Stealth bushcraft

[boisdevie]

Tomorrow I'm hitching from N France to W Sussex. I expect to make the journey in a single day but I'm prepared for adverse circs. If I get stuck I imagine I might have to 'rough it' for a night en route, probably near a motorway service station. I have with me the following equipment:
3 season hollofill bag - don't have a 4 season but have lots of clothes
Foam mat
3x4m tarp
Cord and tent pegs
Hobo stove
Food and drink
SAK and torch

Anything I've forgotten. Will I freeze to death out there. Presumably to setup camp say a few hundred metres from a motorway shouldn't be too difficult?
Advice etc welcomed. And I know I should have a hammock and 4 season bag but I don't have the money.

 

[DavidJT]

Bivvy bag would be good, first aid kit, fully charged mobile phone, & personal alarm?

 

[locum76]

check out the 'blatant bushcraft' thread. you should take photos and post them on that.

 

[Asa Samuel]

check out the 'blatant bushcraft' thread. you should take photos and post them on that.

+1 That would be good.

 

[boisdevie]

I would but I don't have a camera - cos I have very little money. That's why I don't have a Hennessy hammock and all the super duper doodahs.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Are you waiting at the side of the road with a sign or do you expect to walk a lot of the way?

 

[boisdevie]

I shall hold a nice big sign and be reasonably well dressed with a smile and cleanly shaved. I aim to walk as little as possible, but when you're hitching you're in the lap of the gods.

 

[Arri]

How often do you do that? Also, if and only if you don't mind, can I ask why?

Really no offence implied or meant, I'm just excruciatingly curious.

Oh yea, First aid kit would be a must, just in case.

 

[boisdevie]

It's the first time hitching this route. Normally I do a day or overnight trip when I can use OHs car. But the car is not available and I have to keep tight reins on the money. But I used to hitch as a student and never had any problems. I was never molested (chance would be a fine thing). So it should be OK - and an easy route to hitch - mostly motorway.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

loo roll! (even motorway services run out!)
perhaps some sweets or something to offer your driver?

if you are near motorway services, chances are you are going to be out in the sticks, even so, make sure you are a long way away from parking areas, otherwise you might get an unwelcome flash of someones backside!

I like the "Blatant Bushcraft" idea, can you take a picture with your mobile phone?

 

[jonajuna]

certainly move off the service station land, they have plenty of CCTv and you may well get an awakening by the old bill if spotted.

but why bother sleeping out? go in the services, by a coffee and a newspaper, sit in one of the comfy chairs and "accidentally nod off" with the paper on your lap and the coffee half drunk on the table in front of you

cant see the staff inside taking much notice, at the risk of sounding xenophobic, much of the night shift in service stations nowadays dont speak enough english to ask you to drink up and move on

 

[cbkernow]

without wanting to be paranoid, be careful hanging around the bushes at motorway services in France, bear in mind quite a few Johnny foreigners like to do that in the hope of finding an unsecured lorry to hitch a ride in across the channel and you might even stumble across people who might be interested in your belongings and passport....

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

without wanting to be paranoid, be careful hanging around the bushes at motorway services in France, bear in mind quite a few Johnny foreigners like to do that in the hope of finding an unsecured lorry to hitch a ride in across the channel and you might even stumble across people who might be interested in your belongings and passport....

or if you're really unlucky your aarse!

 

[durulz]

Hold on, are you saying you don't have ANY kind of sleeping bag? That you are, quite literally, going to kip under just a tarp?
If so, that is an EXTREMELY unwise thing to do this time of year.

As for sleeping near a motorway. Well, motorways tend to go straight through the countryside, so I'm sure you can find somewhere nearby to doss down for the night. But the noise level is surprisingly high, especially at night when air pressure drops and there's less impediment to sound travel.

From what you have said I'd say your journey is dreadfully ill-prepared. I just hope for your sake you make it to West Sussex in one go without having to sleep out for the night.

 

[VirusKiller]

And I know I should have a hammock

Why do you say that?

 

[swyn]

Beware of being trapped within the motorway system as it is illegal to hitch on the hard shoulder, and very dangerous. Make sure that you are dropped on a junction off the slip road.
Plan your route using a good map and keep the basic route in your head and on a crib sheet so you know roughly where you are most of the time. M ways and A roads will ensure good lift miles but the smaller routes will not yield so many lifts unless you get into rural areas. Suburban mummies will not slow and sometimes not even see you, so consider a dayglo vest for when daylight fades. You are still on short days!
As for loo roll please consider the left hand method and water as used in other non westernised countries rather than leaving horrible tissue! You will be surprised how little you use when you get skilled in this and get over the, again, westernised mind set. I recommend a separate small shower gel size type of water container. Less waste, less weight & easily filled from a ditch, puddle or trough and even your drinking water.
Take every opportunity to wash and at this time of the year keep dry else your body temperature will have a much harder time keeping you warm. Fill your drinking water too at every opportunity. Keep looking as smart as possible and not too smelly and you will get offered rides.
I also recommend that at least an hour, or more, towards the end of the day be spent looking for a nest. Spend this time wisely considering your safety and do it in daylight. Make this a habit and it will pleasantly surprise you!
Finally, as the shooting season is nearing its end, the Fox culling will start, bear this in mind if you find yourself in countryside, don't make yourself a target.

Good luck.

Swyn.

 

[tobes01]

Guess boisdevie's already headed off, so this comes too late...

For many shoots, today is the last day of the season. Don't go sneaking off into the woods if there's a chance you're on pheasant land, you might get an angry gamekeeper spoiling your evening...

Tobes

 

[calibanzwei]

........ and 4 season bag but I don't have the money.

In addition to the aforementioned bivi, see about getting a mummy liner - effectively turning a 3 season into a 4 season (worked for me this weekend past). Cotton is cheaper and only a little less effective than its silk counterpart.

Can even be used on its own (in conjunction with a bivi) in the summer months.

 

[Tengu]

Hammocks turn your skin bright blue.

Everyone knows that.

 

[nickliv]

How did he get on? There's been nothing on the news....