First night in the bush

Joben

Joben

Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
1,755
a.k.a. a tent in my back yard. :p

I'm getting into the whole camping thing late'ish (I'm 26).
Last night I went for a practice run in my back yard.

I slept in a pop-tent I found in the attic.
It did a good job of keeping the skeeters away, but I don't really like it. Claims it's 3 man, but i had to sleep diagonal so I wasn't brushing the walls with head and toes.

Also, i tripped over one of the guy lines for the fly, putting a nice rip behind most of the seam in that side. :rolleyes:

Notes to self: (1) don't be an idiot (2) make guy lines out of International Orange paracord from now on

Anyway, It was a hot very humid night. But I knew it would get chilly in the small hours. I brought a large beach towel to protect from ground chill. (I don't have a sleeping bag)

I slept in cotton pajama pants, a t-shirt, thick socks and a hooded sweatshirt. my legs got chilly so i draped my rain slicker over them as an afterthought. That didn't work so great, when i woke at about 5 in the morning everything was damp, but my legs and socks were almost wet.

Note to self: waterproof fabrics work both ways.


Ooops, have to dash off to work now, more thoughts later. :)
 
Dude, you have a few tricks to learn.
First buy yourself a good pad to keep off the ground, Thermarest make good ones.
next a sleeping bag - I prefer down ones, but you must keep them dry. They compress more and weigh less but the loft will keep you warm, I have used them in ice caves before.
Then i reccomend an inner bag, basically a silk coccoon, the good ones have a mosquito net for your head - these keep the bag clean and help you sleep when its really hot, just unzip the bag and lie on it.

Now the water is a little puzzling, could be condensation, could be a leak, sounds like your tent may not be too high tech - so a tent or a hammock could be your next purchase, or a bivy bag.
Also a good LED torch to avoid tripping.
 
Noshtero said:
First and foremost, congratz on your first time camping!!!!
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+1.
We all had our first trip! First thing take a look at what you have around the house that can do double duty. An old blanket can suffice until you find a good sleeping bag. I never even considered a pad until I was in my late 30's. You can buy a cheap blue pad at Walmart for under $10. It ain't the best, but it will get you off the ground a bit and provide some insulation. Depending on how much you want to rough it a tarp can be used in place of a tent. Prioritize what gear you want the most and start slow. Like anything else you can go broke buying camping gear these days. Most important, enjoy!!
 
Grats on your first night! As far as pads go, you can also check places like Campmor.com. Sometimes they have "blemished" Thermarest pads for cheaper and all that normally wrong is something cosmetic.

As for the wetness, did you forget to go pee before bed? ;) Just kidding. Sorry, just had to poke at you a little.
 
I live in Connecticut

iBlade said:
Dude, you have a few tricks to learn.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's why I'm posting here. :)
Thanks for your advice.

Actually i already have the torch(s), nice maratac ones from CountyComm, and an assortment of their clip/keychain lights. The incident with the guy was right at dusk it wasn't dark enough to think of a light, just dark enough not to see the black line.

The weather was very damp. Humidity must have been about 80%, with occasional misty rains. Condensation wouldnt surprise me.
 
Waterproof fabrics do NOT work both ways-invest in a set of nice outdoors clothes, IE some gore or something. There are 50 companies out there that make quality outdoor clothing that will keep you dry and wick the sweat off. North Face, Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, Patagonia, Mountain Equipment Co op, the list goes on and on. I have a North Face Apex Pneumatic that is awesome for cool or wet summer nights. Breathes and keeps the wet out. A good sleeping bag helps too, Slumberjack is an awesome company for a starter bag, you can get a nice high performance bag from them that weighs next to nothing and comes with a nice compression sack. I paid 35 dollars for my Solara 30. It takes a little bit of investment but with this outside stuff the rule of thumb is "If you buy right, you buy once" meaning if you do your research your gear will last you a lifetime.
 
Joben said:
a.k.a. a tent in my back yard. :p

I'm getting into the whole camping thing late'ish (I'm 26).
Last night I went for a practice run in my back yard.

I slept in a pop-tent I found in the attic.
It did a good job of keeping the skeeters away, but I don't really like it. Claims it's 3 man, but i had to sleep diagonal so I wasn't brushing the walls with head and toes.

Also, i tripped over one of the guy lines for the fly, putting a nice rip behind most of the seam in that side. :rolleyes:

Notes to self: (1) don't be an idiot (2) make guy lines out of International Orange paracord from now on

Anyway, It was a hot very humid night. But I knew it would get chilly in the small hours. I brought a large beach towel to protect from ground chill. (I don't have a sleeping bag)

I slept in cotton pajama pants, a t-shirt, thick socks and a hooded sweatshirt. my legs got chilly so i draped my rain slicker over them as an afterthought. That didn't work so great, when i woke at about 5 in the morning everything was damp, but my legs and socks were almost wet.

Note to self: waterproof fabrics work both ways.


Ooops, have to dash off to work now, more thoughts later. :)
Click to expand...

Hell yeah, man. The single most important thing is just getting out there and enjoying the outdoors - be it in your backyard, or anywhere. Sounds like you're off to a good start! The gear/knowledge will certainly come with time and practice! Keep it up, and keep us posted. :thumbup::D
 
congrats joben! you'll find posting here or lurking will help alot....but real world learning is just as good!

my addition is: cotton kills, so kill the cotton :)

i prefer synthetics since they still work when wet...or if its not that cold a fleece or wool blanket or just some long johns and a sweater and wool socks.
 
I'm trying to decide if I want to get a tent or a hammock and tarp.

I think the hammock setups look really slick, but one thing troubles me slightly...

If you need insulation, how do you handle having a bag in there, and getting in and out of the whole thing. Sounds awkward.
 
Joben said:
I'm trying to decide if I want to get a tent or a hammock and tarp.

I think the hammock setups look really slick, but one thing troubles me slightly...

If you need insulation, how do you handle having a bag in there, and getting in and out of the whole thing. Sounds awkward.
Click to expand...


i hear you need ballet lessons! :p
 
Joben said:
a.k.a. a tent in my back yard. :p

I'm getting into the whole camping thing late'ish (I'm 26).
\
Click to expand...

Don't worry. I'm in the same boat as you. My dad was never really the...uh..."involved" type so I never got to go camping or fishing or hiking or any outdoorsy kinds of things. It's half rediscovering the planet I live on, half preparing for the day when I can be the dad that I didn't get to have :P
 
Joben said:
If you need insulation, how do you handle having a bag in there, and getting in and out of the whole thing. Sounds awkward.
Click to expand...

It isn't bad once you get the hang of it. First put your ground pad in the hammock, then your sleeping bag. Make sure you have the bag fully unzipped with the opening facing up. Then climb in. Zip the bag part way up, rotate 90 deg, then finish zipping the bag.

Get out in reverse.

Sounds complicated, but once you do it, the procedure is self-evident. I like hammocks. :)
 
Congrats! The more you do it the better you get at it. I am sooooooo looking forward to Autumn so we can go camping!
 
Joben I can hook you up with a 13 dollar ultralight hammock. If you have a bivy, you don't need a fancy tree tent, just set up your simple 2 line hammock and throw your bivy up top. protects you from the elements and gets you off the ground so you don't wake up snuggling with creepy crawlies. And where there aren't trees, there are 10 awesome tents off the top of my head that you can find for a hundred bucks or less. I got my North face tephra 22 for 90 dollars, brand new. It's a sick tent and fits in a tiny little compression sack that I strap to my pack. And that's one of their lower end tents... they get even lighter and smaller than 3 pounds.
 
Noshtero said:
First and foremost, congratz on your first time camping!!!!
Click to expand...

+1
Trying it your yard was a good idea. When you decide to venture further you may not want to travel too far on your first "real world" outing. Doing it your self will teach better than reading and know that we all make mistakes so don't be hard on yourself.
 
Noshtero said:
First and foremost, congratz on your first time camping!!!!
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup: It is great that you are getting started, there is nothing like getting outdoors and enjoying camping and hiking. Lots of people here know tons about gear and equipment and everyone is more then happy to help you out, so keep asking! :) But don't feel you have to buy the best, latest and great gear to be able to hit the woods, some of my gear I have had and used for 20+ years and it was used when I bought it.

If you'd like some suggestions of places to hit in the New England area, drop me a note, I will get you set up with some good spots. You might also look for someone in your area to hike and camp with, simply because there is safety and knowledge in groups (unless it is a group of goverment officals).

MrC
 
Good job brother, it takes guts to get out there for a first night. It's funny how you develop expectations before every trip on how events will unfold, yet it never goes exactly as planned. That's part of the learning curve, and you'll find as the years progress you'll get more comfortable both physically and mentally. The woods is a place to live in the moment and take what nature dishes out. No matter how many times I either camp or go into practice survival situations there is always something that turns up unexpected. But I feel like every I go out those instances get fewer, either from improving my techniques and knowledge or letting go my need for comfort go.

I would suggest you get yourself a wool blanket. Extremely versatile...I've used mine as a sleeping bag, pad, poncho and hammock and it will keep you warm. Wool retains its heat properties even when wet. I personally use the italian wool surplus blankets. They are huge and pack up nice with some paracord.
 
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