Author Topic: Can we overcome some of our wild camping fears and anxieties?  (Read 3378 times)

gunwharfman

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I readily admit it, I still get anxious when I'm wild camping. My brain can sometimes go into overdrive about noises, animals, people and so on. I would love to be macho and couldn't give a damn about it but the basic anxiety is always there.

I read this today - will it help?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/30LCwDbVGzPzJpbWFXj36qG/tips-for-overcoming-fear-from-the-world-s-best-free-solo-climber

fernman

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will it help?

Nope, not for me.

My fears are partly that of my tent being trampled by one of the black Welsh highland cows that roam the Snowdonia hills freely these days (sheep are less of a threat, although their audible nibbling of grass can be a bit disconcerting if you wake to hear it close by), but most of all I have a fear of wild weather springing up in the night.

Wind isn't too bad, I've only had my tent blown down on one occasion, though the noise and the flapping flysheet do mean a lack of sleep, but the biggest threat is heavy rain with a risk of flooding.

When it pours in the Welsh hills it doesn't take long for puddles to form on the grass at the very least, or at the other end of the scale for the area you're in to become like a pond, while streams can rise alarmingly high or temporary ones start running past you. Once I had one running through my tent porch, another two times nearby streams came to within a foot of me, while a couple of times I've had to get up in the small hours and move my tent out of a pool.

Thanks to being able to check forecasts on a computer at home before a trip, and on a smartphone during the trip, you are better informed about what might occur, but after my experiences nothing is going to make that anxiety go away.

Ridge

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I think the first thing is to identify what you are anxious about and if it is a rational fear.
With free climbing plummeting to your death is a real possibility. What do you think may happen when wild camping which wouldn't on a camp site?

jimbob

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Ha,ha so you want to use that method for overcoming your fears.To me it looks like the incremental practise is a great way to actually spend more time out there wild camping.Do you really think Mrs. Gunwharfman is going to fall for that one? ;D ;D ;D ;D
Too little, too late, too bad......

vghikers

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Quote
I read this today - will it help?
Maybe, it depends on you.
Much of that article is pretty obvious really and derives from a rational approach. Trouble is, anxiety is often irrational. Depending on the situation, it may be allayed somewhat by thinking it through.

Wild pitching is no problem at all, though on a couple of occasions we have been slightly nervous of cattle and wild horses, they're inquisitive critters, big and heavy!. A horse suddenly snorting right outside the porch, as happened once, is briefly alarming when it breaks the silence and you can't see it.
The only other occasion was a buildup of snow on our tent roof, it's very heavy and a semi-geodesic can't stand it. As the pole structure sagged we had to dislodge it at regular intervals.


fernman

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What do you think may happen when wild camping which wouldn't on a camp site?

At least on a campsite there would be somewhere to shelter in an emergency, even if it is only the loos! And you're better placed to sort yourself out in the morning, maybe to get help, or to just get the hell out of there.
No such luxury when wild camping miles from a road or habitation, you're on your own.

richardh1905

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Best way to conquer these irrational fears is to get out there and do it!
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

April

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The only thing I get anxious about wild camping is being evicted by the landowners  :) I agree with Fernman about the weather being a concern sometimes. We have been lucky not to have been flooded, I remember one night on Wether Hill, water pouring through the ridge wall in places after it tipping it down all night. Apart from one of beefy's boots that he'd manged to leave outside the tent, we were dry inside and pleased we were high and dry where we'd pitched.

The man in the article is bonkers IMO  ;)
Hate will never win

nick949

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Watch out for badgers and foxes. Man, they're terrifying carnivores  ;D .  I sleep like a baby whenever I'm stealth camping in the UK. Absolutely nothing is going to eat you.


Nick
Book: "Actually, I'm English: rediscovering my homeland on foot and by motorbike" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AGQIX1K)

tonyk

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What do you think may happen when wild camping which wouldn't on a camp site?
A decent nights sleep. ;)

Ridge

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A decent nights sleep. ;)
;D


It was a serious question really.
I thought if we knew what the specific problem was eg. being caught, farm animal, wild animals, mad axe men, flood, famine, plague of locusts.... then we may be able to address and alleviate the concern.
« Last Edit: 09:06:13, 14/02/19 by Ridge »

dave_p

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Going back to the original post, did anyone else go to see Free Solo?  I did and found it rivetting!

Maggot

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Al Humphries has interesting thoughts on it.


Personally, I am firmly of the belief that you are probably safer in the middle of nowhere tucked behind a wall in a bivi bag, than walking through a city at night.


Unless of course vampires and the Devil do exist, in which case you are probably screwed anywhere really.





Slogger

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Wild camping, yes there's risk involved,  but there is on an official campsite too. The first time i walked the PW I heard about three pitched tents that were stolen at Malham while their occupants were in the pub. With wild camping so long as the usual common sense is followed it can be really liberating. Ive never felt under threat in a real sense but I steer clear of farm animal fields. Wild beasts are something you just have to hope get too inquisetive. It is a good idea to follow a rule that those camping at altitude or where theres a possibly avalanche or an extreme snow dump overnight etc. Always have at hand a good sharp knife, so that if you need to exit in an emergency you can slice through the groundsheet and get out quickly. getting out of your sleeping bag may be more of a problem!

Maggot

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"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself"


Franklin D Roosevelt

 

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