Thoughts on "Stealth Camping"

[Happy Pirate]

Maybe this is a bit disturbing, but in a similar vein. as I drive or walk around I find myself thinking about where I'd hide a dead body.
Friends of mine used to live on a large property down Wombeyan Caves Road (South of Sydney) before Bullio Station got subdivided, and we'd be out on horses and I'd see plenty of remote gullies and holes. They now live next to Belangelo State Forest which was 'backpacker killer' Ivan Milat's killing ground. Maybe this has influenced me a little too much....

Disclaimer - I have no homicidal tendancies!

Back on track, I am often undecided wether a tent looks 'better' in a bright colour like red or orange, or in muted 'earthly colours' like greens and browns. I definitely like the idea of hammocks blending in to their surroundings.

Oohh, bright colours look sooo much better! Look at all the glossy catalogs and flashy pics with hunky young campers engaged in attractive wilderness-posing activities. Bright colours show up soo much better than those DRAB muddy colours

Save those drab, earthy colours for the tarps you wrap your bodies in.

[Mark F]

I'm not the one thinking about where to hide dead bodies - see OSM.

As for the colour of tents and gear I definitely go for drab. It gives me a little more control over the decision of whether to make contact with others when out walking - I am usually relatively gregarious. I have noticed that most people don't look around them. Sit quietly near the edge of a track and see how many people walk past you without recognition.

[dplanet]

Many of my bushwalks are off-track, along creek beds, and in the creek valleys. Leeches and few other types of insect are the reason i like the bright colour of tent and gear.

[Onestepmore]

NB a quick FYI - if you ask Siri (iphone) "Where can I hide a dead body' she gives you a few choices about crematoriums and mortuaries. if you then tell her you want to hide it in a swamp, she'll happily give you 25 nearby swamp locations!

On a related, but different topic to tent colours and s'tealthiness', I prefer dirt coloured clothes for fishing, but my wallking clothes tend to be pretty colourful (they may end up dirt coloured by the end of a walk....)
And I definitely say 'hi' to all I pass on the track, even if they look grumpy and anti-social. In camp I find most people who look reasonably approachable are happy to have a natter and swap 'my tent is better than yours' stories, share a glass of wine, or a spray of mozzie repellant or whatever.
On a recent Kosci walk when I asked the same of hubby, he replied 'I said hi to all the girls'!

[Moondog55]

"Stealth camping" to me means staying where not allowed.
Pretty easy to do if you want to; stay quiet, dress in drab colours; use a flat neutral tarp and use no large open fires after dark and you can kip almost anywhere.
I have found that 50 metres is usually enough distance from a road or track and in some locations even 10 meters is enough. You can even stealth camp in a car or caravan if you choose drab neutral colours and get that 100 metres off a road; I sold a great big desert camouflage net on ebay once to a bloke who wanted to keep his caravan discreet

[north-north-west]

Disclaimer - I have no homicidal tendancies!

Well, you would say that even if you were a psychopathic mass-murderer, wouldn't you?

[Onestepmore]

Disclaimer - I have no homicidal tendancies!

Well, you would say that even if you were a psychopathic mass-murderer, wouldn't you?

I would, yes. From what I have read some true psychopaths present themselves as being quite likeable and pleasant, even charismatic. That's what makes them so good at their 'job'

http://www.arkancide.com/psychopathy.htm

Oh gooodness, now I'll scare anyone off if I ever post in the 'Looking for Walking Companions' section. Blame my Scorpio-ism.

Back on track - I don't know if I'd enjoy stealth camping so much, I'm pretty gregarious. The thought of hiding away undiscovered sounds good in theory, but I think I'd actually get bored and want to seek out some company. I understand there are many for whom being alone and concealed is very appealing though.

[mikethepike]

Mark F and Happy Pirate have the right idea and spirit of what 'Stealth Camping ' is all about. In London 40 years ago I bought a tent that to me was ideally suited to stealth camping - eg out of site behind hedges on private land and setting up camp after dusk (usually that meant late in summer) and being gone early next day. It did get wearying after a time. I'm planning to walk extensively in Europe in the not too distant future and I'd like to as much as possible without getting nightly lodgings and pub meals as most walkers seem to do. Yes I know it is comfortable and fun but over time, it does chew up the money. My question is: Just how easy is stealth camping in England and the Continent these days? Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[doogs]

Stealth camping in Scotland is fine as there is no trespassing laws, you just need to be respectful of people's property, growing up I camped anywhere I liked in the county areas . England: why bother, it's a dump full of chavs. I've only camped in cheap campsites on the continent, mainly France, they have star rating so the one star are basic but very affordable

[Area54]

I prefer to stealth camp wherever possible. I felt safer with the howl of wolves at night than with a potential human encounter.

For me it magnifies the experience tenfold - you hear and see more animals, your senses are wound up to 11, you're focused on the smallest camp footprint possible and to be moving early.

Just like Neil Young said 'I feel like goin back, back when there's nowhere to stay'

Drab colours, greys and blacks are my general wardrobe, can only see sense in bright colours for extreme environments where you WANT to be seen.

[madmacca]

Mark F and Happy Pirate have the right idea and spirit of what 'Stealth Camping ' is all about. In London 40 years ago I bought a tent that to me was ideally suited to stealth camping - eg out of site behind hedges on private land and setting up camp after dusk (usually that meant late in summer) and being gone early next day. It did get wearying after a time. I'm planning to walk extensively in Europe in the not too distant future and I'd like to as much as possible without getting nightly lodgings and pub meals as most walkers seem to do. Yes I know it is comfortable and fun but over time, it does chew up the money. My question is: Just how easy is stealth camping in England and the Continent these days? Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

http://www.go4awalk.com/ask/wildcamping3.php

[ofuros]

Most of my bushwalks are off track....but I do occasionally stealth camp, testing new gear in a forest/reserve not 5mins from my
front door, just to get to know the gear before I take it bush.
Yes, its bending the so called rules, just leave it no trace that you were there & camp just after dusk.

On established tracks, where I'm not going to make the next campsite because a late start,
tired, sickness, bad weather etc etc...camp where I can. Your own safety come first.

Is this a stealth camp ? Not sure, but its ticks all the right boxes !
Sourced from somewhere on the web..not my own unfortunately.

[sailfish]

I like the notion of blending in and not being seen if I don't want to be. I am into fly fishing and quickly took to eliminating all things shiny from my kit. Then put together drab clothing and more recently added some cammo items though mostly avoided military cammos. The only military cammo I wear is my hat, a commonly available auscam knock off. The rest is different things, fish patterns and other random stuff so it does the job without me looking like a military wannabe. The point being that whatever is highest on on body is that first seen by my quarry. To fish close, very close in very still clear water, it seems best to break up the outline and blend into the background texture and movement. Avoid large areas of the same colour or even the same pattern high up. No exposed skin, face hands etc. Becoming one with the movement of the bush, the water, even the fish, I stalk wet wade right up to stream carp in clear water. Could probably just reach out and touch them sometimes. I have surprised a few people, one guy, a fellow angler was looking straight at me when I got up , walked up to some rocks, crossed the stream to his side, then walked up to him through foot high grass for a chat. I had assumed he knew I was there as I was in plain sight the whole time. Anyway, I think he nearly had a heart attack when I finally registered on his synapses within 5 m of him. So I call out these days just to to sure.

The NSW fisheries management act allow a fisher to access along streams provided they have entered legally and stay within the high banks. Some land owners do not agree. I don't approach land owners as these days you tend to cop a serve for just driving in the gate. So I use public access points and walk up from there as is my legal right to do and a low profile (stealth) approach seems to minimise the chance of unpleasantness.

Hiking I ditch the cammo but still go with mostly drab kit but proper hiking gear is never ever drab enough.


Regards,
Ken

[ribuck]

Is this a stealth camp ? Not sure, but its ticks all the right boxes!

I was about to post that the only downside of stealth camping is that you can't have a campfire. But if you can have one, even in Hong Kong, that's very encouraging!

Once when I was in the centre of London, I watched some homeless people gather driftwood on the banks of the River Thames and light a fire. But I just knew that if I, not being dressed like a derelict, lit a fire in London I'd be carted away very quickly.

[Happy Pirate]

This is the REAL cutting edge of urban stealth camping!
There's a whole world un'erneath our feet!
http://sleepycity.net/map/160/Melbourne

See also "The Cave Clan"

[biggbird]

^Urbexing is a lot of fun, and although I haven't had the pleasure of sleeping out at any locations (as the choices are very limited in Tassie), I know of a few friend who have toured Europe almost exclusively sleeping in abandoned buildings. One can find some very amazing, interesting things whilst exploring abandoned places, some of the history there really is fascinating. I love just wandering around, thinking about what used to happen in places. Helps that a lot of them have some very interesting photographic opportunities too!

I'm not so big on draining, it has its dangers (flooding) and really isn't as interesting to me in terms of visual appeal or history. Some of the stuff light painters do down there is pretty crazy though, some fantastic photos going around. Definitely wouldn't suggest staying out down below ground though, The Cave Clan's motto is "When it rains, no drains" for good reason!

[Rob A]

Stealth camping? Have a wash. Walk out like you havent been on the track.

[Happy Pirate]

^Urbexing is a lot of fun, and although I haven't had the pleasure of sleeping out at any locations (as the choices are very limited in Tassie), I know of a few friend who have toured Europe almost exclusively sleeping in abandoned buildings. One can find some very amazing, interesting things whilst exploring abandoned places, some of the history there really is fascinating. I love just wandering around, thinking about what used to happen in places. Helps that a lot of them have some very interesting photographic opportunities too!

I'm not so big on draining, it has its dangers (flooding) and really isn't as interesting to me in terms of visual appeal or history. Some of the stuff light painters do down there is pretty crazy though, some fantastic photos going around. Definitely wouldn't suggest staying out down below ground though, The Cave Clan's motto is "When it rains, no drains" for good reason!

I did sleep in an old, grand, abandoned, burned-out hotel once in Melbourne when I was hitching back from Byron as a youngster with a mate. It was pretty awesome. Came with a 2 club armchairs an old bakelite radio playing AM country music and a fire burning in an old fireplace. Surrounded by rubble and charcoal it was probably as unsafe as hell but was a great place to explore and sleep in as an 18yo. Never met the folk who lit the fire, they were decent enough to leave us alone.

I love these abandoned and secret places for their photo opportunities too. Although I haven't seen many. There are guided drain tours in Hobart, or there were when I was there.

Steve

[ribuck]

... Just how easy is stealth camping in England and the Continent these days?

I think stealth camping is tolerated more in England than in Australia (maybe because there are more homeless people who sleep rough). But there always seem to be dog-walkers early in the morning, whose dogs will find you and give you a sniff as they go by.