Packing for your first wild camp

The first night you sleep out on a hillside is one most walkers remember. It does not need to be a big expedition. A short walk in, one night and a gentle walk out is the best way to start, and it teaches you more about your kit than a month of reading.

Plan a short, easy first trip

Choose a route you know, or one with clear paths, no more than a couple of hours from the road. Late spring and late summer are kind to first-timers. Leave winter for later.

Find out the rules where you plan to camp. They differ a great deal. Scotland's access rights allow responsible wild camping on much unenclosed land, with some local exceptions. In most of England and Wales you need the landowner's permission, with a few places where backpack camping is accepted. In Germany and France the rules vary by region, by protected area and sometimes by commune. Check the current rules for your exact area before you go, and if in doubt, ask.

On a map, look for a flat spot near water but not in the bottom of a narrow valley, where cold air settles overnight, and with some shelter from the forecast wind. Have a second spot in mind.

Try everything at home first

Pitch the tent in the garden or a park, once at dusk. Inflate the mat and lie on it. Boil water on the stove outside. Walk around the block with the packed bag. Each takes minutes at home and saves an hour on the hill.

If you can, sleep one night in the garden.

What to take

Our checklist for 1 night or 2 nights in your season is a good starting point. For a first trip in late spring, for example, it lays out:

• Shelter: tent, footprint and pegs.
• Sleep: a sleeping bag chosen by its comfort rating, a mat with an R-value of around 3, and a pillow.
• Pack: a 45 L pack, a pack liner and a few dry bags.
• Kitchen: stove, gas, a pot, a mug and a long spoon.
• Water: two bottles, a filter and some tablets as a backup.
• Light: a headlamp.
• Navigation and safety: a map of the area, compass, map case, first-aid kit, emergency bivvy bag and whistle.
• Extras: trekking poles, gaiters for wet paths and a sit mat.

Add your own clothes, food, toiletries and anything you personally need. For clothes, think in layers: what you walk in, a warm layer for camp, a waterproof jacket and trousers, a hat and gloves, and a dry set of base layers that you keep only for sleeping. Keep food simple.

Gas is the one item we cannot post, so buy a threaded canister from an outdoor shop before you leave.

How to pack it

The way you pack the bag changes how it carries and how easy camp is.

1. Line the pack. Open the pack liner inside, so everything that must stay dry goes in it.
2. Sleeping bag at the bottom, in its own dry bag, inside the liner. You need it last.
3. Heavy, dense items in the middle, close to your back: food, the cooking kit with the gas inside the pot, water. This keeps the weight over your hips.
4. Spare clothes around them to fill the gaps, in a dry bag.
5. The tent near the top, so it comes out first when you arrive, and the fly can be packed separately if it is wet in the morning.
6. Things you need on the walk in the lid and pockets: map, compass, snacks, waterproof, headlamp, first-aid kit, sun hat or warm hat.
7. Twist the liner shut, close the pack and tighten the compression straps so nothing shifts.

If it pulls you backwards, move heavy items closer to your back.

At camp

Arrive with daylight to spare. Pitch the tent first, before you cook or take your boots off; if rain comes, you will be glad you did. Lay out the mat and bag so they can loft. Fetch water once, treat it, and cook outside the tent, well away from the fabric.

Keep a small routine: headlamp in the same pocket every night, food packed away, warm layer on before you get cold.

Leave no trace

The best wild camp is one no one can tell you were at.

• Arrive late, leave early, and stay one night in each place.
• Camp in small groups, away from paths, houses and livestock.
• Do not light open fires. Use the stove, on bare ground or a flat stone.
• Take everything home, including food scraps and used toilet paper. If you need to go, do it well away from water and paths, and bury it in a small hole.
• Wash up away from streams and use as little soap as you can, or none.
• Before you leave, look back at the pitch. If the grass is flattened, fluff it up.

The next morning

Shake the condensation off the fly before you pack it, and dry the tent and bag fully when you get home. Then write down what you used, what you did not and what you wished you had. That list is worth more than any guide, including this one.

Check the forecast and your route before you go, tell someone where you will be and when you expect to be back, and enjoy the night.