Tales from our first wildcamp
My first proper wildcamp took place in the Peak District near Kinder Scout last year. I remember it really well as it came with quite a learning curve on what to do and not to do, this included what kit to take, where to pitch and if its worth having a plan B up your sleeve.
It was a stonking hot few days in August, me and a mate headed to Hayfield just on the western side of the Peak District to have a couple of days climbing with a wild camp in the middle. The climbing aspect was all sorted as we’d been in the Kinder Downfall area a few times before. There’s plenty of small scrambles and single pitch routes, as well as places to practise setting up abseils, ideal for us just wanted a chilled time honing our ‘skills’. It was the wild camping side that required a bit of thinking about.
I’ve camped all my life but only really on sites where you have at least basic facilities and your car nearby. We planned to be around 2 hours away from the car with NO facilities ( apart from a trowel, 10 points to who can guess what it was for). My mate on the other hand was nearly as green as me but had managed half a night wild camp before. He’d set out to spend the night in a hammock up near some woodland close to South Cave. After the wind really picked up and threatened to drop branches on him he called it a day ( or night?). It’s easy to laugh and poke fun but I’m not sure I’d have lasted that long on my own, plus I’d rather laugh at the person thats wasted their night sat in front of the tv eating takeaway instead of getting out for an adventure. There wasn’t really any specialised equipment needed for the camp, I’d grabbed a nice little two man tent off ebay, a small portable stove and pots off the internet and already had a sleeping bag and mat, so was pretty much ready to go.
Parking near Kinder reservoir we set off carrying all our camping gear , food , water and climbing gear which weighed an absolute ton. Luckily it’s a stunning walk along the reservoir so as plenty of rests were needed there was ample chance to soak in the views. Kinder Downfall is a pretty dramatic place to visit, its essentially a waterfall nestled away amidst a heap of rocky crags. Its well known for a phenomenon whereby when the wind blows in a certain direction it causes the waterfall to lift and spray back on itself, pretty spectacular!
Upon reaching the crags we got out the climbing gear and stashed the rest of the gear behind some boulders to come and find again when the sun had gone down and we were thinking about pitching up somewhere. The afternoon of climbing was just what we’d gone for, small routes allowing us to practice rope work and climbing techniques we’d need for future bigger trips. There’s plenty of routes for every ability and some that fall into the class of scrambles which don’t require any climbing equipment, only a bit of fearless determination.
Due to the strength sapping heat of the day we only lasted a few hours on the crags before seeking out some of the nearby shallow pools for a dip. Before the waterfall cascades over the edge a number of large boulders holds some of the water back resulting in a series of small pools which look like they’re full of Coca Cola due to the heavy peat content, perfect for cooling down in. It was quite busy in the area due to the nice weather so we sought out somewhere out view as to not offend anybody with out pasty white bodies as we scrambled around on the wet rocks like Gollum . The water was fairly warm due to streams been so shallow so it was perfect for me as I’m a wuss with cold water. It was turning out to be the perfect day, nice bit of climbing, chilling in a natural jacuzzi with gorgeous views and then a nice evening of peaceful camping, You can see why I was hooked after this one trip!
After picking up our stashed gear we decided to pitch up camp a short way from the footpath at the top of the waterfall, the idea was to be out of sight of anyone using the footpath but still be able to see the views. The Kinder plateau can be tricky when trying to find a place to camp, mainly due to how saturated the ground is. We needed a small flat area fairly low down in order to be out of sight but also not low enough that things were getting too swamplike. We eventually found the goldilocks spot and had the new tent was pitched within a few minutes (thanks to a few trial runs at home beforehand). In the worst case scenario that we couldn’t find anywhere to camp or the weather really turned it wasn’t out of the question to walk back to sleep in the car, I think its important to have a plan B when doing something like this for the first time, at least before you plan a multiday hike across the Cairngorms or something.
Food that evening consisted of boiled hot dogs and a boil in the bag camping sachet ( Wayfayrer Food – Pasta and Bolognese). You want to create the minimum amount of rubbish and washing up while camping and the camping sachets are perfect for that, they’re really high in calories so ideal if you’ve had an active day. I think we had chilli and rice and it was great! Once we’d eaten and washed up in the stream we had a few drinks before turning in. Although it did rain in the night which woke us up, the main thing which stopped me from sleeping well was the lack of pillow. I didn’t bring one as I thought its a home luxury, and a bundled up jacket would do the job. Ever since I’ve taken one and the little bit of extra room it takes up is well worth it when you get a decent nights sleep. In the morning, we woke up in thick cloud and decided to cook breakfast from inside the tent. Although not particularly good for you a ‘breakfast in a can’ followed by a coffee got us up and into the chilly soggy mornings weather to dismantle the tent and begin the walk out. Just as we came down off the plateau the cloud broke and the sun burst through. Not to pass up on some more good weather we stopped off on some crags near the path for a spot more climbing before trudging back to the car.