Covert Camp

[stealththief]

I've decided that I wanna travel around this summer for maybe a month, hitch rides, maybe hop trains if I can learn it from someone. I'm probably gonna be in cities I want to explore, maybe some couches or whatever, but in the suburbs and in small towns I'll probably have to camp invisibly. As a city guy I have no field experience in that category, (book stuff yea but it's not the same). I'm looking for general stealthy camping tips, here's a rough over view overview of some likely conditions:
Me and one or two people (Crisis and/or Cipher)
I don't know about them but I plan on using a tarp and a sleeping bag, no ground sheet, I can scavenge some cardboard or improvise.
Camps will be in the woods around the suburbs or small towns (in cities I'll probably crash roofs).
Might make a small fire to heat food/keep bugs away if it gets bad/dry clothes.
Would like to be able to stash my gear in the camp safely during the day time.
Any general or stealth camping tips help.

[Xanatos]

Camoflauge; cover your tent/bag with leaf litter to help avoid being spotted. Or, if you're comfortable doing so, sleep up in a tree. You'll have less trouble from ground-dwelling critters and people rarely look up. Might be a bad idea on a stormy night though, so check the weather first.

With rooftops in the city; the higher the better. Trainyards are always a good place to sleep, if you can get inside a carriage that is; they're comfy, discreet and surprisingly warm. And if you need food there's always dumpster-diving or just stealing from shops (open fruit markets are best). If you're camping near houses, try and find one with a fruit/vegetable garden without dogs.

I'm sure there's more... check the vids on this site for some urban survival tips:

Code: Select all

http://www.theberrics.com/

[Ysidro]

This isn't very practical for more than one person but if you are staying in one spot for a while it is my favorite shelter. You can store your gear inside during the day and if you are good at making them they are pretty impossible to find:
http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/sh ... /ygas.html
There are quite a few tips on that site that I have found very useful. As Xanatos said, suburban gardens are an easy way to get food, they aren't guarded and the strongest defense I have ever come across is chickenwire.

[Xanatos]

Speaking of which, chicken wire can be used to make a pretty effective hide spot:

1. Dig a hole large enough for you and/or all your equipment to fit in confortably. Make sure it's in an out-of-the way area where people are less likely to walk across, and situated away from insect nests, animal burrows, etc.
2. Line the inside of the hole with newspaper or straw to keep it dry (newspaper can be easily found near settlements and straw is usually plentiful around farms).
3. Get some sheets of chicken wire large enough to cover the hole and stuff some of the local vegetation/debris into the holes of the wire.
4. Lay them over the hole and observe it from different angles to ensure the hide spot is well camoflauged.
Your hidespot is easy to construct, relatively portable (chicken wire is lighter than 3" logs), less time-consuming and is easier to get in & out of. Depending on your surroundings, you may have to occasionally change the vegetation in the chicken wire as it starts to wilt. Listen carefully before exiting the hide spot to make sure nobody/thing is approaching and inspect your hide spot before entering to make sure no snakes or other animals decided to make it their home.

[Ghost]

LOL, you'll be sick of roughing it outdoors after a week, guaranteed. If you have to, though, i'd say you'd want to do it in suburbia. find a nice patch of woods away from prying eyes and bed down for the night. failing that, flat rooftops are where it's at. just make sure you invest it some good sleeping equipment. get a nice bag, maybe a yoga mat for underneath it to keep you off the ground, and MOST IMPORTANTLY - make sure your shit is waterproof.

I'll stop back in and give you some more tips as i think of them, but failing that my couch is always open if you want to check things out upstate.

[stealththief]

So far that's the plan;
Cities=rooftops
suburbs=invisible camps maybe roofs
No mat for me, that's extra weight that can be improvised, with either cardboard or some pallets (if I need to stay off the ground). I'm gonna try to get a green or brown (camouflage would be best) tarp, to keep bugs/rain off.

[Ghost]

Tarp is nice, but like you said if weight is a problem it seems like it would be pretty easy to improvise. Do you have what type of pack you're bringing planned out yet? One thing that's important is to make sure you have extra room in your bag from the very beginning, because there will be times when you'll want to stock up on food to avoid having to search for it every day. in fact, i'd suggest doing this whenever you get a good source. water is important, but much easier to locate.

Depending upon how heavy you're traveling (just a shoulder bag, or a regular backpack, or even a large hiking backpack) you'll want some type of smaller bag you can carry around while you're exploring, after you've set up camp, and a way to lock and secure the rest of your stuff at said camp.

[stealththief]

I plan on traveling light, with a large pack, probably gonna have a smaller folding bag for dumpster diving and carrying stuff when I have my big bag stashed away. I plan on having a tarp with me folded up, the groundsheet will be improvised with pallets or cardboard though depending on how hard/wet the ground is that night. For water I'm gonna have a canteen of some sort, but unless I need lots of water for some reason I'll get it on the go.

[Psychlonic]

Covert camping is my specialty. More so than night ops, easily.
First, tarps are heavy and generally meant for more utilitarian purposes. They make a fine shelter, but you're wanting to get the most performance out of the weight you carry. That said, you'd get more out of a one-man nylon tent. If you want really compact and stealthy, your best bet would be to spare a few dollars, go to Home Depot, and buy some heavy duty black plastic. Cut what you need. I would suggest cutting two pieces the same size in the event something happens to one of them. Cinch the corners up with some cord to attach to the ground, and run one through the center to keep it upright. You can come up with whatever elaborate designs your imagination can concoct to keep the elements out. You get them prepared beforehand though and they set up incredibly fast. About a minute, once you've got the hang of it.

The old cardboard box can be improved drastically with a $1 roll of plastic wrap, as well. Wrap the cardboard to waterproof it, or any other material you might come across. This applies to lean-to's and stuff as well - most people don't even think to do that, and a roll of plastic wrap is incredibly light. It's cheap too, so if you run out, find some soda cans and you're good to go. Just cover it with more material to hide the shine and nobody will notice.

In smaller towns and suburbs, you'll find a lot of undeveloped lots, plots of fairly natural land that's usually for sale but has all the foliage you need to stay undetected. Railroad tracks in smaller areas are also surrounded by undeveloped land most of the time. All you have to do is follow them and you'll find yourself in a field of sorts before too long. They usually fall under "Thieves Highways" for me because that's what I usually use them for, so as a bonus for you, you'll get a goodnight sleep AND the perfect place to start your operations.
That said, most of the tricks that apply in a city can apply to suburbs as well. There are a lot of buildings with elevated sides meaning you can sleep on top of them undisturbed. Because most other buildings are three stories high, maximum, you can see why this would be simple. If it were me, I'd just stick to undeveloped areas because there's a shit ton of them and nobody will be going through those at night unless they're drunk or up to no good (meaning they won't care if you're there or not)

Dumpster diving is less competitive in smaller areas, so you should be able to get whatever food you'll need. There's also less people running around collecting cans if you're really strapped for cash (maybe you need a new shelter) Water is everywhere so it shouldn't be a problem once you identify your local drinking water sources. A compact filter might not be a bad idea, though.

Count on needing a fire at some point. Practice building a dakota fire pit because it's the easier and most covert type you can build. Make it small, and if you build it under a tree with no low branches, it's pretty much undetectable unless you're RIGHT there. This will allow you to cook, dry your clothes, boil water, stay warm on a cold night, etc.

EDIT - here's a good breakdown of it: http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/ ... fire-hole/

In any areas you plan on staying in for awhile, you should find two separate areas to stash gear in case one gets found. Keep all of your shit you start with in one area, and extra stuff you find while you are there in another. If someone finds and takes your stuff, you'll have something to fall back on even if it's not much. Undeveloped lots can be great for stashing equipment. You can also stash them in areas where nobody has clearly been in some time - certain rooftops, near rivers, anywhere you see fit. Depends on the area.

Can't agree with Therin more on two issues: waterproofing your equipment and staving off boredom/frustration while camping. Waterproofing is trivial if you keep it in mind. Tie plastic around your equipment with the opening at the bottom and hang it, or simply place it somewhere the elements won't reach.
Boredom and frustration, on the other hand, suck. The ONLY way you're going to fight these off is if you have a solid purpose. Camping for the sake of camping is terrible. On the other hand, you can locate one point and say "OK I want to fish here", find another and say "run a few ops here", so on and so forth so that you fill a big portion of your time. It might be fun to study up on wilderness survival and try to just go all out on a certain area. Build a fucking wigwam with a nice willow bed, fire rack, fire pit, build some fire hardened spears, build a bow and practice making and straightening arrows, learn to flake rocks into blades, practice traps, etc. Keep yourself busy.

Another huge, huge issue if you plan on any sort of human interaction: hygiene. You will stink. At the most basic, improvised level you should find a large container for hot water and boil your own showers. Keep a bar of soap or two and some spare money to buy more cheaply. D.O. for your B.O. Use a similar container to wash your clothes in and dry them in the sun if you've got a good spot, or near a small dakota fire. Pine needles also make a great fresh scent, but don't overdo it unless you want people commenting on how much you smell like a tree. They also make a breath mint of sorts if you chew on the needles and spit them out when you're done (great source of vitamin C, too!)

[stealththief]

For hygiene/scent I'll try some hotel pools because that sounds fun, I feel that cleaning clothes won't be a problem, find a bathroom with hand soap, take some water, maybe get a bucket or a clean outdoor trashcan and use that to wash the clothes, air dry em later. If I can't get into hotel pools, I'm not against a quick hose down in someone's yard while they're gone or even showering out of a bottle of water. I'm gonna make another topic about this whole trip in general because I feel I'm gonna stray off topic with it otherwise.

[Illusion]

Try and get a cheap surplus military poncho - i.e http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shop ... 47789.html

Roll the hood and tie it tight. There will be holes all around the poncho - wack two tent pegs into 2 corners and peg it down. Then tie the other corners to two trees. This is easy and pretty quick - plus if you need to bug out; all you have to do is cut the string holding it to the tree's, rip out the tent pegs and run..

Plus, its VERY versatile - I've explained (poorly, I must admit) how to make *one* type of "basha"; they're quite a few techniques.. and all you need is that poncho. Failing that; get your tarp to be of that size. Its not heavy at all; and I used to be able to get a poncho, tent pegs and string into one PLCE webbing Utility pouch. You may want to use bungee's instead of string though - helps keep the lines tense; which is needed for it to be waterproof.

You may want to have a roll mat - even if you don't think you'll need it, it is also warmer as well as more comfortable. You can pick roll mats up for dirt cheap, and you only really need it to keep your back off the ground - so cut it down to size!

As has been said above, just throw leaves and overgrowth onto your basha then relax. I would still prefer to use a groundsheet though - i.e another poncho; peg it in using the same pegs that are keeping the shelter up. (If its another poncho they will be the same size...)

Another advantage to a poncho is (not sure about us ones, but the old British ones anyway) that they should have clips along the side, meaning you can put your sleeping back on the poncho; fold it over and slip them together.. giving your sleeping bag an outer layer for warmth and to help keep water out.

As has been said above you want to keep your shit waterproof - even if it means just putting a bin liner in your rucksack, keeping expensive/electronic shit in sandwich bags/lunch boxes.

[Illusion]

mmm, you guys have given me an idea.

I'd quite like to practice something similar - don't have anything really tactical to use as shelter, as my poncho was something else I leant out and never got back! (Along with a shemagh that was removed from my PLCE webbing when I let someone use it :/)

If I can source a suitable peice of green tarp, I will try it though. (I see some for about £1.40 for 6 foot x 6 foot online! Would be perfect) If I do it I'll try and document it, take some pictures, and make some notes - perhaps into some kind of "guide" form, and post em up.

As it is, I should have some ideas around christmas, as thats when I have a few all night things to be doing!

[Mr. Happy]

there is something called combat survival, you might want to look into it... But there is a method of having a fire so that the enemy wont be able to see it from a distance.

basically you dig a pit with a tunnel going from the bottom to the top, so you can get some air flow. Then you build the fire in the pit, this also makes it wind resistant.

[Blue_Social]

The second I turn 18 I'll totally be on top of this.
I find it surprisingly easy to "rough it" even though I'm in the suburbs.
I sometimes go on my garage in the middle of the night to look at stars.
Be sure to bring a camera with you because I totally want to see some of this done!

[Xanatos]

I sometimes go on my garage in the middle of the night to look at stars.

I love stargazing. Clear sky + full moon = spectacular atmosphere. It's great to climb up onto a high roof on such a night with a bottle of wine, some snacks, a book or two, some music and just chill for hours.

[Blue_Social]

I sometimes go on my garage in the middle of the night to look at stars.

I love stargazing. Clear sky + full moon = spectacular atmosphere. It's great to climb up onto a high roof on such a night with a bottle of wine, some snacks, a book or two, some music and just chill for hours.

The roof isn't that high. Feet on the neighbors fence and jump on up there.
I sneak out through the window in my room (ground level room in the basement.)
(Stupid screen squeaks if I go too fast though)

[preistpower]

I like this idea but, one thing you should consider investing in is a satellite phone. They can almost get signal anywhere and if you need to figure out how somethings or done. Or need to find out something you could be wishing you had internet access.

Have you considered what medicine you would take? I would definitely have some.

Minor pain killers, definitely Antiobiotics, you'll want Vitamins, just a few thoughts for you.

[Blue_Social]

Minor pain killers, definitely Antiobiotics, you'll want Vitamins, just a few thoughts for you.

Definately take some medicine.
Vitamins for sure especially if your eating out of a dumpster.
Ya don't want to be sick when you have to walk the next 10 miles do you?

[CokeCanNinja]

Get a one or two man tent. Dig a hole half as tall as the tent, just as wide, and ~2 feet longer. Slope the 2 feet part to a ramp. Line the inside of the whole with a tarp, then put the tent in. Throw leaves, sticks, etc. on top of it, that way it will be both camouflaged, and warm.