Hiking, backpacking, trekking, mountaineering...
- Thread starter Col_M
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Hi everyone,
a bit of a sensitive question but asking in all seriousness.
I’m a bit fussy about where I go to the loo. And have always avoided camping because of this. I’d love to go on an adventure with a backpack and into countryside with a little tent like you guys.
But… where do you go for a poo?
I couldn’t hold one in for a whole day. Probably would need two actually. So what do you do about that ?
a bit of a sensitive question but asking in all seriousness.
I’m a bit fussy about where I go to the loo. And have always avoided camping because of this. I’d love to go on an adventure with a backpack and into countryside with a little tent like you guys.
But… where do you go for a poo?
I couldn’t hold one in for a whole day. Probably would need two actually. So what do you do about that ?
Either dig a hole to do it in and bury it. You can get a little folding trowel for digging like this: https://alpkit.com/products/arlo-folding-trowel
Sometimes it's not possible to dig a hole (mountain tops, for example, are usually very rocky and impossible to dig) so you hold it in until you get somewhere more suitable or use a wag bag: https://www.needlesports.com/Catalo...-Waste-Go-Anywhere-Toilet-Kit-WAG-Bag-MET-WAG
Sometimes it's not possible to dig a hole (mountain tops, for example, are usually very rocky and impossible to dig) so you hold it in until you get somewhere more suitable or use a wag bag: https://www.needlesports.com/Catalo...-Waste-Go-Anywhere-Toilet-Kit-WAG-Bag-MET-WAG
You might, hasn't happened to me (that I'm aware of), but it's a risk you sometimes have no choice but take.
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Everyone loves a good nature poo!
As above, bury it or pack it out. Although it seems to be becoming increasingly popular just to crap next to a busy trail or crag. At least we don't have it as bad as the Alps, anywhere around the huts usually stinks of crap!
Deleted member 236143
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Deleted member 236143
do not **** next to the river or streams or god in them!
Find a space and **** - put rocks or stones over it, stops peoples dogs coming along and eating your nasty poo.
If wild camping have a wee trowel and dig a little mini latrine and cover up the hole.
So actually have to go to Edinburgh next week but will be done by around noon there so figured why waste a trip up to Scotland.
May as well make it my first camping night (have all my gear sorted now, thanks) but don't even know where to start as I barely know the place compared to likes of Lake District.
Figured maybe drive up to Loch Lomond and climb Ben Lomond, then head over to Glen Coe for a camp out and do the basics like Etive Mor the next day? Will want to be coming back the next evening, be around a 5 hour drive back home.
May as well make it my first camping night (have all my gear sorted now, thanks) but don't even know where to start as I barely know the place compared to likes of Lake District.
Figured maybe drive up to Loch Lomond and climb Ben Lomond, then head over to Glen Coe for a camp out and do the basics like Etive Mor the next day? Will want to be coming back the next evening, be around a 5 hour drive back home.
I hope you are prepared for midgies and ticks?
You will 100% need protection if you're going to those two areas.
Had it pretty bad with them last week in Lake District so already have Smidge on the way
My advice to you would be to get yourself some permethrin and spray the clothes you'll be wearing.
Your best bet for skin is Deet - be careful not to touch anything while it dries.
These are the two products I use...
Permethrin - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lifesystems-Anti-Mosquito-Clothing-Treatment/dp/B002WN1S5Y
Deet - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lifesystems-Expedition-100-Repellent-100Ml/dp/B0018BQ0MW
The Scottish Highland Midgie is a much more formidable foe than the Lake District Midgie, but you'll find out all about them next week, especially if you're camping in Glen Coe
Smidge works fine for me. I don't think it's much of a "repellant" because they still land on me and try to bite me but they die when they bite into the smidge on my skin. I end up covered in dead midges but no bites.
They can't fly in wind so the best way to avoid them is to pitch your tent on a summit or ridge where there is more airflow. Setup door first into the wind because the tent will act as a wind block and they can gather in the shelter behind it.
Unless it's a windy day anyway then just pitch as normal and you'll be fine.
They can't fly in wind so the best way to avoid them is to pitch your tent on a summit or ridge where there is more airflow. Setup door first into the wind because the tent will act as a wind block and they can gather in the shelter behind it.
Unless it's a windy day anyway then just pitch as normal and you'll be fine.
Good, that was your first outing wasn't it?
Whereabouts did you end up going, was it a wild-camp or were you in a campsite?
Yeah first time camping overnight, we headed to Loch Lomond National Park but in hindsight should have done a bit more planning what to do and where to stay.
After driving around for a bit, found a good spot around Loch Ard, but it was in the camping management zone so had to pay £3 but it will still wild camping as there wasn't a campsite. Apparently that only applies March - September in the area.
Bit over 3km walk from the nearest car park so definitely learnt the importance of packing light as brought too much stuff that didn't need! Next day just drove around to Loch Lomond and climbed Ben Lomond while in the area.
After driving around for a bit, found a good spot around Loch Ard, but it was in the camping management zone so had to pay £3 but it will still wild camping as there wasn't a campsite. Apparently that only applies March - September in the area.
Bit over 3km walk from the nearest car park so definitely learnt the importance of packing light as brought too much stuff that didn't need! Next day just drove around to Loch Lomond and climbed Ben Lomond while in the area.
That's definitely still considered a wild-camp, good going for your first time out.
You can still wild-camp on Loch Lomond, just north of Rowardennan, beyond the management zone - park up somewhere near Rowardennan or Ben Lomond and walk along the West Highland Way until you're past the management zone sign and then just head down to the loch and pick your spot.
Carrying too much stuff is an easy mistake to make, learning what your bare minimum is takes a while to get right. A general rule I use for myself is that if I find that I'm walking with my head down looking at the ground all the time, then I'm carrying too much.
So do you think you've caught the camping bug? If you have you'll start looking for lighter equipment at some point, which obviously starts to ramp up the costs, but the rewards are well worth it! To me, nothing beats it, I'll still be doing it at 70 if I can!
Sorry to bring up ticks again but if you find that you start feeling a bit run down over the next few days get yourself to the doctors (if you can actually get an appointment!).
You can still wild-camp on Loch Lomond, just north of Rowardennan, beyond the management zone - park up somewhere near Rowardennan or Ben Lomond and walk along the West Highland Way until you're past the management zone sign and then just head down to the loch and pick your spot.
Carrying too much stuff is an easy mistake to make, learning what your bare minimum is takes a while to get right. A general rule I use for myself is that if I find that I'm walking with my head down looking at the ground all the time, then I'm carrying too much.
So do you think you've caught the camping bug? If you have you'll start looking for lighter equipment at some point, which obviously starts to ramp up the costs, but the rewards are well worth it! To me, nothing beats it, I'll still be doing it at 70 if I can!
Sorry to bring up ticks again but if you find that you start feeling a bit run down over the next few days get yourself to the doctors (if you can actually get an appointment!).
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Yeah been wanting to camp for a while but been very busy, I'll have more time come September so can go more. Will mostly be going around Lake District as know the place pretty well by now and it's closest to where I live.
No tick bites this time and been feeling fine from when I got two of the buggers on me in Lake District few weeks ago.
No tick bites this time and been feeling fine from when I got two of the buggers on me in Lake District few weeks ago.
One area I could save a lot of weight is probably water, I sweat quite a bit so drink a lot as a result. Rarely seem to be far away from a source of water in the UK so think it could be worth investing into some kind of a water filter, that way could just carry my 1 litre metal bottle with me and refill as needed.
Second area to save a lot of space would be the cooking system, at the moment just have a cheap Chinese set from Amazon. Little stove thing is working just fine and the aluminium pots are ok, but awkward size that won't fit most of the regular sized gas canisters. Once I have to stack the gas canister on top then it's taking up a lot of space in the backpack so I'll start looking for a set of pots that allow a gas canister and stove to fit inside.
Third area I wasn't too stoked about was actually the backpack, Berghaus Trailhead 2.0 65L. Nothing wrong with it per se, but I found it lacking in space management side of things and just an overkill for a single night. There's only one pocket at the top that zips up, then inside it's essentially one big space with another one that can be separated at the bottom (with separate zip on the bottom), but that's about it so everything is just kinda in that one space. I'm sure I can get some dry sacks to separate and manage things better in the future.
I have had this backpack now that's over 8 years old and been used as a day pack with me everywhere. Lots of compartments and even more inside them so it's now second nature to me to know where everything is when I pack it, but I would struggle to fit a sleeping bag in there. Think if I try to fit that on the outside along with the tent, I could use this as a single camping night easily, especially if I address the two points above.
It is still in good condition, but I wanted a black version for a while and see that similar design can be bought in bigger capacity (mine is 36 litre) so maybe get one in the near future.
Second area to save a lot of space would be the cooking system, at the moment just have a cheap Chinese set from Amazon. Little stove thing is working just fine and the aluminium pots are ok, but awkward size that won't fit most of the regular sized gas canisters. Once I have to stack the gas canister on top then it's taking up a lot of space in the backpack so I'll start looking for a set of pots that allow a gas canister and stove to fit inside.
Third area I wasn't too stoked about was actually the backpack, Berghaus Trailhead 2.0 65L. Nothing wrong with it per se, but I found it lacking in space management side of things and just an overkill for a single night. There's only one pocket at the top that zips up, then inside it's essentially one big space with another one that can be separated at the bottom (with separate zip on the bottom), but that's about it so everything is just kinda in that one space. I'm sure I can get some dry sacks to separate and manage things better in the future.
I have had this backpack now that's over 8 years old and been used as a day pack with me everywhere. Lots of compartments and even more inside them so it's now second nature to me to know where everything is when I pack it, but I would struggle to fit a sleeping bag in there. Think if I try to fit that on the outside along with the tent, I could use this as a single camping night easily, especially if I address the two points above.
It is still in good condition, but I wanted a black version for a while and see that similar design can be bought in bigger capacity (mine is 36 litre) so maybe get one in the near future.