridge.

This can be a life saver when its m*dge time!

Richard Webb