The final piece of this series on no-frills wild camping (also known as free camping) outlines ways of making sure that you minimise your footprint. Find out more about it in the introduction or find about the best free camping locations in the world at; Extreme Environmental Experiences in the UK, Short Wilderness Breaks, Suntastic Sensations and Bivouacking Basics as well as articles on how to go about it. Read on to learn more….
Impact and Etiquette
- Sites used repeatedly will scar for years. If you see signs of another camp keep moving.
- If you bring it, take it back. Leave things as you found them or better.
- Keep noise and smells down for the sake of the wildlife as well as humans
- Don’t stay in the same site, pack up every morning every day
- Pitch your tent at least 100m from water. It keeps you safe from sudden flooding and the path of local wildlife
- Local insects are critical to the local ecosystem. Don’t poison them en masse for your own personal comfort
- No Trespassing signs means No Permission.
- Introduce yourself to neighbours so they know you’re not up to no good
always consider your eco-footprint
Hygiene
- Find a water-tight packaging system for food scraps, paper and plastic
- Bury metabolic wastes at least 30m from any fresh water source. If there’s snow on the ground, remove it and keep digging
- Don’t bury toilet paper or feminine hygiene products as animals will dig them up
- Don’t bury food scraps. Wild animals should be responsible for their own diets.
- Cary washing water away from streams and rivers and dispose of it at least 50m from water sources
