So after a few wild camps bike packing, I have not really slept that well at all. My brain seems to be in hyper alert mode, any rustle, crack or bit of wind wakes me up. I am pretty comfy and warm, generally knackered from riding, so any other circumstance and I'd be fast asleep.
Who else struggles to sleep wild camping?
I think you just get used to it. The more I sleep outdoors, the better I sleep outdoors. However, I'll probably still wake up a couple of times which is one of the reasons I prefer a bivvy to a tent - it gives me the opportunity to look around, maybe see some wildlife or an amazing moon/starscape/sunrise.
Whenever I use a bivi bag or tarp I don't really get much, if I'm in my tent I tend to sleep fine though, the monsters can't get through the fabric you see.
Generally sleep really well. Hot chocolate with a tot of whiskey after a days exercise and a big dinner sees to that.
if I’m in my tent I tend to sleep fine though, the monsters can’t get through the fabric you see.
this as well 🙂
Probably depends on your usual sleeping arrangements. A lot of people keep their windows shut at night so aren't used to external noises. Sort of makes sense in urban areas I suppose.
I grew up in the countryside and would have my window open on all but the coldest nights so sheep bleating, owls hooting and the like are just normal background noises to me.
I wear ear plugs. Plus, if you pitch up in a wood or behind a wall, the zombies won't find you.
I'm a light sleeper normally, but I do tend to sleep well wild camping if it's after a days hillwalking or any outdoor exertion.
There are a few things I need to do to ensure this though:
Use a decent sleeping mat and sleeping bag.
Avoid drinking for a couple of hours before turning in if poss to give my old man bladder a fighting chance of lasting through the night.
Wear foam ear plugs
Pull a beanie down over my eyes or use a buff to cover them to prevent a 4:30 summer sunrise from waking me.
Ah, there's obviously a difference in approach here. When I'm out overnight it's usually because I want to experience the outdoors at night whereas for others it's an enabler for other things they want to do (long hikes / rides etc).
I wear ear plugs
This freaks me out. If anyone did happen to be around, the thought of not hearing them is worse than the thought of hearing them and knowing they are there.
+1 on buff or beanie. Has been very useful.
It depends really on where camping. I tend to ‘wild camp’ on private land where there is an agreement between self and the land owner. Sometimes with a small fee. Other times if I’ve had to take a stealth-camp in an unfortunate spot I’ve had similar to your description
A few examples:
Sleep 1: Welsh mixed woodland owned by family who charge a small fee to pitch a tent. No facilities but a nearby river for bathing. I’ve never seen a soul (except for landowner once on horse, passing nearby in daylight). Have had a few nights here and slept like a log. A single beer and a burger before bed. I read a little.
Sleep 2: Same site, but one night was different. No wind at all. The creepiness of utter silence really affected my S hyper-alert. A full moon. I got up, walked around outside and went to see the horses in a nearby field. It was like daylight with strong moon-shadows. After this recce my imagination calmed down and I returned to my tent and slept well.
Sleep 3: Mountain summit (3kft), summer. Just a sleeping bag and pillow, chosen site on short grass between rocks. Full moon again. Had walked from the sea to the summit. Quite a lot of pain from joint problems. Ibuprofen, water and snack bar before settling. Like a log. Overslept, missed sunrise photo opps. Felt great.
(No) Sleep 4: Stealth camp near small river. Was caught out by drinking in pub about 50 miles from home. Enjoyed too well and over limit. Left car at pub. Grabbed tent inner and pitched under tree. Dead quiet. Very dark, 12am. Set alarm for 5:30 (optimist!) so could be off before possible dog walkers etc.
As I lay down I heard an engine. Then half of the adjacent field was flooded with light! A hay-baler. Of all that is unholy. It clanked and whirred and flooded the countryside with lights for two hours straight. Finally stopped and I tried again to sleep. Off it goes up the lane. But then it turned into the field over the riverbank opposite my tent! Although I was under a low, full-leaved oak I was convinced that the farmer would see my (white) tent-inner easily in the floodlights. Another hour of baling ensued. I tried to read a book on my ipad. But the searchlights occasionally flashing across my pitch put my eyes on stalks and I became ridiculous, ducking and pre-empting the approaching behemoth as if it was some autobot/prison camp guard looking for naughty stealth-campers.
Finally, finally, the ****ing thing ****ed off about 3:30am IIRC. I fell into a fitful sleep for about an hour and some minutes. Then I’m woken at first dim light by the sound of sheep approaching. In moments a flock of sheep are all around my tent. Ok, now I’m packing up. Terrible night, but packed tent, walked back to car, and within 30 minutes was up on The Burway to see a sunrise like no other (see below pic) so something great came from something awful. I remember the whole experience with gratitude as in recent years respite (full-time carer) is scarce.
Mileages vary. I like high and wild places best. You can feel like the king of all you survey. As long as the wind is low. Earplugs are a mixed bag.
Lowlands can be a mixed bag too, IME. Can feel ‘vulnerable‘. Some places are ‘spooky‘, some aren’t. Some nights are noisy, some aren’t. Sometimes no rhyme or reason discernible. Being knackered helps. Last time I wild-camped (November 1st) did a 12 mile (flattish) gravel sprint directly before bed. Snack, drink, slept like a dog by a fireplace. Creatures don’t bother me, owls serenade me, a barking fox tends to shut up after a while. Nightjars can be unsettling but you get used to them.
Hedgehogs, badgers, slow-worms, frogs, all kinds of things can root around your tent. One morning I opened my eyes to a fully-grown brown rat calmly washing itself in my vestibule, other side of the (half-open) door-mesh about 12” from my head. I watched it quietly. It finished washing and then set off about it’s business. One rule I stick to is to never keep food outside of the tent, neither leave any waste, crumbs, even oil/fat splashes.
Colin, sometimes it can be both.
Unless there has been a dubious 1980s pro-peloton type increase in my fitness then I'll definitely be bivvying this weekend on the Cairngorm Loop, most likely a bivy in the mountains, what's not to like about that. Of course that is also just part of a long ride/event.
The waking up at stupid o'clock is something I do midsummer even when in my own bed - really annoying!
I'm with you Trailwagger, I'd prefer to hear if anything does actually approach. I am used to all the noises as live in the middle of the countryside, so often here owls and the odd deer barking (which is very spooky when out alone to hear).
Not camping related but I used to night running or riding proper creepy, kept with it and now dont notice the noises.
Although this wasn't fully a good thing when running around the local common which is also used by the marines for training and went to wee in the undergrowth only to expose myself to some marines and need to find somewhere else to wee.
* (reward for no sleep)
Colin, sometimes it can be both.
Absolutely. Sometimes all I want to do is get a few hours kip regardless.
(reward for no sleep)
A sheep with no legs for your entertainment?
Ah, thanks! I thought it was a cloud 😎.
#nosleep
#nospecs
#notography
First time I ever wild camped I didn't wake up until 9:45am the following morning!! Luckily I was fairly well hidden. Since then I've probably averaged an hour a night
@Malvern Rider - people have this idea that the countryside is quiet. It's anything but! They are just different noises. Try kipping when you are surrounded by cicadas - like ten thousand Hope hubs coasting along!
Your farmer with the baler will have been far more interested in what the machine was doing than looking out for someone wild camping.
No one.
It's the dirty secret of camping. It's cold, uncomfortable, and miserable. There's a reason our ancestors built houses.
wear ear plugs. Plus, if you pitch up in a wood or behind a wall, the zombies won’t find you.
I like people's obsession with Zombies,it makes them forget about the locals.
Yours sincerely,
Leatherface.
Try kipping when you are surrounded by cicadas – like ten thousand Hope hubs coasting along!
Possibly! In better times I took a sabbatical/move and hitched 5000km around France, camping somewhere new every night. Remember hearing cicadas in the daytime, at night-time brown crickets. Enjoyed it tbh.
By far the worst was being kept awake on perfectly still moonlit night by an old creaking swingset, swinging about 40 feet away from the tent.
I even got up to look but the (old farm) campsite appeared empty. And the swing stopped as I unzipped the tent. Woken very early next morning by my head being gently and repetitively pushed from behind, through the tent-fabric. I froze. Sun was rising. Then I saw the silhouette of a kitten spreadeagled on the flysheet 🤣🤣🤣
Loudest critters by far were frogs in a coastal pool south of Perpignan. Have never (before or since) heard such a diverse cacophony of whoops, whistles, croaks and trills. It was so magical that I wasn’t even annoyed.
Wind turbines , OTOH...
The one time I did it, I slept like a log. Best night's sleep in years. Just a bivvy bag in the middle of Dartmoor. Cloudless skies, windless, warm, and completely silent.
Perfect.
I normally get woken up by people stepping over me having slept well into the day 😀
OP, can you pinpoint whether your ‘hyper-alert’ness was prompted by anything/place in particular? Or are you generally quite ‘alert’ even when camping in commercial campsites?
I generally do now, though have had a lot of sleepless nights. Key things for me:
- Sleeping where I know I can't easily be seen, or if I was it wouldn't be unusual
- I prefer a bivvy bag because in a tent if I hear a noise that might be ominous (and everything sounds ominous when you're wild camping) I can look around and reassure myself that it's not zombies
- Somewhat contrarily, ear plugs and an eye mask (particularly in summer) - if it's dangerous enough to do me harm, it'll probably wake me up despite these.
- Good sleeping mat. I'm a side sleeper and quite bony so need decent padding.
- Flat pitch - nothing keeps you awake like slowly sliding into the next field.
- Pillow. I used to use a drybag stuffed with whatever soft things were going spare. Recently I bought a proper inflatable pillow. 85g or something. Tiny. Inflates in two breaths. Means I get at least 50% more sleep.
Malvern, I am generally a very light sleeper and wake in an instant to any noise, even at home. When I was younger and night fishing down on the river my brain would be doing ten to the dozen and thinking of all these scary scenarios. I have quite a vivd imagination and fairly creative...I do not think that helps!
Last Saturday night, only 1 wake up for a pee and got 7 hours solid. Hammock with a nice underblanket and was dry.
Had a couple nights with no kip in the past and others where I slept better than at home.
Dunno about wild camping, but I found the bears in Tuolomne Meadows stressful. Strict onstruction about locking anything ( eg crisp wrappers, toothpaste, etc etc ) in the steel bear boxes.
We were gathered round my mate's tent one morning examining the rip in his flysheet..... dude on the pitch next to us said that he saw the bear sniffing round my tent, then go to mate's tent, take a swipe at it and then lose interest and amble off
I can wake up because uncomfortable or cold but never thought about being scared,... Until now
Was bivvying in Grizedale some years ago and was woken by a cow licking my face.
I'm still with her.
As others have said, it’s mostly getting used to it.
This week I have been kept awake by the wild boar who have discovered the windfall pears in my neighbour’s garden. They sound like monsters at 2am. Luckily I can close the double glazing and cut them out - I’d be much less complacent if I was in a tent!
When bikepacking (touring) i find i sleep better if i use a hotel or b&b as shelter.
3kft
Even speaking as someone who routinely mixes inches and centimetres, I find the notion of a kilo-foot disturbing. Especially when what you've got there is "1km."
Also, earplugs.
– Somewhat contrarily, ear plugs and an eye mask (particularly in summer) – if it’s dangerous enough to do me harm, it’ll probably wake me up despite these.
But remember your boy scout moto "be prepared" if you can hear the axe murderer coming you might have a chance at fighting him off.
find the notion of a kilo-foot disturbing.
Ok. How about 3((gross+score+brace)xdozen/brace) feet
” if you can hear the axe murderer coming you might hav
I am the axe murderer!
I only sleep after a hip flask of single malt and a long ride to get there.
Reading this with interest as I'm planning my first night out in the bivvy this year for Saturday night but haven't planned where to go yet.
Like @thenorthwind I'm a side-sleeper so a good mat and an inflatable pillow are important. I had a Klymit Inertia X-frame for a while, which I thought was great because it was so light, but it was also horribly uncomfortable so I now use an Alpkit Numo.
I also tend to over-sleep in the morning if I haven't slept well through the night!
In nearly all wild camping/bivvy situations I wear an eye mask and ear plugs
Ear plugs make things quieter, in particular blocking out any other snorers. Eye mask stops me waking up too early or getting woken up by the sun. I usually wake up early anyway, although I often go back to sleep
🤣 3k ft (2930ft for pedants)
And - clearly didn’t wake up a ‘poet’ so now function as a cautionary tale 🤪
Tried it once, got murdered by an axe wielding psycho, didn't bother again.
As above, the trick for me was realising the only idiot with a knife and axe roaming the woods in the dark was me.