UKH

What do you do on Solo camping nights?

Other then the normal, book, music, photo of Sun sets/rises.

Just looking for stuff to do in those few hours before you get your head down.

Many thanks 

Stu.

 

In reply to Runtothehills:

Read

Sleep very early

Get up very early

In reply to Runtothehills:

Make some ambient recordings.

Eat some nice food

Go for a nice evening walk in the dark.

In reply to Runtothehills:

Long, dark nights are a pain in the arse. I read, listen to audiobooks/podcasts and play around with the camera and long exposures if the weather is behaving itself.

It's why I tend to do more solo camping in the summer than the winter (apart from work stuff, I'm almost always alone or separate from the group then) - If it's light until 10pm you may as well walk until 8-9pm.

In reply to richprideaux:

No, they're great - a chance to catch up with sleep!

 

In reply to Runtothehills:

I used to bivvy out on the tops in North Wales in nice snowy winters. A dram (or more ) and a bit of stirring classical music did for me. 

In reply to JJ Krammerhead III:

What bivvy/sleeping gear did you use? I can't imagine being warm and dry in that situation but if it's possible I'd love to try it. 

In reply to removed user:

I can't wait for the snow to arrive, makes sleeping on the tops so much more adverturous - I've got a Salewa Flare -25, Salewa Ptx I bivi bag and  Trangoworld Confort Air blowup - toastieee!

In reply to richprideaux:

They are in northern Scotland in midwinter - it's dark for more than 16 hours, from 4 PM to about 8.30 AM

In reply to Runtothehills:

Vigorous self pleasure. Obviously. 

In reply to Runtothehills:

Contemplate the dying light with a good deal of whiskey, whilst memories flow through your brain like migrating birds passing across the sky.

In reply to Runtothehills:

Sleep

In reply to Runtothehills:

Whisky.

In reply to Runtothehills:

Write. I go solo camping without music or phone and even if it's just writing an account of the day's walk, it's a good opportunity to do so without distraction.

In reply to Runtothehills:

Having a baby in the house currently in addition to being a stressed out teacher, I find I'll often sleep much more on bivvy out nights than at home if I got out in day or afternoon before. If I'm bivvying out locally I often won't leave home until 9 pm-ish, stop by Tesco for a one of two cans of good beer and treat, park up and walking onto Kinder or Bleaklow by 10 pm. Which normally means I'm in my tent or bivvy bag by midnight - those night you don't need much entertainment.

In recent years I've found downloading something from iPlayer or Amazon Prime TV onto my phone is quite a civilised way to kill some hours if I camp early. Wonders of modern tech and all that. Otherwise I'm a bit of a podcast addict so if on my own normally have something playing through one ear bud - then you can listen out for owls or the weather with the other ear!

In reply to removed user: it's a while ago now but I've now got an alpkit 900 sloping bag (or something - I'm not great with gear) and a £40 ex military goretex bag and if I'm cold I leave  some clothes on. Can be a bit chilly but if you're out the wind it is usually fine. Me and a pal slept out on Glyder Fach once in winter and it was so comfy we stayed for 14 hours (we had a wee radio for company as well as a very food supply of a nice malt) . It was light enough with the moon on the snow to go for a stroll anytime you got the urge. 

 

In reply to Runtothehills: that said I've come a cropper a couple of times and had a pretty miserable night, soon forgotten. I'd recommend forster time bivvying somewhere fairly accessible so you can bail if you get in any bother. 

 

In reply to Runtothehills:

Winter time, after a good hot meal, I'll have a 'strong' whiskey & decaff coffee, I have a tendency to keep walking until 8pm or later winter time as I don't like being in my sleeping bag at 5pm, unless of course I'm absolutely shattered. The problem with a very early night is waking up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 2am !! So getting plastered on whiskey usually works for me in Winter.

Summer time is good to get high, if I can find crag or outcrop to camp near I'll do a bit or bouldering or scrambling, or explore the hillside a bit. When I used to take the dog with me I'd take his ball too so that was always good fun together. Watching satellites shooting stars drift/fly across the sky is pretty cool, especially if its really dark.

 

 

In reply to richprideaux:

They are, yes. I hate them, even with my mini speaker with memory card full of music and a book. Far too many hours and even in summer I sleep fitfully. By nature, I am a fidgety sleeper and like space to move, not really conducive to getting a good night's kip in a mummy bag. I have bad memories of clock watching from when it got dark at 5 to light at 7. That's 14 hours of darkness and I usually only sleep for 7 a night anyway.