Anyone can go camping at a proper campsite and it’s going to be easy. You might have to get used to sleeping in a tent and cooking food on a fire, but apart from that it’s not hard. Wild camping is an entirely different ballgame. You need to take your skills to a new level and it’s nowhere near as easy. There could be lots of reasons why you would be going wild camping and just enjoying it more is good enough.

You could also be traveling long distances with a bike and need somewhere to lay your head down for the night. It doesn’t really matter what your reasons are because you tackle it all the same. If you’ve never done it before it can definitely be intimidating if you’re not sure about what to do. We’ll take alook at a few things you should know and hopefully this article will give you the confidence to hold your head high when you attempt it for the first time.

1. Keep away from houses and roads

You can’t just go walking into someone’s back garden and pitch a tent. Next you’ll want to wake them up in the morning for some coffee. The idea is to be inconspicuous and that means staying away from places where people can see you. If you have a map then look for woodland where you could easily get away with making a campsite with all the privacy you need.

2. Don’t trespass

You might accidentally walk onto someone’s land and even though they might not be happy there’s nothing you can do. It was an accident and they’ll have to accept it or call the police. Walking onto someone’s land on purpose is an entirely different matter and you should avoid it at all costs. Just try and put yourself in the land owner’s shoes and see how you would like it if a stranger sneaked onto your land.

3. Stay away from dry riverbeds

Do you honestly think it’s a good idea to make your camp inside a dry riverbed? The river might have disappeared, but just wait until it starts raining and you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. At the very least your equipment is going to be filthy. The worst thing that could happen is floating down the riverbed while you sleep and getting washed away.

4. Watch out for bears

Bears don’t want to sneak into your camp and eat you while you’re sleeping. It’s definitely not their style, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be in big trouble if you decide to tempt them towards you with lots of food. You must cook away from your tent, at least 200 meters if possible. Once you’ve finished eating you should also take all the food and tie it up a tree so the bears can’t reach it.

5. Don’t be an attention seeker

Staying hidden is an easy task. What are the chances of someone finding you hiding in the bushes when they don’t expect you to be there? This changes when you start seeking attention and starting a fire is a good way to do this. Nobody is going to leave a fire they see burning in the woods and you might get a visit from the fire service. The same goes for loud music.  Besides, you shouldn’t be playing any if you’re out to enjoy nature at it’s finest.

6. Don’t hang around

When you wake up you should get on the road as quickly as possible, but of course you can make yourself some breakfast first. If you’re planning on doing a lot of walking or cycling you need something in your stomach. That doesn’t mean you should goof around. It’s going to be light and you have a greater chance of being caught. Now all you need to do is reach your next campsite before dark.

Deborah Harris has been working as a community manager with Techniice from the past few years. She is also an avid blogger and is of the opinion that carrying a car fridge makes eating good food possible even while camping.

This article was written by INCH Survival and can be viewed here:

http://inchsurvival.com/blog/6-tips-for-anyone-going-wild-camping/