feral Camping?

[pogofish]

But, question: another possible risk in the canadian outback is, er, rural youth. Is that ever a problem there?

In some places yes but not particularly serious stuff & usually only if you are near towns, pitched off laybys etc. More likely you might be woken-up by an irate farmer, gamekeeper, warden or the police if you have not got permission. Away from the roads a bit or if you are in one of the few places where a tradition of wild camping is accepted, few will bother you, or at worst it will be your fellow campers partying.

In a few places, a wild camp may be assumed to belong to someone doing piece-work on local farms or fish firms & the like. So smetimes members of competing gangs will have a go if they find it unattended. Which is why staying one night & moving-on is pretty normal for anyone wilding it.

Also many of the remote places here are also used for military excercises & more than a few campers have had a bit of a rude awakening when someone starts chucking thunderflashes or shooting!

 

[girasol]

Years ago, some friends of mine went on a wild camping trip, did acid, and then were set upon by a group of locals, who beat the living hell out of the ones they could catch. The rest spent the night in various trees, listening to the screams of the ones who didn't get away.

Many times I thanked my lucky stars that I didn't go on that trip, no pun intended.

I can now see how a lot of horror movie films from the other side of the Atlantic are actually based on reality!

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I can now see how a lot of horror movie films from the other side of the Atlantic are actually based on reality!

It's not really a common occurrence. If you knew all the facts, it becomes one of those stories of people going where they shouldn't, in this case, camping close to a very economically depressed mining town known for its toughness.

But still, I wonder what a night in a tree deep in the woods, stoned on acid in those circumstances, must have been like.

 

[FiFi]

In some places yes but not particularly serious stuff & usually only if you are near towns, pitched off laybys etc. More likely you might be woken-up by an irate farmer, gamekeeper, warden or the police if you have not got permission. Away from the roads a bit or if you are in one of the few places where a tradition of wild camping is accepted, few will bother you, or at worst it will be your fellow campers partying.

Also many of the remote places here are also used for military excercises & more than a few campers have had a bit of a rude awakening when someone starts chucking thunderflashes or shooting!

Or being woken at 04:30 by a rather charming and polite young Corporal who asked if he could help me strike camp so he could drive his tank across my site.

I met up with him in the pub later that evening.
Happy memories!

 

[pogofish]

Or being woken at 04:30 by a rather charming and polite young Corporal who asked if he could help me strike camp so he could drive his tank across my site.

Or another friend who when fishing Loch Shiel was startled when the bush he had been using for cover for the last few hours suddenly asked for a scoof of his beer. Then one of the other bushes nearby got-up & joned them.

Turned-out to be soilders of one of our more secretive regiments on camouflage/infiltration training.



Another thing to remember is that as a halfway house, most of the long distance trails here now have "official" wild sites on them where you are welcome to camp for free. Their websites usually list them.

 

[FiFi]

Or another friend who when fishing Loch Shiel was startled when the bush he had been using for cover for the last few hours suddenly asked for a scoof of his beer. Then one of the other bushes nearby got-up & joned them.

Turned-out to be soilders of one of our more secretive regiments on camouflage/infiltration training.

See, this is why I love camping in Scotland!

 

[beeboo]

I'd love to camp in the wild in UK, where nothing will eat you in your sleep.

Not experienced midges then?

 

[pinkmonkey]

I fell in the river after drinking rather too much and climbed out into a load of nettles. It took two days for the stinging to go away. So I reckon nettles are as bad as midges.

 

[guinnessdrinker]

We were camping on a beach that time - so there was no danger of fire (Biarritz). It was such a wonderful spot, no one could see us, until the police flew by in a helicopter

since it's the south of france they may have wanted to keep some control. it's a bit warmer than your average british beach down there.

 

[guinnessdrinker]

I don't like off site camping. The free land where you might do it is pretty wild/natural. That means, among other things, doing all the right anti-bear things, and I don't know them all.

In campsites, there's safety in numbers.

not many bears in england

 

[guinnessdrinker]

Out rural youth, despite reports to the contrary are not often armed with guns.

as long beer and drugs are available, they'll be happy indeed.