Saturday saw me with an evening of no commitments and a day of lovely weather. I decided it was time to hit the hills for the first wildcamp of the year.

I set off for a lightweight camp and walk. Now, I know that there are some people around here (especially in the UK) who are very amused by this lightweight and super lightweight stuff, but this is both possible and pleasurable here in the UK. For most of the time I’m a lighter-weight trekker rather than super lightweight, but there are times when I have my moments.

My evening in the hills was to be a tarp evening, a fantastic system for an over-nighter. Using a tarp means that I can get all of the gear needed for an overnighter in my diminutive ULA Relay pack. Internally the Relay has about 20 to 25 litres of space with outside pockets allowing you to get up to 35 litres. The pack weights under half a kilogram but is made of Dyneema material and so it is very durable. Choosing a diminutive stove also helps. The Vargo, alcohol is both tiny and light and yet one ‘charge’ of alcohol will give you enough heat to make a large warm drink or reheat a dehydrated meal.

As I walked away from the train station it felt great. It was a clear and sunny day. I realised that I was probably carrying less weight than I would on a trip with an overnight in a hostel or a B&B. There it is the spare clothes, footwear and – inevitably the book which add weight. When wildcamping I never seem to worry about being bored; there is always something to do and something to look at.

A fine day, but there was a cold wind blowing. By the time I got up on the hill the wind was gathering strength and was bitterly cold. The tarp was utilised in a kind of lean-to system with only one pole at the front. The second pole was needed as a ‘lifter’ to cope with the strong wind running down the pass. The length of the tarp allowed me to lie, full length out of the wind. The wind was so cold and strong that my bivy bag didn’t give my legs enough protection when out of the wind.

Tarp pitched low against biting winds

As darkness fell the winds increased but the tarp stayed steady and strong. The important thing about a tarp is that it must be taught and not flap in the wind. I was using some new chord – Spectra from Gossamer Gear – which is now being sold by Winwood Outdoors. This is magnificent stuff; incredibly light; very strong; and coloured yellow so that you don’t trip over it. Spectra is so light that you can afford to take a lot of it with you. When tarp camping you need a lot of chord and a lot of (lightweight titanium) pegs.

It was certainly cold and once or twice I thought that I could have done with my heavier sleeping bag rather than my PHD Minimus. The PHD bag could certainly cope with the temperature but the wind chill took it to close to its comfort level.

Buy there were compensations of course. The sky was relatively clear early in the evening. There was a gorgeous full moon. It was high and quiet. A small stream provided clear, clean water. Any campsite with these attributes – wherever in the country you are – is a great sight.

I love these tarp nights. Perhaps I don’t sleep as well but I’m always entertained. Dawn is a particularly lovely time. First the sky begins to take an an effervescent glow. Then the first of the birds begin to sing. Light begins to creep onto the hills which look flat in this low-contrast scene. Then, as the ambient light levels begin to rise, strange, tiny, white objects begin to appear on distant hills; and they are moving. A few seconds later and you can confirm to yourself that they are sheep. Of course, I didn’t have the hills to myself.

I was up early,a warming cup of tea downed and a pot of warm porridge and fruit eaten. Breaking camp was the most uncomfortable thing about the whole, cold night. It as bitterly cold packing. I started walking at almost running pace so desperate was I to get some feeling back into the fingers and toes that had frozen in the time it took to re-load the pack.

Soon I was walking the ridge, bathed in glorious sunshine. The wind was still cold and biting, but I had the place to myself. Although not out for a long walk I managed a good three hours before dropping back down to the village. At the car park at the bottom of the hill the day’s walkers were just putting on their boots. Soon, I was consuming a healthy breakfast at the Acorn organic café and I was back at home for a late, warming Sunday casserole.

Perhaps, it was a week or two early for the first wildcamp. But it had been a great, intensive, overnighter. I made a mental note to do this more often.

For those of you interested in gear, I wore:

Paramo Cambria baselayer:
Montane Dynamo Jacket (my Kinetic would have been warmer);
Paramo Stretch Pants;
Montane Featherlight Smock (no rain was forecast and so I left heavier jackets behind);
X Socks – Trekking Light;
Tilly Hat

Camp Equipment:

Backpackinglight.co.uk Solo Tarp;
Gossamer Gear, Spectra Chord;
Vargo titanium pegs;
Bozeman Mountain Works Torso Lite Pad;
Cargo Triad Stove;
Vargo Ti-Lite pot;
Mini Nalogene with just enough alcohol
Fire lighting tool
PHD Minimus sleeing bag
RAB Survival Zone bivy bag.