Introduction, or “is it safe in the woods at night”?
If you are planning to spend your first night in the woods, you may well be a tiny bit scared and not quite sure what to expect. A whole heap of films has been made on the subject, mostly horror films. Hardly any of them ends well.
As a rule, somebody hears a noise and “goes to check it out”. Alone. With a broken torch. The ones left behind are almost always a teenage couple who seize the moment and immediately start having sex. Those are the rules of a 90s horror film, there is nothing you can do about it. All you can do is watch and wonder: what on earth goes on in these people’s heads?
Amazon store, affiliate linkAfter that all you hear is a scream of agony and the panic sets in. On top of that, however big the group, sooner or later everybody splits up, even though the obvious tactic in situations like this is to stick together.
It may be more funny than frightening, but believe me: even the worst C-grade horror film looks a lot scarier in your memory when you are alone in the woods, the sun has already set and your only source of light is a small head torch. Oh, and you have just remembered that you have no spare batteries for it, and the ones in the torch are about to die. Blimey. What now?
Amazon store, affiliate linkThere is also an interesting “philosophical” dilemma: when you switch your torch on, you can see what is happening right in front of you, but you are also visible, and from a long way off. Every zombie or vampire that is no doubt lurking behind a tree, just outside the beam, can see you as clear as day.
When you switch the torch off, maybe nobody can see you (with the stress on “maybe”, because as everyone knows, vampires and werewolves have extremely sharp senses ;), but you cannot see anything either.
And however often you look over your shoulder, there is always some “behind you” that you currently have your back to.
The atmosphere changes beyond recognition.
After dark the forest seems to come alive and a concert of strange sounds begins. Well, the sounds are perfectly normal, and during the day you probably would not even notice them, but at night the very same noises make your head spin round on your neck like a big, frightened owl’s. You can forget about sleeping. Scared yet?
If you are still reading, you must be a real tough nut 😉
Seriously though, the fact that you are still reading means you probably want to prepare properly for your first night in the woods, and that says good things about your instincts.
Trips like this, for a single night (or longer), can be treated as a kind of warm-up and training for a real emergency: the experience you gain will be worth its weight in gold when you find yourself facing an actual disaster.
On every night-time trip your priority is, and always should be, safety. Night trips into the woods can carry plenty of dangers, such as the risk of an accident, encounters with wild animals and the chance of getting lost. In my view, though, it is exactly that little taste of risk that makes it so much fun 🙂
In this article you will learn how to prepare well for a night-time trip, whether you just want to spend a night out in nature or go on an unforgettable night hike. You will also find out what the rules are in Poland and abroad. With good preparation, a trip or a night in the wild will be a pleasure and a great adventure.
A night in the woods: the basics
Before you decide
If you have never slept out in the open before, it is best to pick a place you know well for your first outing, ideally somewhere you can get home from quickly and easily if you need to. That lets you get used to nature in new, night-time conditions gradually and in a controlled way.
Before you spend your first night in the woods, you can even have a go in your back garden or on your allotment. There you can test your kit without any stress and find out first-hand what a night under the open sky is like. If something goes wrong, say you picked the wrong sleeping bag, it is very easy to fix, even if that means going back home in the middle of the night, a little wiser than before. If the same thing happens to you deep in some remote stretch of forest, you will have to improvise, and you may well end up with a sleepless night.
Another good idea for a first trip is to go with a few people, or at least with one companion. It will certainly make it much easier to sleep, and no, I do not mean cuddling up 😉 I mean simply how hard it is to fall asleep in an unfamiliar forest.
On my own first night in the woods, I did not sleep a wink. First a dog started barking somewhere nearby (probably a few kilometres away, but at night sound carries much further and more easily than during the day). Then something started rummaging in the nearby bushes. Then a branch snapped somewhere deep in the forest. And so on, all night long. I think I would have found it much easier to fall asleep with someone nearby whom I knew and could rely on.
Kit
What should you take to spend your first night in the woods in comfort? Read on.
A tent or some other temporary shelter
Sleeping under an open sky full of stars can be a wonderful adventure, but it is not a good idea in every kind of weather. It is a good habit to check the forecast before every trip into the wild. If showers are forecast where you are going, it is worth taking a rain poncho. On the other hand, in a dry spell the poncho will just take up space in your rucksack.
The same goes for shelter and the kind you choose. The simplest and most obvious solution is, of course, a tent. If you are looking for a tent, be sure to read my test of the seven best lightweight one-person tents. But it is not the only option. You can use a poncho shelter, a tarp, a blanket or even build yourself a lean-to. It all depends on how big an adventure you are after 🙂
A tarp has one more advantage over a tent: you can keep an eye on the area around you, which makes you feel more comfortable and safer. It is usually lighter too, although it takes a bit of practice to pitch.
If you are heading out in summer, it is also worth thinking about a mosquito net. Mosquitoes and other creepy-crawlies can really ruin your mood.
Sleeping bag and sleeping mat
Here too, just as with the tent, you have a few options to choose from. Choosing a sleeping bag is a big enough subject to deserve an article of its own. The most important thing is that it suits the conditions and the temperature.
Some travellers make the mistake of thinking that in places with a warm climate they need nothing extra to cover themselves at night. It is a big mistake, one that has cost a great many people a sleepless night and, in some cases, even their lives. In most places in the world, the temperature at night often drops to a level that is hard to bear without any extra cover. In a hot desert, for example, the temperature at night can even fall below freezing.
So make sure you know what temperatures you will be dealing with. Based on that, you can decide whether to take a blanket, a light sleeping bag or a proper winter one.
When it comes to a sleeping mat, there are plenty of options to consider as well. You can get the simplest foam mat, which is very light, tough and tried and tested many times over. The downside is that it is not very comfortable to sleep on. You can also go for an inflatable mattress, which will certainly let you rest in more comfort, but it costs more and is usually heavier too.
On the plus side, modern mats like these take up far less space in your rucksack than a traditional roll mat. On the other hand, if it gets damaged and you have not brought a repair kit, you will have to make yourself a mattress out of leaves and branches 😉
Other important things
Every hiker should carry at least one knife. As a general rule, important pieces of kit should be doubled up, or even carried in threes. So it is worth having a second, spare knife, even just a small penknife, because a knife is one of the most useful and essential items in the kit of anyone who loves adventure and sleeping out in the wild.
Another piece of kit worth doubling up is a way to make fire. On my trips I usually carry at least matches and a lighter. They weigh next to nothing, and if one fails I can use the other.
True, we all carry a smartphone with maps and a compass, but it is still good to have a traditional compass and a paper map to hand. Electronics are wonderful and I am genuinely fascinated by them, but they have a habit of giving up at the worst possible moment. If your phone fails for whatever reason, you need a backup way of finding your bearings.
Nobody sets off on a trip expecting something bad to happen. Unfortunately, accidents do happen. That is why your kit should include a basic first aid kit. It will help you with a small cut, a graze or a headache.
Keeping clean is very important. Do not neglect it. A clean, well-groomed person is generally in better shape mentally than a neglected, dirty one. Clean teeth, a shaved face and washed hands are the foundation of health and wellbeing. So take basic toiletries with you, such as a toothbrush and soap.
If you are heading into areas with wild animals, bears for instance, but also feral dogs, take bear spray with you. It is a very effective defence against all wild animals (including the two-legged kind). Tests and studies have shown that bear spray is more effective than a firearm when you need to put a wild animal off attacking.
Food
Here too you have to decide for yourself whether dry rations and snacks will do, or whether you would rather eat something more substantial. In the first case, anything high in calories is a good idea: chocolate, snack bars and so on. When you are walking you burn a lot of calories and need more energy and strength. Carbohydrates provide plenty of energy in a relatively short time. I went into this in more detail in my article on food in the mountains
Do not forget water either, or some other drink to quench your thirst. Liquids are generally quite heavy for their volume, and every extra gram matters enormously on a hike. That is why I recommend the LifeStraw, which lets you drink water safely even from a puddle. The LifeStraw is cheap and very effective. It filters out all mechanical impurities and even bacteria. Just remember that it does not remove viruses or chemical contamination, so be careful.
You can also drink water straight from forest streams or from melted snow, but in that case you absolutely must boil it before drinking, and not just for a moment: let it boil for several minutes, ten or more. After that the water should be reasonably safe to drink, as long as it is not chemically contaminated.
Light source
The next thing you should take on a night trip into the woods is, of course, a torch, and ideally a head torch. I hardly need to convince anyone how useful a torch is at night, so unless you have the eyes of a cat, you need to think about one.
There are a great many head torches on the market. The most important features, though, are battery life, durability and reliability. Extras such as a red light mode or a flashing mode are just the icing on the cake.
If you are happy to spend a bit more, you can treat yourself to somewhat pricier kit. If you are only going out for one night on a trail you know well, you probably do not need anything fancy. A cheap (but good quality) head torch will do the job perfectly well. If, however, you fancy climbing Everest, it is worth investing in proper equipment. And take spare batteries.
Important: if you meet another hiker on the trail at night, do not shine your torch in their eyes. You can switch it off completely for a moment or point it at the ground. It can take the human eye tens of minutes to adjust to the dark again, so bear that in mind.
Clothing
I hardly need to convince anyone how important clothing is on any trip. At best, the wrong clothes will mean the adventure is not as enjoyable as it could have been. Numb hands or soaked feet very quickly become problem number one, and instead of enjoying the trip, all you will think about is that you really could have brought those gloves you were so sure you would not need.
At worst, it can even lead to your death, which of course nobody wants. Let’s face it, most people would rather not be famous for that. So think carefully about what to wear.
One of the most important items of clothing is your boots. You probably will not sleep in them, but you still have to get to your night-time camp somehow. You might also have to walk at night (night-time treks like that can be quite an experience).
So accept that boots are not the place to save money: choose the best pair you can afford. Good boots will serve you for many, many years. Poor ones, on the other hand, can easily put you off future trips and even cause an injury.
I will not go into detail here, because choosing the right footwear is a big subject that goes beyond the scope of this article. One important tip: do not take new, just-bought boots on a night trip. Your steps need to be sure and steady, and night-time is no time to test your kit.
Another important item of clothing is something to cover your head. In a cold climate it stops you losing heat: the head and the area around it have a very rich blood supply, which is why heat loss there is the greatest. In a warm climate, on the other hand, a good hat protects you from direct sunlight.
Too much sun can lead to sunstroke, which is very dangerous. Of course there is no need to worry about the sun at night, but in most cases you will have to get to your spot while it is still light.
A hood can be a good addition to a cap or hat. You can use it instead of a hat or together with one, which gives you an extra layer of protection.
The general rule is that the air temperature usually drops at night, whatever the latitude or longitude. What is more, once you lie down to sleep, you will feel the cold much more than you would on the move, because you are not moving. For that reason, take warm clothes, just in case.
Underwear is an important part of your kit too, and I recommend taking a change: at least a T-shirt and socks to sleep in. Settling down for the night in a vest that reeks of sweat is not much fun.
Don’t forget your… mobile phone.
You may be surprised, but in my experience the most important thing you can take on any trip, whether to the mountains or the woods, by day or by night, is your mobile phone. Your phone is your information centre, sat nav, messenger, media player and torch, and in an extreme situation it can even help you light a fire.
In normal conditions you will use it as a map, with the GPS function. There are lots of interesting apps you can use as a hiker or a prepper. The most important of them are maps. Just make sure first that the maps work offline, because in many remote places there is no internet access, especially in the mountains.
The most popular maps on smartphones are Google Maps. They are not the best choice for a hiker, though. They need a constant internet connection to work properly. So for navigating on foot I suggest the mapy.cz app, which is free for Android and iPhone.
The app does not cost a penny, it is updated often and it shows even very narrow paths that you will look for in vain on other maps, even military ones. With it you can leave the main trail without any stress, because it will lead you to your destination like clockwork. You can also take a paper map and a compass and practise walking on a bearing.
If you are going on a longer trip, think about taking a power bank, so you can charge your smartphone in any conditions, even far away from civilisation.
The rules on camping in Polish forests
Unfortunately, when it comes to the rules, Polish forests are not very friendly to people who would like to wild camp. You cannot light a fire either, except in designated places. What is more, even in the designated places you are not allowed to use brushwood and dry branches collected in the forest to get the fire going. You have to bring your own wood. Not exactly encouraging.
So what are you allowed to do, if nothing is allowed?
At first glance the Polish rules on camping in forests are not very inviting, but there are a few loopholes you can use if you want to spend a night in the woods. Firstly, many forests have designated camping spots and campsites. Unfortunately, these are usually not wild places, and camping there costs money. So the most interesting part of a night in the woods, the spontaneous adventure, goes out of the window.
At designated camping spots and campsites you will most likely have to deal with neighbours, their children and barking dogs. So you can forget about rest and adventure, unless you count dressing the burns of a neighbour who fell into the campfire drunk as an adventure. I would not recommend it.
Camping in the forest is prohibited, but the law does not define what does and does not count as camping. So if you pitch a tent in the forest in the wild, you cannot be sure whether you are within the rules or not, although if you are checked, you will almost certainly get a fine in that situation, because it is a fairly clear-cut case. But is sleeping under the stars on a mat in the forest already camping? The law does not say.
So if you have a taste for risk and do not mind losing a few hundred złoty on a possible fine, you can try your luck. Besides, the mathematical chance of running into a forester somewhere deep in the woods is close to zero. Just remember to show a minimum of decency and good manners. Do not leave litter, do not damage nature and be careful with open fires, in other words:
Leave No Trace
On your trips, follow the Leave No Trace principle, in other words: leave nothing behind you. Here are the basic principles of this philosophy:
- Plan ahead and prepare
- Travel and camp on durable surfaces
- Dispose of waste properly
- Leave what you find
- Minimise campfire impacts
- Respect wildlife
- Be considerate of other visitors
To be clear: I am not encouraging anyone to break the law, it is simply that the rules here are vague and nobody knows at what point you are breaking the law and at what point you are not yet.
Wild camping in the forest: a pilot scheme, so things are looking up [UPDATE]
From 21 November 2019 to 23 November 2020 a special pilot period is running in Poland. Under the scheme, special areas have been set aside in Polish forests where you can legally wild camp. For now they are small areas, but perhaps that will change once the pilot period ends. Let’s hope so.
Within the designated areas (the red fields on the map) you can camp anywhere, in groups of up to 4 people and for no more than 2 nights in a row. You do, however, have to let the local forest district know, for example by email. At the moment open fires are not allowed in the designated areas, so no morning coffee.
The pilot scheme “Zanocuj w lesie” (“Stay the night in the forest”) has changed quite a bit. Since May 2021 it has been expanded considerably. Since then as many as 425 forest districts have been taking part, with a total area of over 600,000 hectares. That is really huge progress compared with the earlier pilot.
Some restrictions still apply, though. You may only light a fire in designated places, and you may only use a gas stove in some areas. If you are travelling in a group of more than 9 people, you also need written permission from the forest district (email is fine).
To find a place to camp for the night, use the up-to-date interactive map of the forest districts taking part in the “Zanocuj w lesie” (“Stay the night in the forest”) pilot scheme run by the State Forests (Lasy Państwowe, the Polish national forest authority).
Below is a static version of the map.
A night in the forest abroad
There is nothing to stop you spending your first night in the woods abroad. There are several countries in Europe with very liberal rules on camping in forests.
What do you think about camping abroad? Is it worth it?The Scandinavian countries lead the way here. They have Allemansrätten, the “everyman’s right” to enjoy nature. In Norway, Sweden and Finland you can sleep practically anywhere, at least 150 m from the nearest buildings and for no more than 2 days in one place. The situation is similar in Iceland, although the rules there have been tightened a little recently because of the irresponsible behaviour of some tourists.
In Estonia, too, you can sleep almost anywhere. In Lithuania and Latvia you can sleep practically anywhere except in national parks.
In some countries wild camping is tolerated, even though the rules partly forbid it. These are mainly the countries of Eastern Europe, such as Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Slovakia.
You will find more information on camping abroad here (in Polish)
A few final words
Planning is especially important on night-time trips, whether into the woods or anywhere else. During the day you can usually put your mistakes right quickly, in navigation or anything else, but at night every mistake can have disastrous consequences. So plan your route in advance and prepare your kit well. Pay special attention to your light source and spare batteries. Good planning will make your first night in the woods a pleasure, a lovely experience you will look back on fondly.
See you on the trail!
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