A warning for survival larpers

[shubla]

It looks like you underestimated danger of such camping.
There are a lot of examples of deaths in cold weathers.

I don't think so.
In more remote locations maybe.
But if you take precautions the risks are very small.

Map of 4G coverage in Finland. Only parts where you don't have phone are maybe behind big rocks and the northmost parts.
Northern parts indeed are a bit dangerous, especially during winters.

Biggest risk is really getting wet, like falling into the ice. The coldness in itself is not a problem if you have proper clothing, I was never cold when awake, only when sleeping(trying to).
Also perhaps losing some equipment. At one point I realised that if I lost for example, my matches, I would be quite screwed, as I'd not have access to any proper food, and only water I could get would be some cold water from streams.
Losing map could also be a problem, but the location that I was at is not that far from main roads, so you would only have to walk few kilometers into the same direction and you would end up in a place with probably other people to get help from. Of course, "walking few km to same direction" is much, much more difficult than it sounds, paths go all around and every direction looks the same. When you are cold, confused, and in the worst case, panicking, you could probably get lost and die of coldness and hunger even few kilometers from the roads.

Sleeping mat (closed cell), sleeping bag, tarp. Only main items of kit you need for sleeping out.

In warm weather, I guess. But the closed cell sleeping mat is not enough if it's seriously cold. Though that may partially be a personal preference on sleeping temperature.

Mosquito net is necessary depending on location and season.

I sometimes forget that there are places where you don't need a mosquito net.
If its less than 5-10c its not needed but otherwise you are in for an unpleasant experience, even if there were no diseases, malaria etc. transmitted by them.

Tents are only necessary if you are going to be sleeping in open fields.

The most hardcore people seem to manage sleeping with just a knife and piece of cloth or such.

I've thought about hammocks but I'm not sure how much protection they give from coldness, rain and wind. After all, those three are usually things that you want to get protection against.
So using some light setup which only works in nice weather kind of ruins the point. Covering hammock from rain, insulating it from coldness is probably equivalent weight to some good tent.

[Amanda44]

I love camping but omg, lol, not in the snow and ice! I think you are crazy! But kudos to you.

The best thing about camping for me is the wildlife, I grew up in the countryside and now live in a small seaside town but surrounded by beautiful hills and forests, as Jalpha says, they are interested in you and if you spend enough time being near them and quiet they will become comfortable with your presence. Once on a camping trip locally I came across a mother fox and her cubs. I sat down on the edge of the clearing where they were and just watched the cubs playing for awhile, the mother was aware of me but I was far enough away that she just kept an eye on me and didn't move the cubs. I came back at the same time every day, slowly getting nearer and nearer, once she did call the cubs and they ran off, got a bit too close too quickly, but finally I got close enough to take some lovely pics of them playing (I can't show as this was with camera film) but more than the joy of watching them roll and run about was the knowing that the mother trusted me enough to let me get that close.

Also, nothing beats waking up with the sun and listening to the sounds all around you, the dawn chorus is magical!

Be careful Shubla, don't go falling through the ice or freezing to death!

[dafels]

Nice larp shubel

[Jalpha]

It does get quite cold in Australia even at higher elevations. This brings a different set of problems. The humidity during daylight hours is very high, so when the temperature drops into the single digits early in the morning all the moisture falls out of the air. Admittedly temperatures below zero are uncommon. It is more the extremes between day and night time temperature in most of Australia which is problematic. But this is only if you are going wild.

There are plenty of very pleasant campsites for the general public albeit you still need something to protect you from all the dew.

The perentie were very fond of any fish I left out. The smell would draw them in and most times the male would leave the fish for his girlfriends.

[Zentetsuken]

Semi relevant story,

When I was younger, like in my early 20s, I spent many seasons going tree planting in northern Canada for various companies. Generally it's a job whose target audience is hippies and natives and people who are more in it for the adventure and experience. Piece work, like 5-10c per, some people make a killing, but generally you make a fair wage and are there for the 3-4+ month party.

Sleeping in tents, in buses, cars, abandon buildings, you name it, some people bring tents and set them up, other people drive (although this is not common because the camps are hours in to logging roads filled with washouts).

I slept in many ridiculous conditions during this time, northern Canada during the mid spring can go from -10 overnight to +30 during the afternoon. I had many times where the tiny screen-roofed tent I brought would fill with snow overnight and I'd wake up with more inches of piled snow inside my tent than outside. Soaken wet 24/7, bleeding from various scrapes of the massive machine scarred thicket we trek through to get to the clearcut plots, drenched until it makes you puke in herbicide and fungicide and deet or drenched in blood so thick you look like you were in a car crash from blackfly, mosquito, horse/deerfly bites.

A lot of people quit, but a lot of people stick around, from your big chubby dudes to your 80 pound tiny girls. The work is incredibly laborous and the conditions are hell, but the food is fantastic and abundant and the workers are generally allowed to use any inebrient of their choice all day long if it helps them plant trees and get through the day. Basically it's just a 4 month long dirty hippie drinking, drugs and fucking fest in the most remote parts of Canada with bi-weekly multi-hourlong treks through kilometers of winding shitty logging roads towards the nearest tiny buttfuck nothing town for a day or two of rest.

I wouldn't say it's exactly survival larp, but it is living and sleeping in horrible conditions and performing relevant laborous tasks as well. After a few weeks of this sort of thing you sort of lose your mind a bit in a good way. I can fondly remember standing in the middle of a clearcut swampy dredge, so crawling with bugs I could not see the colour of my shirt, feeling them crawling in my eyes, dripping with blood and sweat, with a joint in my mouth and probably like 30-40 pounds of baby trees strapped to my sides and having a short mental breakdown where I could not stop laughing. It sounds like absolute hell but it was the best time I've ever had in my life. I think at the end of the day survival camping and shit like that is more about your state of mind, you either love it or you don't, your body can either handle it or it can't.

[shubla]

Am camping again its 1 am and Im in my tent, shit scared trying to sleep. Its not too cold this time, around 3c, but Wolves. I am very scared of them, I try to listen for cracks very carefully and also hear some noises sometimes but they are probably in my head. I have a knife next to me which Im ready to grab and fight for my life soon. Before dark I wasnt afraid at all. I walked around without worrying about anything, awing some ants that are already working hard and fed them some lingonberries.
But when the dark came, came the fears. Wolves, bears, maniacs and murderers, maybe even moose, in every angle stalking me ready to take their catch. Ok now Im even more scared. Some hours earlier I heard howling, and some barking'ish sound, but it was wolf no doubt. Why would dog howl in middle of finnish forest 11 pm in the night when its this cold outside? The howling lasted for maybe 15 minutes, like really long, and sometimes it turned into barking and then back into howling.

I was planning to spend 2 nights but I'm 100% leaving in an instant when the sun goes up. Also maybe in the future I will only camp in islands, that are known not to contain any wolves or bears. Maybe camping areas with other people close by, but never ever alone in the forest oh god.

Feeling of fear like this is truly terrible experience. Hopefully I can soon get some sleep and wolves dont killl me.