Category Archives: camping

first wild camp: lough altan

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After a successful backyard test of my new Helm Compact 1 tent a couple of weeks ago the plan was to get out on an actual wild camp pretty quickly too. I’d decided Sunday 24th would be a good bet as I was able to book the Monday off work and it fitted in around some of the other stuff I wanted to do on other weekends.

The plan was to travel over late afternoon and take my time getting to the camping location. I would have loads of time to enjoy the location and cook dinner and also have plenty of time in the morning to cook breakfast before packing up and heading home.

Unfortunately the weather turned out terrible that weekend with heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding in some areas including our main shop in Derry. I’d been keeping an eye on the forecast for a while and luckily it suited my boss for me to revert back to my usual Wednesday off and I decided to postpone until the Tuesday evening.

This meant a dash after work and less time to enjoy the evening. To make things easier I decided to stop in Letterkenny and grab a burger and chips so that I wouldn’t be under time pressure when setting up camp. That turned out to be a very smart move as I was invaded by midges and cooking would have been out of the question.

The spot I’d chosen was on the shores of Lough Altan, below Mount Errigal and on the edge of Glenveagh National Park. I parked at the Errigal car park before heading back along the road and taking the signed track for Altan Farm. I hadn’t been in this area for a very long time and the track turned out much wetter and harder walking than I expected and also longer. The bag that felt lighter than expected the night before somehow became 10 times heavier after crossing this boggy track.

Despite these slight difficulties the walk in was amazing. The impressive views of Errigal and Mackoght were soon replaced by those across to the Aghlas and Muckish in the distance. The setting sun was putting on an impressive show and the colours of the mountains were just stunning.

Treated to a stunning sunset I was soon down on the shores of the lough enjoying the waterfalls and being eyeballed by the suspicious sheep.

The sheep had the grass well grazed and I soon had a suitable camp site identified and my tent erected. During this time though the breeze dropped away and I was invaded by hordes of midges! I was forced to retreat to my tent and enjoy the views from behind the relative safety of my internal mesh fly. It wasn’t until almost 11pm when the temperature dropped with darkness and I was able to open up again to make a hot chocolate before bed and take the crucially important night photo of my tent.

Overnight I had a decent sleep. I was quite unsettled until 3.30am when I had to get up for a pee. At that stage I was convinced I would get no more sleep that night but next thing I knew it was 6.30am! I’d gone for a slightly thicker foil mat and that combined with my inflatable sleeping mat and summer sleeping bag kept me warm and comfortable all night. I was very pleased with the tent too. The fly worked great at keeping the midges out once I was zipped up and although it wasn’t easy I was able to get my gear sorted and change for bed without having to get out at all. The two porches were very handy for storing my gear and giving me a sheltered spot to use my cooker. A+ for the Helm Compact 1 ✅

When planning this camp I had a tentative plan at the back of my head that I’d be able to get a dip in the waterfall and maybe even a dip in the lake to get a really refreshing start to the morning before cooking a bacon bap for breakfast. However, the morning dawned grey and humid with barely a breath of wind, the midges were celebrating and I was the banquet! They were even worse than the night before and I was forced to pack up camp from inside the tent before dismantling the tent wearing a hat and buff over my face. Even at that they destroyed my eyes.

at home I was able to assess the battle scars

Breakfast was skipped as well as any romantic notions of wild swimming or exploring the waterfalls. Instead it was a quick inspection of the old house and off up the hill to try and find a breeze and some relief.

I was relatively untouched all the way back to the van but if I stopped for anything more than a few seconds I could feel the bites starting again so I kept plugging on all the way back. A quick change and into the van and on my way home again. I stopped on the way and treated myself to a lovely breakfast roll and all was right with the world again.

closing the barn door but now i’m prepared

Despite the midges I had a great time. I loved the post-work mini adventure type escape, the walk in was amazing and waking up with that view was just unreal. I’m pleased how my kit worked out and I’m looking forward to seeing where my next adventure will take me.

The YouTube link below will take you to the video I made of the experience.

going wild

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On Saturday night I finally went wild camping. The weather forecast was grim with heavy rain and a thunderstorm warning for the afternoon and early evening but with the worst of it to pass by 6pm I decided to plan for the best. Thankfully the forecast was right for a change and it dried up shortly after 6.

Taking my cue from a successful way to plan a bike ride I got all my gear sorted the day before and packed that morning. Taking advice from some of the YouTube wild campers I follow I took more than I thought I would need but despite being reasonably strict the volume of stuff still surprised me.

Part of my problem is that not all my gear packs efficiently. For example the cooking cup is smaller than the gas canister so they can’t be nested. Also the thermal cup took up more space than I expected and my sleeping bag is probably bigger than most modern bags.

I’d chosen a spot called Dooish Hill between Raphoe, St Johnston and Newtowncunningham. I’ve been there before and it has a great view and only a short 1km walk from the parking location in case things went disastrously wrong. It’s also one of the 50 nearest hills listed on Mountainviews.ie so starts the 50for50 ball rolling for me too.

The actual campsite was OK but far from ideal. The area of grassland I remember turned out to be quite boggy and mostly covered with low heather. This made for damp, soft ground and while heather is nice enough to lie on it doesn’t compress as easily as grass and made everything that little bit more awkward but still manageable.

the heather complicated the pitch of the tarp

nearby unmapped trigpoint pillar

I’d brought two stoves with me. My BSR gas stove I used previously on my hike up Bessy Bell and also a small wood burning firebox copy from Lixada. The plan was to use the wood burner to cook dinner, keep away any midges and provide a nice fire as it got dark. The gas stove was for the morning to make life easier. After the day of heavy rain I also decided to bring a small bag of dry tinder and sticks and a large birch branch I’d taken from my local woods a couple of months ago. I didn’t fancy hunting in the wet trees nearby and trying to start a fire with damp wood. I did process the wood on site though with my saw and knife to cut and split it and lit the fire using a fire steel rather than a lighter. It felt surprisingly satisfying to do it this way – very bushcrafty!

Dinner was kept simple too. I brought some chorizo sausage pieces and a pre cooked pack of multi grains. I just needed to boil a small amount of water and then reheat the whole lot in the frying pan for 5min. Dessert was a chocolate chip muffin. All was eaten while enjoying the views as the low clouds came and went.

Sunset came quickly with darkness pretty much complete shortly after 930. However, just before 9 I was treated to a flock of birds (swallows, swifts or martins, they all look and behave very similar!) that swooped in and spent 10 minutes showing off their aerial acrobatics as they dined on flies and other insects high above my head. Even once it was dark there was a surprising amount of light in the sky.

I read for a while by the light of my head torch and finally went to bed shortly after 1030. I slept reasonably well, waking about 1230 and again shortly after 3. I needed a pee at 3 so it took a while to settle again but I then managed to sleep until just after 6am. Not perfect but good enough and better than I expected for my first night out. Another tip from YouTube helped. I was wearing a thin thermal hat and this was big enough to pull down over my eyes and stop the early dawn from wakening me too early.

The early morning was chilly and unfortunately the view was gone as the hill was totally shrouded in a dense bank of low cloud. A breakfast bacon bap and tea was nice but could have been so much better with a view to enjoy.

lost in the mist

Packing up was quick and simple, somehow everything went back in easier this time and after a short damp walk back to the car I was home again shortly after 8am.

All in it was a really good and enjoyable first wildcamp. I’ll definitely go out again and with my first experience I have some small lessons to help make it better next time too.

backyard camping

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Last night I finally got around to taking my first step towards a proper wild camp before the end of the summer. I bought a DD 3x3m tarp a few weeks ago and have been watching many videos about how to set it up as a summer tarp tent. Yesterday evening I finally got around to setting it up in the back garden as a trial run, to iron out any problems and test out some of my, now very old, gear.

this sleeping bag must be 20+ years old but very warm!

first time actually using this bivvy bag

Finding it more cramped than expected I’ve watched a few more videos this evening and realised that I should have set it up slightly differently and I would have had both more headroom and space to lie out.

Other things I learned last night:

  • I can still get excited about very simple things – took me ages to relax enough to actually get to sleep
  • Needing a pee at 3am is more complicated in a sleeping bag and tent!
  • Listening to heavy rain from the inside of a tent is strangely soothing when you are inside dry and warm
  • The flat bit of our garden isn’t – there’s a very slight slope that’s only noticeable when lying down
  • For a place in the middle of the country there’s a lot of noise at night.
  • I was very surprised by the amount of condensation inside the tarp this morning but the grass was soaked when I pitched which could have been the cause
  • The night air smells and feels different when sleeping outside

I’ve also learned from YouTube that a hot chocolate before bed is pretty much compulsory for expert level wild campers.

I have plans for further “proper” wild camps over the next few weeks but I definitely need to invest in a proper sleeping mat very soon, these old bones need a soft surface to lie on…..