Stealth Camping
I like camping far away from established campsites. If I'm hiking solo on a managed trail, I usually avoid shelters and lean-tos unless I want company. If I'm bushwacking there is usually no other option. When I get tired or the light is fading, I make sure my water supply is topped of and I find a good site to make camp.
Stealth camping is the term given to camping at an unestablished wilderness site. It also can have a second meaning, which is camping in a site without the permission of an landowner. A lot of backpackers do it, but it's also very popular with long distance bicyclists. In the United Kingdom, it's called Wild Camping and is the subject of an active political campaign to make it legal to camp on mountains, moors, and national parks without obtaining owner permission in advance.
Besides solitude, stealth camping is thought to reduce the chances of bear encounters at night. Bears tend to frequent established campsites where there are campers and food bags. Why forage, when you can just drive to McDonald's? It therefore makes sense that you will be less likely to be found by a bear if he's down at the pub with the regular crowd.
One of the arts of stealth camping is site selection. You need to be able to detect signs of bear activity or interest and avoid them. Stay away from berry patches, stream banks littered with salmon carcasses, bear scat, or bug ridden logs that have been recently clawed. You should also avoid game trails if you want to avoid deer and other night time commuters. This takes a little practice and close observation, but that's part of the fun.
If bears are a primary concern you should also consider cooking in a different spot from where you are sleeping. I like to cook my big evening meal on the trail about an hour before I stop for the night to lessen the smell of food in camp. You should also camp 200 ft away from streams and other water sources where animals are likely to drink at night. If there is any doubt about this you can carefully examine the banks for paw prints or claw marks during the day to see if there is any sign of animal activity.
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With stealth camping, you should try to stick to the principles of Leave No Trace and Carry In-Carry Out camping. For example, if you are sleeping on the ground, you will compress the leaves and undergrowth beneath you in an abnormal manner. Consider fluffing up this area when you break camp. Obviously, you should pack out all of your garbage and you should consider taking your used TP to keep the area pristine. If you wash or brush your teeth, pour your grey water down a hole and avoid making an open fire.
If you are trying to avoid other people, it helps to have a stealthy shelter like a hammock which can be set up over terrain or ground cover that is unsuitable for tent. Hammocks also have a very low impact on the forest floor. The color of your shelter should blend in well with your surroundings. It's hard to be subtle if your tent is blaze orange or red. To further prevent detection, don't use unshielded lights.
Finally, there is the question of legality. I avoid sites that have no trespassing signs on them or ones that have obviously had recent human activity like tree harvesting. In practice however, I suspect most land owners or forest rangers are pretty reasonable and will let you leave with a slap on the wrist if they catch you. And if you break camp early in the morning and are promptly on your way, your chances of detection will be minimal.
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Hi Philip,
First of all, congratulations on a great site. I really enjoyed having a look around here and checking out what you are up to. Love the simplicity of the design and the layout, well done.
Enjoyed this post on stealth camping. It is a bit different in Australia where we tend to walk in National parks or State Reserves. Generally you can camp anywhere. In other areas, we would just check it was OK with the owner of the land (if we could find them)
I will be back…..Frank
btw, just got an error that looked like the comment was supposed to be sent to Gmail and failed…you may want to have a look at it…..
Frank – thanks for the visit and the feedback. Much appreciated. I am thrilled to have an international audience and look forward to your participation on the blog. I’ll check into the gmail error msg. Thx. -Philip
Little configuration error. Comments work fine now. Thx, -Philip
Hi Ya
great site. I often go to The New Forest (England). this is a rather up tight place where you can walk and look but thats all unless you are happy to pay over the odds for a campsite. I Stelth camp with a hammock and i have never been hassled by the forest rangers. they have walked by a few times but did not see my camp. even when i had a fire going.
Woodoak
Hammocks are the way to go for a stealth camp. They are impossible to see and by far the most flexible shelter provided the temperature is right. I’m thinking of stealth hammocking most of this summer but for slightly different reasons. I want to avoid the mobs that descend on the free Appalachian Trail shelters on weekends. I just want peace and quiet, and not to be constrained by a shelter stop when I can still walk few miles before I have to sleep. Thx for stopping by.
I’m not sure that hammocks are always best for stealth camping.
I understand their versatility but they create an unnatural shape at, or near, eye level. That may not be a problem in sparsely populated areas.
In the UK there are few sparsely populated areas with sufficient trees to hang a hammock so I think a low tent or bivvy is more satisfactory. It will merge with the ground cover.
I’ve got a few choice spots that I stealth camp at in North Georgia and North Carolina. Hammocks are great if you choose the right spots. Like Nobby said, they do create an unnatural shape. Proper site selection and hanging at angles away from direct line of sight minimize the “blob” that you see hanging in between trees.
Hammocks look like the best idea! Great post…really enjoyed this. Still thinking about how I’m going to cook during my journey.
Hammocks are a great stealth camping option for a lot of reasons, although they have a limited temperature range and they’re heavy. Given those limitations, you might also consider a tarp.
Right on about avoiding game trails. It’s not easy to sleep when one pissed-off deer after another gives you the snort-bleat because you’re blocking their route. And hammock tents are the way to go in warm weather, but it should be a crime when meteorologists can’t get nighttime lows within 20*F of what they end up being.
Check out Hennessey hammocks. I used one for a week in the Fla Keys, ultralight, awesome.
Yep. Got one of those. I like it for warmer nights in the Whites were there are just too many rocks on the ground to find a good place to sleep.
Good article. The first time I read the term “stealth camping” it was in Ray Jardine’s wise scriptures… Since reading that, I’ve always rolled my eyes when companions want to pitch tents on compacted mud “because it’s flat and there’s no bugs”.
Now I don’t even bring a freestanding shelter, that way all I have to say is “I at least need trees for my tarps, guys”. I’ve found this to be one of my main ‘excuses’ to their complaints.
Sometimes it can be a drag “camping” with guys who insist that carrying 70 pounds and having everything you do (and don’t) need makes you a better backpacker.