Information
Wild Camping
The Over Night Experience by Bren Whelan
We’ve all felt the pull of that next peak in the distance or the allure of that beautiful mountain lake, but as the sunsets and the darkness falls we are forced reluctantly to descend back towards normal valley life.
Spending a planned night out in the mountains gives you the freedom to enjoy the sunset/sun rise or the freedom to explore and travel deeper into larger more remote areas which tend to be impossible to cover in a single day. You can also gain freedom from the confidence that your home for the night is never far away.
It does how ever take time to learn the necessary skills that are required to evolve from a single day hiker, into a competent multi day hill walker and there is course a draw back to this kind of freedom. An increase in the load carried can mean a decrease in the speed that you can travel through the mountains, but not always!
In order to enjoy any over night experience you need to follow the rule of P’s…which state’s, that…Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents a Poor Performance!
So let’s see if we can help you along with that…
Prior Planning
This is the key to the journey and with out prior planning you won’t get yourself any where.
Objective planning is always required for a successful overnight experience.
The following should always be considered…
1. The weather- as this has such an impact on everything that we do in Ireland it is a fundamental part of planning any over night. In this modern age good weather forecasting information is easily obtained and interpreted. The following are a list of web sites that you should check before setting foot on the hill.
a. www.metcheck.com
b. www.met.ie
c. www.windguru.cz
d. www.thebbc.co.uk/weather
Wind Speed & Direction
The wind speed that is given during a TV or Radio forecast is based on the wind speed at sea level. Hill walkers need to double this speed in order to get a more accurate figure for what it will be like at altitude. Plans may need to be changed if a route has you walking into a head wind of 50mph, this can make progress painfully slow. Coupled with wind speed, is wind direction, a high wind speed combined with a bitterly cold North or North West wind will have a major effect on body temperature and performance.
In addition to this, low cloud will reduce visibility and your navigational flow through the terrain. Low cloud can also mean precipitation and depending on the volume of the rain, hail or snow that you get, morale levels can drop and an over enthusiastic plan can go out the window.
2. Selecting a sensible route
Much of the success of a journey hinges on this element of the pre-trip planning. Everything looks straight forward when it’s being planned in the comfortable surroundings of your own home. Always plan a route which is suitable to the weather, the experience of the party, equipment and the terrain.
Factor in the weight of the back pack (always weigh the final load) and your ability to carry it. Day hikes are great for building a pack carrying fitness level to a weight of 5kilo’s, but an over night camping back pack will double or sometimes triple in weight.
Measure the total distance you intend to travel and the overall height to be gained in during the journey. This is best achieved by using Nasmith’s Rule, which will allow you to gain a realistic idea of the amount of effort that will be required to complete the trip.
See Chart below…
During this phase, it’s wise to start small and work up to a bigger and more committing journey in more demanding terrain.
Break the journey down into progressive and manageable sections. Select a gentle start which will allow you to acclimatise to the heavy pack, terrain/navigation and the current weather conditions. Factor in the best possible escape routes, these should be considered with care. A good escape will allow you descend back to a track or road in a safe fashion via terrain which is easily manageable in poor conditions or when the party is feeling weary.
Choose a camp site which is within an achievable and manageable distance. Select a site which has water nearby and appears to be flat. Consider the likely weather conditions and select a site which will provide shelter from the wind. All of the above can be gauged from the map and once you reach the predetermined site, you can make a judgement on the best location to spend the night. Get an early start on the first day, factor in the time of year and the number of daylight hours that you’ll have to reach the campsite. Adopt a ‘Leave No Trace’ attitude to camping, remember that you will be travelling in a very sensitive environment, carry out what you carry in.
3. Equipment & Packing
The next thing that must be added into the mix is the appropriate type and amount of equipment that will be needed to complete the journey. Balance is the objective here, just because you own a massive amount of equipment which has never been used, that doesn’t mean that you need to bring it with you on the trip.
Consider all of the above and pack in a slow and sensible fashion, of course you need to take the essentials, but you don’t need to take every possible essential. Reduce weight where you can, start by trying to pack everything into the smallest back pack you can get away with. On a 3 day journey, carrying my own tent, stove etc I pack everything into a 35/40 litre pack. I also religiously check that every piece of equipment that I intend to carry with me on the trip is in perfect working order and walking poles are a must to help ease the effort.
4. Food & Drink
Age, sex and body weight will affect the amount of energy you will require to complete the planned expedition. Carrying a heavier then normal back pack, ascending variable slope gradients will all also effect energy expenditure in the mountains. Normal daily calorific intake requirements for male adults are 2500calories and 2000calories for a female adult (this is a base line figure for a normal day of activity). When planning a menu for an over night, a good figure to begin with is around 3500 calories, with adjustments upwards for those who are of larger stature. Overall you should aim to carry around 1kilo of food per day, don’t go over board! At some stage before setting off on the expedition, you should consider cooking (on the stove you intend to use) and eating the full menu that you plan to use throughout the expedition. This can give you some insight into the cooking times required and the overall feeling of satisfaction that you’ll get from planned the menu.
Re-hydration is vital, without regular fluid replacement, hydration levels drop and the on set of exhaustion is increased. By adding small amounts of glucose and sodium chloride (salt) to drinking water you can help the replacement of salts lost through perspiration. Use sweetened fruit squash, with a pinch of salt as a cheap alternative to those sometimes expensive Isotonic drinks. When travelling in the mountains, use common sense when obtaining water from lakes and rivers, if in doubt boil the water or add some sort of water purification tablet to it, in general the water in the Irish hills is generally ok, as along as you take it from a sensible location…
Lastly, this can be a hugely rewarding extension to normal hill walking activities, it does of course require new skills and it definitely can present new challenges. But when done in a sensible and progressive manner it can be an unforgettable experience!
More info: http://www.mountaintraining.ie/index.php?lnk=courses&type=walkinglship
More info: http://mountaintraining.ie/index.php?lnk=courses&type=mtnskills
