Sleep in a cave

"What do we do if it's full?"

Conrad laughed. And I had meant it as a joke. Who else would choose to walk off rainy day to spend the night in a cave?  We were genuinely surprised when we met a family group of eight already snuggled up playing a game of cards, and taking up most of the cave.

We'd spent the day climbing in the lakes and parked the car by the Brothers Water Inn and walked straight through a perfectly good campsite.  A perfectly good campsite next to a pub.  We carried on walking in the rain and followed the Dovedale valley.

With the light fading and the misty conditions it required a bit of careful navigation to get to the right spot. Priest's Hole is marked on the map but when were sure we were in the right spot we still couldn't find it.  We looked up and down the bottom of the crag and then found a path leading up. After a short scramble we found it.

The family were nice enough to let us budge up and give us a narrow corner of the Hole to kip down.

In the morning, the mist had lifted and we were treated to a beautifully framed view of the hills around.  We were also treated to a mug of tea and a bowl of porridge by the much better equipped family. Thanks!

Sleep in a Snow Hole

Winter will be upon us soon and with it the season for winter climbing and walking. I asked Alan Kimber, of West Coast Mountain Guides, to explain how to go about sleeping in a snow hole.

Can you explain why mountaineers would use snow holes when climbing as opposed to using a tent or a bivvy bag?
More shelter from the wind.

Is building a snow hole an advisable way to shelter for the night in Scotland's hills in winter?
Yes, but depends on situation and location and conditions.

For the first time snow holer what advice would you give?
Find a snow bank not too far from alternative shelter and practice first. If something goes wrong it should be easy enough to travel downhill, straight to safety.

What equipment is it necessary to take with especially?
A good shovel – snow saw - sleeping bag – insulated sleeping mat – stove – food – All the usual hill survival gear and warm clothing.

What considerations are there to choosing a good spot? Where has been your favourite location?
Try to avoid anything in a gully line where avalanches may slide through. Avoid anything with water running beneath. Difficult to be precise with a favourite spot. It will depend largely on the conditions at the time.

What temperature rating does my sleeping bag need to stay warm?
Four Season.

Won't my expensive down sleeping bag get wet?
Possibly. Cover it with a gore-tex bivvy sack.

What are the drawbacks and dangers of sleeping in snow holes?
Suffocation (make sure you have a ventilation hole). Collapse and damp in thaw conditions. They take a lot of effort to construct compared to using a bothy or pitching a tent.

What are the benefits?
Well constructed in good dry and cold conditions they are bombproof, even in a gale of wind, where a tent might be destroyed. They are also much quieter than a tent in windy weather.

In your opinion what is the greatest winter climb in Scotland?
No comment. There are too many to choose from.

Which mountaineer has inspired you?
Riccardo Cassin – Walter Bonatti.

Can you me the most important tips for winter mountaineering.
Be very good at navigation – Use the correct clothing, ice axe and crampons – Understand avalanche hazards and how to avoid them – Take your time to understand and be able to match the challenges of the winter hills to your own ability and experience.

More information is available in this article: www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/outdoors/articles/snowholing/

I've mentioned other ways to sleep out in the hills before as part of my CHEAP SLEEP series. You could opt for a bothy, tent or bivvy bag.

Warm Showers

My experience of using hospitality websites, both hosting and visiting, has been great. I love the randomness of turning up in a stranger's home (and in their life), and it was remarkably good fun to have people stay (and very little effort). Following on from the previous post I wrote about this kind of thing, I got in touch with Randy Fay - the webmaster for the warmshowers.org website. Randy and Nancy have just returned to the USA from a bike tour from the top of Canada to the bottom of South America. Read about their trip on their website http://www.hobobiker.com/. A map of where potential hosts live can be found here. I asked Randy a few questions about Warmshowers.

I am a big fan of sites like your own, globalfreeloaders, couchsurfing and hospitality club. Can you briefly explain how your site works for people who have never used it?
It's really much like all the other hospitality networks. You sign up and then you can search for hospitality or other support using several different search facilities, including a map that locates hosts. Warmshowers.org is a *reciprocal* hospitality network, so you're saying at least "I will host someday" when you sign up. Many members on extended trips or at different points in their lives can't offer hospitality, but in the long term they will.


There is the obvious financial benefit of not having to pay for accommodation but could you describe some of the other benefits to cyclists?
In my experience, it's not really the financial benefits that are as important as the social benefits. You get to meet fantastic and interesting people from all over the world, and share an evening or two with them. Sometimes and some places it's cheaper to camp or get a hotel than it is to stay with a host (and bring some beer, and fix dinner, etc.). But the benefits of meeting somebody local and getting their perspective is amazing.

Are there any drawbacks, problems or dangers? What are you doing to counter these?
It can be a bit of work to spend the whole evening socializing :-) Sometimes it's exhausting, although so valuable.We haven't had any reports of security issues, although we've had a couple of annoying or odd members. There's a writeup on personal security at http://www.warmshowers.org/content/member-security

What are your top 5 countries for cycle touring?
Probably Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Canada. Ask most Europeans and they'll tell you the US is a fabulous place to cycle-tour, with enormously friendly and interested people.

What tips would you give cyclists new to touring?
Start out slowly and build up slowly. You can go a long ways a little at a time. Remember that cycle touring is not an athletic event, it's a way to travel and really know the country you're traveling through.

What, would you say, are the best aspects of hosting?
Getting to know all those wonderful and interesting people.

Check out some of my other CHEAP SLEEP posts.
Bothy ~ Scottish shelters that welcome weary walkers.

Tent ~ The ultimate tool for sleeping free.
Car ~ For those too lazy to put their tent up.
Bivvy ~ Soggy misery keeps you lightweight.
Couch ~ Make friends with the Internet.
Airport ~ The largest en-suite bedroom you'll ever stay in (complete with coffee shop).

Van ~ Dirtbagger Russ tells us how its done.

Russ Haines Interview: Tips for Living in a Van

Dirtbaggin'

I wrote a post recently about sleeping in the car. This is something I do on occasions when I have just driven up to the highlands and can't be bothered to put the tent up. My friend Russ Haines has taken the plunge and decided to live in a van. He works offshore with a 5-week-on-5-week-off shift pattern and decided that paying rent for a room (that he's hardly ever in) wasn't worth it. I asked Russ a few questions about his new dirtbag lifestyle.

I know your very keen on mountain biking and kayaking. Did this play a part in your decision to live in a van?
A massive part! I love being out on my bike or in my boat & if I haven't done one of those in a day then I can't help feeling that's a day wasted. On top of that though I'm pretty lazy & easily distracted, the van seemed like the ideal way to remove the distractions of a comfortable home & focus on getting out & riding all the places that I've wanted to for so long.

What kind of van is it? Have you modified it, or do you intend to?
This first trip I decided to use a rental van, just to see how I got on with it & to get a feel for dirtbag living. I hired a Short Wheel Base Vauxhall Vivaro, bunged a mattress in it & stacked all my stuff where ever there was space. This worked pretty well except Wales decided to dump rain on me for the whole of the first week, making keeping my bed dry a bit of a challenge. The only real modification was the complex lattice of string washing lines & fixing points that appeared over the course of the trip. Never underestimate the importance of a ball of string! I'm looking at getting my own van next time I'm home though & this first experience has definitely given me some ideas for how I want to do it. There'll be a wooden platform on one side for the mattress to go on so that there's storage underneath for my gear meaning plenty of drying space. Also mesh pockets on the sides for stowing clothes, book, torch etc. & hooks on opposing corners for my hammock.

What's the best thing about living in a van?
First off being able to wake up at the trail head or some place with a great view in the morning really inspires you to get out & make the most of the day. Being inside the van is pretty boring. It's only really good for sleeping or eating so your only option is to get out of the thing come rain or shine which is the biggest benefit! Get out & ride! The mobility is also a big factor. Finish a day's riding & just look at the map & choose somewhere to be for the next day. The simplicity of it. Wake up, stove on, tea & porridge, RRRRRRRIIIIIIIDDDDDDEEEEEEE, drive to the next place, dinner, book, bed. It's cheap!

Have their been any problems? How did you get round them?
Only real problem was keeping stuff dry. This meant a bit of rearranging before each ride, bed up against the wall & tying everything to one side, to give me as much space as possible to get changed after a ride & to store the bike & hang up all my wet gear. Lots of newspaper on the floor & it'd generally stopped dripping by the time I'd driven to the next spot.

Have you invited girls back to the van? What is the reaction of your friends?
Can honestly say nope. No girls back. Yet! Reaction of friends has been largely jovial but a few know how much I'm on the road anyway & that it's an ideal set up for me & a good money saver. There's been the odd one or two who's eyes light up at the idea which makes me realise how lucky I am to be in a position to be able to do it. A lot of people's reaction is to ask how on earth I keep clean. In this, the Swine flu age, people are far too hung up on personal hygiene!

So, has your personal hygiene suffered?
I don't think it's suffered but maybe diminished slightly! Have to say there's been a few times when finishing a ride & realise that your legs are covered in sheep shit & you feel a bit guilty but a quick rub with a towel to get the worst off & your soon distracted by the prospect of tea & malt loaf. I've had some funny looks around Supermarkets or whatever & later realised it's because my face is spattered with mud or my hair is a mile high! Like anything else though, a shower is far better when you haven't had one in a while. There are opportunities though. Some of the trail centres with showers, most towns have a swimming pool, campsites, service stations, mates or a good old fashioned jump in a river.

Home sweet home. . .

Where was your most beautiful parking spot so far? Is it easy to find a good spot?
Probably Nant Yr Arian just inland from Aberystwyth. The parking spot is right on top of the Cambrian hills & just as I arrived the weather chose to cheer up for the first time in 5 days revealing a stunning landscape under the thick Welsh fog I'd become accustomed to. Think the break in cloud lasted about two hours before it closed back up again in preparation for a monsoon of apocalyptic proportions! Finding spots is extremely easy, particularly along most A roads. There is often lay-bys for truckers which are great as a lot of them are set back separate from the road so you shouldn't be struck by a rallying yobo at 3am plus there are bushes for the morning wizz. I spent a couple of nights just parked on residential streets which were always fun in the morning; opening the back door to wish my new neighbours a pleasant journey to work as I breakfasted in my sleeping bag. To begin with I was a bit paranoid about people interfering with the van whilst I was asleep in it. Something that seemed less likely on a street full of cars, more probable in a remote lay by but had no trouble there either.

What about when you want home comforts?

As fun & random as it is on the road, in bad weather it's difficult to beat the Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Trail Centre at Afan in south Wales. A spot you can camp with fantastic facilities, an ace bike shop & a cafe that does huge plates of Lasagne & spicy spuds with cold beers & mountain bike movies late into the night. Not to mention when you get up in the morning you've got three great trails on your door step.

What are your van plans, man?
The plan for the next break is southern Scotland's 7 staines trail centres; Dumfries, Kirroughtree, Glentress , Mabie & Ae definitely. If there's time I'd like to push up to Fort William & ultimately Skye although I've probably missed any chance of good weather. We've only got a short 3 week break from work & there's some family stuff on down south so time will be pressed. There are a few maybes that include heading down to Cornwall for some surf & trying out the Quantock hills as well as the new Downhill runs at Gawton in Tavistock on the way. I'm gutted I didn't get to do more of North Wales last time. I managed to get a full descent of Cadair Idris (3 hours up, 10 mins down!) but I didn't get as far as Snowdon which remains on my to do list. Thinking maybe one to do around Christmas.

What tips would you give someone considering doing the same?

1. Gloves & pads dry pretty well on the air vents.

2. Get an inverter for charging camera batteries while you drive!

3. Separated milk does not make a good cup of tea.

4. Racing sheep is funny!
5. They may attempt to leap over gates.

6. Sheep can't jump gates.

7. Tie everything down.

8. Less stuff means more space.

9. Do it, It's easy!

Sleep in an airport

The largest en-suite bedroom you'll ever stay in (complete with coffee shop)

At one stage or another most of us end up sleeping in the airport to catch an early flight or after a delay. These huge buildings, present in most big cities and kept at a pleasant temperature, never close and can be used as a cheeky free place to kip. Its not going to be like staying in the Savoy but this series isn't called COMFY SLEEP. A little preparation will pay dividends. You'll need things like a sleeping bag, roll mat, food and drink (so you don't have to resort to airport prices), and maybe some bedtime reading.

Don't bother trying to sleep in the chairs, unless you are adept at sleeping sitting upright. Find a bit of carpeted floor somewhere out of the way and hit the sack.

Won't the cleaners nick my stuff?

Just don't take too much stuff. Use your bag as a pillow so you'd be woken up if someone tries to nick it. Keep all your valuables inside the sleeping bag with you. If you've got loads of stuff you could try putting it under a seat near a wall and sleeping in front of it. If you are made of money you could use the baggage storage. . .

Is it legal? Will an airport official wake me up and tell me to push off? Is it dangerous?
Yeah, well, you might be unlucky but there again you might not. The comprehensive source on this subject is www.sleepinginairports.com

Other posts in my CHEAP SLEEP series so far include:-
Bothy ~ Scottish shelters that welcome weary walkers.
Tent ~ The ultimate tool for sleeping free.
Car ~ For those too lazy to put their tent up.
Bivvy ~ Soggy misery keeps you lightweight.
Couch ~ Make friends with the internet.

Sleep on a couch

Use the Internet to find a couch to sleep on.

One way to get a free nights lodging is to break in to someone's house. You are then likely to have several more free nights lodging under lock and key.

Perhaps a better source of free accommodation is staying on a mates floor or sofa, or camping in their garden. Don't wait to be invited, tell them you are on a trip from A to B and ask politely if it would be ok to stay the night. Only pretty hard-hearted people will say no. Be sure to offer to return the favour and invite them to stay with you.

As I discovered recently, gate crashing a stag do is a good option for a nights kip (or a nights partying). I guess the moral is to keep an open mind and be in the right place at the right time. If you were incredibly good looking you might be able to rely on being invited back to a bed somewhere where ever you go. . .

If you don't have mates in convenient locations, and you are not as hot as Penelope Cruz, you could try becoming a member of one of the reciprocal hospitality networks on the Internet such as globalfreeloaders, couchsurfing or the hospitality club. There is also one specifically for cyclists called warmshowers.

Isn't that dangerous? Well, crossing the road is dangerous. These sites tend to include a few security features such as giving references from previous hosts/guests or some kind of personal vouching scheme. There needs to be a bit of trust and you may feel safer if you don't go alone. Mostly you will meet and stay with nice people. However, exchange a few emails first and if you don't like the sound of them, don't stay with them.

In actual fact having people come to stay with you can be good fun, and is rarely much of a nuisance. As a rule of thumb, each time you stay with someone you should invite someone to stay with you. Bringing a gift to say thank you is a nice touch too.

Sleep in a bivvy bag

A lightweight option and perfect for those who enjoy soggy misery.

If you are considering using a bivvy bag as an alternative to a tent when hill walking, I would heartily recommend you read The Book of the Bivvy by Ronald Turnbull. In fact I would recommend you read any of his books, or articles, which are always both inspiring and witty.

The Book of the Bivvy manages to combine a wealth of useful information, interesting mountaineering history, humourous anecdotes, and some suggested hiking routes, particularly in Scotland. It discribes how goretex was discovered and its optimum conditions of use. Turnbull is provocative in his outdoor philosophy and the sections on food, what to pack and how to choose a good site for your bivy, can be indiosyncratic. Nevertheless, he is practical and logical and can back up what he says with examples from his own experiences.

There is a great section on food including a recipe for haggis and mash and this advice:

A stove is a luxury. You'd get more heat into you by eating the fuel blocks. As water is abundant on British hills it need not be carried in the form of lunch. Sugar should not be the basic food: large chunks of chocolate lead to sudden energy surges followed by famished reaction. Healthy food with vitamins is heavy and doesn't travel well: I do a lot of healthy eating on shop doorsteps. Suitable food for carrying will be starchy carbohydrate in a fairly dry form at four calories per gram, with some sugar and fat to improve the ratios. Which means almost anything, really.

There is a kind of non-intuitive logic to his musings. Take this advice on how many clothes to pack.

Suppose all of your clothes were wet and all of them on. If that's enough to let you survive the storm, then that's the clothes you can't do without - three wet layers and a waterproof.
No dry clothes for next day? Well, if it's raining next day then those dry clothes would very soon be wet ones. And if it isn't raining, then these wet clothes will very soon be dry.

The very best chapter is called Time, Things and Miguel but you should really just buy the book and read it!

Ronald's website is ronaldturnbull.co.uk
The Book of the Bivvy can be purchased in a book shop or www.cicerone.co.uk

Other posts in my CHEAP SLEEP series so far include:-
Bothy ~ Scottish shelters that welcome weary walkers.
Tent ~ The ultimate tool for sleeping free.
Car ~ For those too lazy to put their tent up.

Sleep in your car

If you've just driven somewhere, your tired, its pissing down with rain, and all you can think about is sleeping, then one option is just to recline the seat and nod off.

Which cars are best?
If you have some kind of van, people carrier or estate where the seats can be removed to give enough room to roll out a sleeping bag, then happy days! Otherwise it will be an uncomfortable night and you'd be far better off, if you've got it, going out and putting the tent up.

Isn't it illegal?
Parking overnight underneath a "No Overnight Parking" sign might not be the best idea. But it could provide an interesting dilema for the boys in blue. You're too tired to drive so you decided to have a nap. What are they going to do? Force you to drive in an unfit state?

Any tips?
Leave the window open a bit for ventilation and try to get as far as possible away from a main road. Lorries can come through early. If you are tired of paying rent you could even live in your car (or van) more long term! Most motorway services have free showers.

Other posts in my CHEAP SLEEP series so far include:-
Bothy ~ Scottish shelters that welcome weary walkers.
Tent ~ The ultimate tool for sleeping free.

And still to come:
Airports, Beach, Hammock, Bivvy Bag, Couch-surfing, Cave, Igloo, Train, etc

Sleep in a tent

How do I use a tent to sleep for free?
Wild camping (also called 'free camping' or 'stealth camping') is sleeping in a tent outside of organised campsites (where you have to pay). For walkers, climbers, kayakers and cyclists, wild camping is often inevitable, liberating and highly enjoyable. I have a lightweight 2 man tent which I find perfect for walking and cycling. If you are camping beside your car then the size and weight of the tent is not really important, its also possible to take duvets, gas barbecues, cricket sets, cases of beer, cool boxes full of meat, blankets, Frisbees, kites, tables and chairs. For me, though, there is a contrary pleasure in having a tolerable nights sleep somewhere remote and making do with just the bare necessities.

Is wild camping allowed?
In Scotland it is a legal right to be able to put your tent up for the night. This is part of the joyous Land Reform Act which gives access rights to climbers, walkers, kayakers etc. In England and Wales there is no right to camp wild. That said, camping wild in mountainous and rural areas is generally accepted if you are discreet. You can always ask the land owner for permission. I once asked a farmer if I could camp on his land and he said it would be fine. In the morning his wife cooked us a big fried breakfast and then got us to help feed the cows. So far, no one has ever told me to move on or, when asked, refused to let me pitch my tent on their land for a night. In the French Alps its considered acceptable to camp anywhere in the mountains above the tree line. Its good style to pitch late and strike early. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland have an advice leaflet about wild camping. The reasons the right to camp wild would be taken away are likely to be because of people building fires, getting drunk, playing music loud, leaving litter, driving on soft ground and pooing in rivers.

How should you choose a wild camp spot?
As long as it is reasonably level and you can get pegs in the ground it will do as a camp spot. The optional luxuries are being sheltered from the wind, having water nearby and having a cracking view. Personally, the best wild camps for me are in the mountains high up beside a lochan, on a broad bealach or by a river in huge glaciated glen. I like to be out of sight of the road and from houses. Also, I like to avoid places likely to be overused especially on weekends. These are places such as popular roadside camping spots, car parks, next to pubs, or on popular footpaths. These spots tend to become like official campsites without the benefit of having someone around to prevent problems with litter, human waste, erosion and noise. They attract midges too. Much better to camp above 600m where there are no midges or Buckfast drinkers, just great scenery and the soothing lullaby of waterfalls.

Links
Backpacking Lite
Go4awalk

v-g.me.uk

Sleep in a Bothy

Luib Chonnal Bothy in a lonely spot at the head of Glen Roy

In a new series of articles on this blog called SLEEP CHEAP I am going to try all the different ways to sleep for free or cheaply I can think of. In Scotland, sleeping in a bothy is a great choice.

What is a bothy?
Bothies are unlocked shelters generally in remote and mountainous areas in Scotland. There are about a hundred or so, typically plain stone built shelters with a slate or corrugated iron roof. They usually have a fire place or perhaps a wood burning stove. Some have raised sleeping platforms but usually its a case of sleeping on a wooden or stone floor. Sometimes there is furniture left behind and even pots and pans, but many are simple and sparse. They don't have electricity, water or toilets. They get you out of the wind and rain, like Bob Dylan sang: "Come in she said I'll give you shelter from the storm".

How do you find them?
Due to being in remote locations, bothies are mainly used by climbers, walkers, cyclists, and in some occasions boaters. If you hang out with this kind of outdoor people you are bound to find out about the location of a few bothies. Bothies are maintained by work groups organised by a charity called the Mountain Bothies Association. If you join for £20 you get a handbook listing the locations. If you are too tight to pay that then looking on the MBA's gallery page or doing a Google image search might help locate one on your intended trip. Guide books, walking magazines and websites quite often share the location of one or two bothies (for example as possible accommodation on a route). The MBA like to minimise publicity to reduce the problems caused by overuse, like rubbish, vandalism, fire, and human waste.

How to use them?
The MBA have a code of use the bothies. The gist of it is to leave it in the state you found it in. It is worth having a small hand trowel for digging a hole (for doing your business), although there is often a spade provided, and maybe candles to leave as a replacement for any you use when you are there. Leaving some fire wood (including kindling), or having a bash and cutting peat, means the next people can get a fire going without having to go foraging for fuel. It is old hat, and a bad idea, to bury rubbish, better to burn the paper bits and carry the rest out. Its also more sociable to cook on a stove rather than on the fire (hogging the heat) but sausages on a stick might be an option. For me one of the coolest things about bothies is meeting eccentric characters. I think its damn good to be offered a nip of scotch from a stranger and I would recommend sharing whatever goodies you may have (chocolate biscuits, stories, etc) with other people in the bothy. When you leave sweep the floor, don't leave food behind that rats like (or that rots), make sure the fire is out and shut the door.
MBA website
Behaviour

What if the bothy has burned down?
Its worth having a back-up plan in case the bothy is not there, ruined or overcrowded. A tent or a bivvy bag would do the job. I'll write more about these and other types of free accommodation in future.