Bivvying is the extreme version of camping: it’s sleeping in the wild but not in a tent. Rather, you use a bivvy bag, a sort of waterproof cover that falls somewhere between a raincoat for your sleeping bag and a miniature tent without poles or stakes. I tried it recently for the first time, these are the lessons I learned.
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Camping in the desert of Jordan
The sun slowly sinks behind a honeycomb of sandstone and brick-red totem poles. And afterwards… a starry sky that turns everyone into a philosopher. Few camping experiences are as magical as those in the desert. But putting up your tent also requires a lot of preparation and knowledge. Here’s what Tom learnt from camping for four nights in the desert of Jordan.
Continue Reading →Cooking and eating during camping trips: some rules of thumb
Cooking whilst camping can be a challenge. Unless you’re a builder or a miner, you’ll consume more energy during a camping trip than in daily life. But how do you get those extra calories when, at the same time, you’re trying to limit the weight of your backpack or bicycle panniers?
Continue Reading →Tips for camping in the rain
Rain can put a damper on any camping trip, but it doesn’t have to spoil a getaway with the tent. With our tips, you’ll be prepared.
Continue Reading →Taking a tent on a hike? Here’s how to find a garden to camp in
As a child, every summer meant waiting and waiting. We didn’t go on holiday until mid-August, so it always took a while before my holiday spirit bubbled up. Camping in the garden provided an excellent antidote to that endless wait. I pitched my tent in the backyard, but, or so I reasoned, away from parental control. Even if I had put my pegs into the ground in Yellowstone, I would not have felt one iota freer than in that garden in Mol-Ginderbuiten.
But camping in the garden does not only appeal to an impatient child. As an adult, I regularly bivouac in the yard of strangers, especially during multi-day hikes in densely populated areas like Flanders. Wild camping is illegal here, an official bivouac zone not always on the route. With some luck, you will find a campsite within stumbling distance of your trail. As a self-sufficient hiking camper, however, you’ll often end up sleeping between walls of mobile homes, white fridges towering so high that it feels like camping between New York apartment buildings. Not always the experience I look for on such a trek.
A small, cosy garden becomes a worthy alternative. But how do you find a suitable spot?
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