Wild Camping: How To Make It Work

Wild camping is one of those trips which can really test someone. It’s exciting because there’s an element of the unknown involved. An element of danger, even. Whether you’re going into the australian outback, the arctic wastes, or simply up the nearest mountain, there are steps to take to ensure you have a safe, yet fun trip. Wild camping can be a brilliant experience for you and your friends or family, but it has to be treated with respect, especially if you’re going somewhere you have never been before. Before you pack up and set off it’s worth checking out some of the tips below. You may have even thought about some of them but it’s a good exercise to shift your perspective to one of ensuring you have the best trip possible.

Make Sure Your Car Is Ready

A mistake would be to put too much time and effort into getting all of your gear and location right but not thinking about the car. It needs to be fully kitted out and ready for the move. If you’re towing a caravan, or heading out in a truck make sure you’ve got good ground clearance with 4wd rims or something similar. You need to be sure your car can handle the ground. Take spare tyres with the corresponding jack, ensure you take fluids for the car and take a spade to dig out if it gets trapped. You might want to get it serviced by a mechanic first if you’re not too good with cars, just for peace of mind. You may even need to take spare fuel if you’re really going off track and know you won’t have enough to get back to a petrol station before running out. 

Take The Right Tent

If you’re going out into the wilds, you need something solid which won’t easily break. What you usually take to a camping park might not be sturdy enough. This rings true if you’re camping in an open plain. Usually camping parks are in fields, but they’re surrounded by trees or other win blocking items. There’s no such protection on the plain. It could be blown over, ripped, or provide zero insulation. Consider where you’re going and for how long and buy the right tent. Remember, you may need specific anchors depending on the ground. Some may work for icey, while others would apply for clay. Don’t just take the right tent, take the right attachments for it. The same applies to your sleeping bag. What you use for warmer weather simply won’t do for the cold nights in the middle of winter when the temperature drops below freezing. You don’t necessarily need a high end sleeping bag, but you do need a decent one which will keep you warm. 

Check The Weather

Weather makes such a huge difference and you need to double check it before heading off. It could make the difference between sleeping in a bog or a field. If you’ve got everything booked up you might not have a chance, however even if this is the case you would have prepared for the rain or snow. It also impacts the drive. If you’re wild camping off the beaten track, bad snow or rain may mean your car or even caravan won’t get there and you could end up being stranded. There are always variables in the weather and it’s hard to properly predict it, but by checking you’ll at least know what you’re heading into and for how long. You can also be pretty confident if you see a huge storm coming in that you’re not going to want to sleep in the middle of it and can put your trip off to a later date. 

Be Safe

The key to wild camping is to ensure that you stay safe. You need to take things which enable your safety. Make sure you take enough food and water for the duration, and some extra just in case. A good, vetted, first aid kit is always a good idea too and if you’re on medication take more than enough. Make sure you tell people where you’re going and for how long and try to always be contactable. If you’re really going into the sticks make sure you take something like a satellite phone. A good power bank also makes a strong difference. It means you’ll be able to power up your devices for longer. You don’t want to be charging everything off of the car battery either as you may end up draining it, especially if it’s an older one.