This posting is for serious stealth campers. I’m considering augmenting my meager travel budget by camping near a trail on warm, pleasant nights. I will be doing this in Europe, although I thought I might try it out first in Canada to see if it is for me.

I already have toured extensively and currently run with small rear panniers only. I was considering adding front panniers to take either a bivi or a small tent. What else might I require for the occasional bivouac? Can I avoid taking a sleeping bag if I’m in 12-25 C weather?

As I don’t consider this camping I will not be taking a stove or special food. This is about staying overnight occasionally on or near a rail trail or towpath. I will do my usual B&Bs for wash-ups and when the weather is less than ideal.

Is anyone else out there doing this? What equipment do you use? I am a MEC member so I prefer
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1082309807805

or possibly
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1082309915296

Any other ideas?

Sealth camping in Europe is very different to Stelth camping in N.America.

It is possible in Europe, but remember all land belongs to someone, and that someone is likely to live within a few hundred meters even when one is in the middle of nowhere.

In Europe if you can ask then do ask, you are unlikely to be refused. Otherwise you can camp in many places as long as you are out of sight and set up late and leave early

Consider a sumerweight sleeping bag. REI sells a down model rated to 45 deg F that packs into a built in pocket. Much smaller than the typical 20 deg F bag.

In Europe you don't need to be sneaky. Just ask farmers if you can pitch your tent. You'll probably get showers, coffee, etc. on a very regular basis, at least I did in '97. Almost three months of free camping, just by asking, in The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, while in Slovakia and Czech you don't even need to worry because there are no real farms anywhere, just farming villages here and there. The toughest places were The Netherlands and Southern Germany, because the people were afraid of "east-block refugees."
As far as equipment goes, my wife and I used a MEC Tarn 2, summer bags (plus 5, weighed nothing), and did take a naphta stove in which we burned everything from white gas to super unleaded.
Good luck. And if it is any help at all, the French people were super: "camping au savage" was a phrase we used a lot and always got us a nice spot.

I´m touring Europe right now and have had no problems camping out. So far I have toured in England, France and Spain and just entered into Portugule and have found some great camp sights along the way. Rain and morning dew are big issues so some kind of tent is requiered. I always set my tent up at about sunset and try and leave early. Word on the trail is that the Spanish and Portugues are cracking down on stealth camping. In France the municipale campsites are inexpensive and good so make use of them if you go there. If you are in England just ask and I am sure you will recieve a positive answer.

Anyway have a great trip.
Gordon P

This could work but you have to be aware that day temperatures can change dramatically if you are at high elevation. And some of the best touring areas in both western Canada and Europe are at high elevation. My kids and I camp in the high plateau areas near Kamloops in the summer time. The day temperatures can be at or above 25C but it gets very cold at night. Three-season sleeping bags are very nice in these situations.

Are there forests where you plan to do this? I like hammocks. I don't have this model but I've been looking at it:
https://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...SEO&lnk=TRLEAD

What a great idea. MEC sell it too!
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1083094247429
I'm going down to the Toronto store this weekend to check it out. Does it really compact down to the size of a waterbottle?

In case you plan on extending your trip to Northern Europe: hope this does not spoil the fun for ya, but in Nordic countries stealth camping is essentially legal, based on a concept called "everyman's rights". The idea is to camp out of sight, not disturb anyone (including animals, e.g. nesting birds) and leave the place as it was. The exact rules vary from country to country, for Finland see Finnish Ministry of Environment web site.

For a complete line of Hennessy Hammocks see their home page at www.hennessyhammock.com.

--J

When I go bike camping in the USA, I sometimes spend the night in cemeteries. They are quiet and peacefull and no one gives me any hassle.

I had a professor who toured through the USA. He said he always asked the churches if he could camp in their yard, most would let him. He also camped in cemeteries, but one morning he woke up and there were a ton of people around. He realized that it was memorial day. Just something that could only happen bike touring. Oh and check out https://www.junglehammock.com/, seems like some high quality stuff, kinda pricey though. Peace.

Has anyone had trouble with animals when stealth camping?

In my area farm dogs are free to roam and I'd be afraid of waking up at below eye level of some dog who's defending his territory.

Stealth camping in Canada, isn't that an oxymoron being that it's legal to camp just about any where and there are few people. mind you I'm from B.C. and have never been east.

if your only going to camp in good weather take a ground mat a sleeping bag and a 6'by6' tarp. maybe invest in a little bug net to keep the critters away. those hamocks look nice, but they do take a good place to set up and I prefer to lay on flat ground.

I've stealth camped quite a bit through China and other asian countrys. in those places it's just nice to hide away so you can get a peaceful night sleep.
I'm about to take it a step futrther and ride my dully through the back country of east tibet, sans racks. traveling very light, small camp stove and a sleeping bag. now thats stealth.

GREAT story! Thanks

That was a great story Akarius! And funny too when you consider turning a simple act like relieving one's self into a death defying feat!
I like to stealth camp too, but the only food swiping critters I run into are raccoons, which although much smaller than bears, can be quite nasty and formidable if they've already gotten to your food and you try to chase them away.
Anyway, I thought I'd post a link to a neat little gizmo that I use all the time while stealth camping: https://www.pcthiker.com/pages/gear/pepsistove.shtml
Perfect for the leave no trace camper.

Pepsi-stove! Great idea. I'll have to give it a shot.

Akarius, what a story! I've been camping in bear territory for many years, and I've never had an incident, but I try to always be extra paranoid. For example if I cook something smelly, or spill ~anything~ on my clothing, I don't sleep with the same clothing.

Stokell: My advice is to take a sleeping bag. Even fully clothed in 15C weather you get cold overnight. Your body really shuts down sleeping after a long day on the bike, and without proper insulation even in warm weather you'd have to get up every couple of hours to do some physical activity and raise your metabolism. A sleeping mat is important too, since you'll likely lose more heat to the ground than you will to the air. I guess if you don't mind wearing all the clothing you brought while you sleep, you could probably get away with just a ground mat and a tarp.

My two cents.

Good luck with your tour.

I Think I met the bear because it was early may, near the time they finish thier hibernation, plus it was raining out and that seems to be when alot of animals are active because of the heightened smells. If the bear would have smelled any food I would have been a goner, I think that is the only thing that saved
me. Also this park had not had any vistors for a long time thus the bear would not feel the need to avoid it, no loud noises and the suchlike to spook it out of the area.

I think a good tip for people sleeping in bear territory is to hang your food far away from your tent, and make especially sure that any tent lines are kept really close to your tent, for the reason that if a bear gets tangled in your tent lines and starts to run, you will be dragged along behind the tent with the bear. Now that would be a terrible way to end your tour.

Another tip in bear territory is to do any cooking well away from your campsite as well.Perhaps the residual smells drew him into the camp but then luckily he couldn't find any food.

Thanks to all who have read and responded to this thread. After reading Akarius's story about bears, I'm decidedly going for a hammock. I think I've found the one for me. It's an Explorer Delux A-Sym from Hennessey
https://www.backpackgeartest.org/revi...-%20Shane%20S/
I don't really think I'll meet up with any bruins in Europe, but there are lots of other nasty things on the ground to keep me awake including roots and stones.
I would like a bit more info from bikers to stealth camp in a hammock.

As a law abiding citizen I normally would go up and knock on the farmhouse door, but I'd planned on just making it a bivie for a few hours and I'd probably do it on crown land, so I wouldn't want to have to get the Queen's permission. Of course I would leave no trace.

So how about it stealth campers, share your secrets. Some said don't camp in a place where there is a lot of litter because it's probably a party spot for young people. Others recommended cemeteries and churchyards. In urban, suburban and rural areas where are the best places to stealth camp? I'm down to about 10 kilos of stuff in my panniers. How light can I travel?

As a minimalist by nature, I wanted to address the bivy issue. Personally, I much prefer bivy sacks over tents while hiking. I typically hike with a bivy (packs to the size of a 2-liter bottle), and a silk liner (coke-can). when weather is questionably cooler, I'll bring along a wool blanket (packs much smaller than a sleepingbag). This setup is much lighter and compact than a tent and bag.

HOWEVER, the downside to bivies is lack of 'living' room. No reading. No writing. No travel-chess or cards with traveling partners or new friends. No place to change in the rain. No place to stow your gear. Bringing a military poncho which unsnaps flat, suspended over the bivy can help provide a little extra living room.

Anyway, as long as youre on a bike (which will carry the extra weight) I'd suggest a small one-person tent over a bivy

Personally I take a small tent and very small sleeping bag, around that I wrap a 4x6 tarp which is the ground sheet, and in case of rain it also water proof covering for my bag and tent. All this rides behind my seat on top of the rack. Also my tent has a really good fly, I can put stuff under it and still have it outside the tent. Also if there were to be a real nasty downpour all my gear, except for my bike, will fit inside my tent and stay bone dry. As for food I buy most of it as I go, most places I have been to in Ontario and Quebec have grocery stores along the days route. I always had flat bread and pasta with me among other suff to go with it. I usually had a couple of days worth of food with me just in case. If you plan on stealth camping I think one will be able to afford to eat alot better than they would if they stayed in a motel. I guess for me personally I like to know that I am tottaly self suffcient, under most circumstances I like to know that I can live off of my bike, and I will have all of my needs. No need to have to depend on anyone.

I think another really good way to prepare yourself for extended touring is to read other peoples journals, they are a wealth of information, you can learn so much about peoples gear and how it worked for them, among other things. I think ultimatly that the area that you plan to tour in, and the type of touring you wanna do, will dictate your equipment and game plan.

If your not sure if you will need a sleeping bag for 12-25C try it, go out in your back yard in similer weather with similer clothing and sleep overnight.

I have a one person tent that was given to me by a casual hiker that said he gets a little cluasterphobic(feels big to me), its a Wenzel but I don't know the model, it's prism shaped like a pup tent. It worked excellent for stealth camping around the western usa, it sets up and packs as quickly or quicker than a dome tent and has just enough room for paniers sitting or changing.
Packed its just under 15"(38cm)long x 5"(12cm)diameter, it weighs one kilo(2.2#).
Set up the front triangle is 45"(114cm)Widex35"(89cm)Tall, the foot triangle is 34"W(86cm)x23"T(59cm), 78"(2.0M)long.

Someone mentioned a sleeping pad and bag I haven't tried it but I was just thinking you could stich the top half of a sleeping bag to a pad(not the air filled kind obviously) and use a liner. the whole thing would roll up not much bigger than the pad alone and woould save a half sleeping bags weight.
Down stuffed anything cannot get wet it will mat flat and loose all insulating value, it will return to normal once dry but that could take a while; dry weight to dry weight down is a bit lighter and packs smaller for a given temperature rating then synthetic fill. The synthetics don't mat when wet and keep almost all their warmth.

Stokell, it sounds like a great trip. You should read this article if you want some excellent insight into stealth camping. https://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/camping.htm

Although I'm not greatly experienced in stealth camping, I've done a few trips using the stealth method. I find it superior to a campground even without considering the money saved.

Both my brother and myself use the same hammock you have purchased and we both love it. On our last weekend tour we followed a canal path along the Delaware River. We ended up camping about 20' from the river on the river's flood bank. There wasn't a place to set up a tent and even lying on the ground in a bivy would be difficult as the ground wasn't level. But with the hammocks and a couple of trees we had a comfortable spot to sleep. It was funny because we were so close to the trail we could hear the people running past on the gravel but they had no idea we were there.

A couple of things about the Hennessey Hammock.

First, It's a good idea to bring some tent spikes. At least two for the rainfly so that you can adjust the fly for good coverage. Another two spikes can be used to pull out the sides of the hammock bottom. I don't usually do this but it makes the hammock more spacious.

Second, The bottom of the hammock allows your body heat to escape. This is especially noticable if there is a wind. compared to a tent or bivy where you are on the ground the hammock won't keep you as warm since the bottom is exposed. This doesn't sound like it will be a problem in the temps you are looking at but you should definitely try the hammock out to see how much insulation you need to be comfortable.

Third, at first I had some problems stringing the hammock up. I've found that if I tie the cords at eyelevel the hammock is at a perfect height. I also had some problems with the ropes slipping down the trees as I moved around in the hammock. So make sure the ropes are nice and taught and securely lashed to the trees to ensure a good nights sleep.

Use a triple clove hitch and it won't slide down even a vertical steel pole(it may need to be a quad for that) rough trees may only need a standard clove hitch. this knot can be made under moderate strain and is fairly easy to untie especialy if the last half hitch is made with a bight(a half loop like you use to tie your shoe) in the tail.
A standing line is the part doing the work of holding the hammock the tail is the free end

1. Wrap the tail around the tree going under the standing line
2. make another wrap around the tree, going in the same direction, above the first wrap and stick the tail under the start of the second wrap.
This is a standard clove hitch. The tail should be pointing away from the hammock and parrallel with and right next to, the standing line, the line should be wraped around the tree twice going in the same direction-it never doubles back or does a 180.
3. To make it a triple simply add a half hitch. Wrap around the tree once more and stick the tail under the start of the third wrap.
4. For a quad do step three again.

You can add as many half hitches as you like. In fact if you use cord you can make a fairly snazzy tubing cover that apears to spiral around the tube its a pain to undo that many hitches though
I used red and blue so you could tell which part was on top, its all the same rope and there are no crossings or overlaps on the back of the tree. This is a triple BTW.

thbirks, do you use the "tree huggers" currently available from Hennessy, or do you just tie the rope around the trees? I would imagine tree huggers not only protect the trees but also do not slip as easily. I had my hammock (with tree huggers) delivered around Christmas, but have not been able to test it properly yet.

--J