Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! You are experiencing a small sample of what the site has to offer. Please login or register to post messages and view our exclusive members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, file attachments, board customizations, encrypted private messages, and much more!
It seems weird to think, i have never camped solo in the wilderness before.
I have camped for months on end roadside, but never hike in/hike out type scenerio. Any other time i've camped it's been in a designated camp ground, or drove into the woods with friends to party..
Spring is here + i want to go solo camping for the first time. Ill only have a weekend.
So, whats next?
I have a pack/tent/sleeping bag/stove/utensils + pot + am physically able. For the first time i have a vehicle at my disposal, so i can actually get somewhere remote-ish...
I don't know where? Or how to plan meals, how much water to carry? What about bears?
I don't know how to orienteer/use topographic map or use a compass. :S - although i hope to learn soon.
i used to spend like a week or so at a time every other month or so on some buds land. 15 acres with a small lake. buffered buy like 80-100 acres of nothing but a few logging paths.
I didn't need any maps or anything,so i can't help ya there,but in general it's just the same as any other camping. I actually find it much easier to get things done. As i'm not chatting it up and deliberating with someone else on what to do,when,etc.
I packed in enough food,water. Although i have fished the small lake a few times, Didn't remember what kind of fish it was( didn't even know at the time)but it cooked up awesome. I basically Bring tons and tons of Canned Veggies,soups,Rice, chicken to eat as long as i can keep it cool.
One of my favorite ways to cook is to just take some of everything i just mentioned and fold it all up into an aluminum foil pouch and just toss it on the fire. give it a good 30 mins and your eating pure fucking awesome. As far as water. I have a 5 gal. jerry can,and I'll bring a few extra old milk jugs full of water. Plenty for drinking,and cooking for one person for the ~5 day week i usually spent. Granted i also usually Brought like 2 30 packs of High life and whiskey,hah.
Make sure you have a real knife on you. Something you can really use. I also Bring a Hatchet and a small folding tree saw. Can't put into words how useful those three things are.
edit## hit post before i was finished.
I've only dealt with coyote and deer. Deer run..most coyote run too. Until you get quite and the fire dies down. You can often hear them howling closer and closer. I've had them in my camp before, waking up to them. Just be aggressive. I've heard mixed reports about them, maybe it was just this area, but these ones were certainly not afraid of people.
I'm just kinda rambling. Hope that answered at least something.
I usually bring a portable water filter, bag of lentils, bag of whole wheat flour and plenty of fresh fruit.
I used to camp on land without the owner's knowledge of it which is dangerous and I dont suggest it. Itd be nice to camp somewhere away from everything legally.
I was ready with 4 days of food and a gallon of water.
With my bag, hammock, stove, chow, 1st aid, and clothes, I was still under 35 pounds. I think I roll pretty spartan, but I don't camp with other people often to know.
If you're in Cali, I'd gladly run you through some orienteering. I've spent lots of time on nav courses.
-------------------- Give me silence, water, hope;
Give me struggle, iron, volcanoes...
CaptainH13 - medley is what i call the mix of food in tinfoil + i will most likely end up making one. In the past when i was fruitpicking, we used peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic, potatos, carrots, oil. etc.
Canned food sounds good too.
I have had limited variety/success with cooking on my camp stove, although it works like a damn for oats.
i am going to grab a backpackers camp cook book from the library before i go out and prepare my meals beforehand.
I actually have a waterfilter too.
This is exciting! Although i am somewhat nervous.
First time, i am going to go somewhere close to town and then go from there.
I've got an MSR stove that's seen me years of use. I used it for boiling and for canned soups until i welded up one of those pyramid cooking rigs you see in the western movies,hah. Just welded up 3 old pipes with a cast iron pot hanging off some chain. It has since been stolen. Last time i went out there, that was missing, there were beer cans everything, my firepit was broken to pieces,and the hut i built was demolished for fire wood.
fucking assholes kids.
I actually Found this Cast iron camp stove from the 1800's out there that i sandblasted,and rebuilt. It's about the size of a spaghetti pot,and is essentially a grill all built into one pot. I've used that a ton too, just scrap some bark off a dead tree and you got tons of cooking.
I really like the approach to bring in lots of real food,as opposed to hikers MRE's and shit. Nothing more comforting while by yourself in the wilderness than a nice,wholesome meal.
There is nothing to be nervous about. Being out by yourself is so,so much nicer. It's like a vacation for the fuckin' soul.
I've only been out by myself once. It was well worth it because I like being alone as it is.
But, it's different. Very lonely and solitary, needless to say. After a few days I started getting audible hallucinations of the city and people, mostly when I was trekking through the heavy snow up thousands of feet in the north Washington Cascades.
Burn a fire at night, keeps coons and most animals at bay.
AND DON'T FORGET TO STASH YOUR FOOD AT LEAST 100 YARDS AWAY FROM WHERE YOU'LL BE SLEEPING!
In my area there are only black bears which are not much of a threat. Take some rope and make a rig to hang your food away from your tent site. Do whatever you can to cut weight. A gallon of water a day is what they say but depending on climate probably a gallon every two days is realistic. If you use water for cooking expect to bring more. One gallon is eight pounds.
I used rope to tie my sleeping bag or tent up and attach it to the top of my backpack. In the main backpack is a sleeping bag or tent, and food. Finally I keep a satchel across my chest with a knife, hatchet, topo maps, compass, pocket knife, pencils, mushroom identification book, lighter, joints. Its a nice to have your maps and compass at the ready so you don't get lost. I use a ak-47 magazine satchel to be exact. I just cut out the strips of fabric in the inside and put a large ziploc bag in it. Find at surplus store.
Finally learn how to use a topo map and compass, it's not hard and very rewarding. What is important here is to align the map with true north. Put your orienteering compass on the map and align it with the lines on the map. Turn the map until the red compass arrow points to north and turn the dial so the degree radials agree with north. Finally you need to convert from magnetic north (this is what your compass points to) to true north (true north is where the north pole actually is, magnetic north is off a few miles from the pole due to earths tilt). There should be a small area labeled declination at the top of the map. If easterly declination subtract, westerly add that number.
Quote: Elixier said: Finally learn how to use a topo map and compass, it's not hard and very rewarding. What is important here is to align the map with true north. Put your orienteering compass on the map and align it with the lines on the map. Turn the map until the red compass arrow points to north and turn the dial so the degree radials agree with north. Finally you need to convert from magnetic north (this is what your compass points to) to true north (true north is where the north pole actually is, magnetic north is off a few miles from the pole due to earths tilt). There should be a small area labeled declination at the top of the map. If easterly declination subtract, westerly add that number.
The city is offering a map/compass course w/ basic orienteering so i will be taking that further into the spring.
I don't know where i am going to go. I've lived in the Thompson/Nicola/Okanagan regions of BC my whole life but never had a vehicle so i haven't explored remotely much at all...
I've been looking online but haven't found much - might go nudge the outdoors store for location suggestions or look for a local trail guide.
Ill be going 2nd weekend of April if the weather doesn't turn to shit.
EDIT: only black bears around here too - ive cycled around them in the past and they are always scared of me. They are known for being bashful, however - they do tear apart the garbage, and have even clawed through a garage door to get to garbage up at the ski hill...
I was thinking bear spray sounded like overkill, but maybe its not such a bad idea... better safe than sorry.
1 other question: Do people leave their stove/kitchen area set up at night. I assume its wise to pack everything up and hang it a 100' away from your tent, or so...
I wonder if the bears have come out of hibernation yet?
Sure black bears can be a pushover but don't underestimate a hungry animal coming out of hibernation. Get a book from the library on orienteering and just pick it up as you go. Ditch the portable stove you have and stick to just making a fire to cook food. Bring lots of power food that doesn't leave a big mess. Peanut butter, trail mix, nuts, energy bars, etc. A few canned food items are nice because you just up the top and throw it in the fire. Wear gloves to hold the hot can and just eat right out of it. Remember they are cumbersome, heavy, and messy though. Forget the bear mace, just make a spear point out of your walking stick. You've got travel experience you'll be fine.
With navigation just make sure you know where your starting point is, and plot out where you are going. You should stop every now and then and prove where you are at. Check the surrounding land and see if the hills and elevations match up. Plan to prominent points and use natural and man made elements for guidance. What I mean by this is follow a stream to a lake, or follow a road to a trailhead. Always look for large landmarks like lakes because they are easy to find, and when you find them you know where you are at for sure. If you don't run into a lake you know something is wrong.
Just last week I went primitive camping/hiking in Wayne national forest for 3 days. Didn't see another human being the entire time I was in the forest. It had to be one of my favorite experiences of all time.
I'd advise against cans if you can avoid it, they are bulky, heavy and you gotta pack that shit out. I try to stick to things in foil/plastic.. tuna, instant soups, dehydrated fruits and veggies, pita, peanut butter, gorp, oats, pasta, cheese, fresh veggies..chocolate! nuts, seeds.. these are a few of my favorite things. Things that are easy to prepare, full of calories and don't make a big mess. I usually eat better on the trail then I do when I'm at home.. definitely stash your food far away from camp way up in a tree if you're in bear country. Everything that smells, and make sure your camp is away from your cooking area.
Make sure someone knows approximately where you are gonna be and approx. when you'll be returning. Tell them you'll check in with them when you get back.
Easy enough - i just returned from the first overnight solo trip.
Everything was fine, i slept like a baby, was totally comfortable. Hiked 4-5hrs in, over the top of a mountain. Picked a spot, made a fire, hung out through sunset and read, set up my tent, made dinner, hung my stuff in a tree and went to bad.
I went up a dry creek bed called rattlesnake canyon. its a beautiful and challenging hike with lots of interesting volcanic formations on it. I didn't know it was heavily travelled though. There were lots of other hikers on the way up, although it was dead at the top. Right after nightfall a group of youth on Dirtbikes came really close and were yelling lots (they must have come over the other side of the mountain, i didn't think there were any roads. :S)
Equip: sleeping pad, tent, sleeping bag, hatchet, butane burner, knife, TP, book, headlamp, long johns and a flannel jacket.
It got cloudy at dark and i couldn't see the stars + it rained in the middle of the night and was gloomy when i got up.
I've certainly calmed my nerves when doing this sort of thing. I remember last year, my first night in the tent in Peru - i laid awake paranoid of every noise around me, freaking out. Slept like a baby last night...
Next time i want to take a watch, a bigger dinner, and i would prefer to do a continuous loop, rather than backtracking down. I think it might be worth switching the tent for a tarp if the insects arn't bad.
Question: Cooking on a campfire: I am wondering if i can put my SS MSR pots straight on the coals?
You cannot start new topics / You cannot reply to topics HTML is disabled / BBCode is enabled
Moderator: Rev. Morton, Az0th 978 topic views. 0 members, 1 guests and 0 web crawlers are browsing this forum.
[ Toggle Favorite | Print Topic ]
Images only 
Threaded
Previous
Index
Next
Edit 
Reply 
