Ramblings About My Easter Holiday Camping Plans

I have wrote a few posts with tips, guidelines and my experiences about all kinds of things concerning camping. A few posts into my blog I am sure you would like to know what my plans are for the future. It is currently early evening where I live. I am sitting over a delicious sandwich, and I am looking into the near future. To be explicit I want to go to a camping trip in the Easter holiday. I am not sure if I will be able to get out with my friends.

I am looking to go to some kind of backpacking trip. It might not walk or hike every day, but I don’t want to go and stay in a hotel, hostel or inn. I want to go and experience what nature has to offer. So the objective is to stay in nature, sleep in the best waterproof tent I have, and that way I might be able to really recharge my batteries. I might even take a hammock, put it up between two trees, and sleep in it. There is nothing better than an afternoon nap in the shades in my hammock.

So where should I go? I have an idea about a show I have watched a while back. It was about two fisherman, who were on a survival trip in all kinds of different places in the UK. In every episode they had to compete, and they could have only a select few pieces of gear to fish with. They could only eat what they have caught. Obviously I would not be competing with anyone on my trip, but the idea of eating only what I caught always appealed to me. There is something to only eating the pray that you have caught. (Unfortunately I was unable to find a youtube clip from the show. Once I find one, I will make sure to post it.)

I would obviously have to choose a natural water full of fish to pull this off. I have always been thinking of checking out the French rivers, maybe I could fish for trout. Fly-fishing has always been close to my heart, and the idea of rehearsing my French knowledge a bit makes the idea of this trip even more appealing.

From the little research I have done the Albarine river in South France looks very promising. Judging by the photos I have seen on this review about the river, it looks very promising. The river flows next to Lyon, and it looks like it is a quiet, yet fast river full of brown trout and barbel.

The above video made me want to go even more. However if I want to take full advantage of the local culinary, I will have to stay in a youth hostel in a village next to the river. That way I could fish multiple areas of the river, going from one place to the other. I would book the hostels from home, making sure that I don’t have to hike too much one day, I must leave myself time to fish as well. Whatever my decision will be, I will keep you posted about it in the future!

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Tips for hiking with dogs

Camping with dogs can be an awesome experience, the dog loves it, you love it, everyone loves it, right? Well, not necessarily. The dog can annoy other hikers by barking at them, jumping up on them. And this is the smaller problem. The dog can also get overwhelmed by all the smells, colors, and all the moving things in the wild. This is basically like an overload for the brain of the dog, and he might just run straight into the woods, leaving you wondering weather he will ever come back or not.

However all these problems can be prevented with a little training. Remember, you likely brought you dog to some kind of training, or taught him a few things yourself when it was little. He must have been a brat when he was little, but learned to behave nicely and be a good dog. The same can be achieved with a little training when it comes to hiking. This post will give you a few guidelines on how to train your dog for hiking and camping, but you can find more tips here, or on this website.

First of all, people should at least be sure that their dog is alright and behaves well during walks on the streets of the city. If the dog doesn’t bark at everyone, stops when you tell him to, and behaves as an all around good egg, you are set to take the next step in training your dog.

Now you should take him to a half-a-day long walk to a nearby forest. The aim of this trip is to make sure that your best friend will be able to handle the influx of new sounds, smells and visions when you arrive in the forest on the big occasion. Things to teach the dog can include all kinds of stuff based on how trained your dog is. The dog might be a novice little puppy in which case you will need to keep him on a leash to prevent him from wandering away. If the dog jumps out of the car, and runs off into the forest, you know that you are going to have a lot of work to do. You will need to teach him all kinds of lessons about how to stay put, how to not run off the first minute he sees something interesting.

This kind of running off is the biggest reason behind accidents that involve dogs in the wilderness. If the dog runs out onto the road, a car might hit him. If the dog crosses the path of a cross-country runner, the crash can be very painful for both parties involved.

The dog needs to be able to sleep in a tent with you if you are planning on spending a night or two in the wilderness. The best backpacking tents for this are the ones that have a vestibule. This way you can close the inner tent, but leave open the vestibule for the dog so that he doesn’t wake you up when he has business to take care of during the night.

The key to successful camping with dogs is to train the dog in advance. You need to take your time, and get the dog used to the new environment gradually. If you do this, you can save a lot of headache for yourself and the dog as well. All in all, camping with your dog can be a very rewarding experience, but only if your best friends knows how to behave.

Camping at the River Ipoly

I have always had a passion for the outdoors and nature. I am very passionate about riversides, and the wildlife you can find there. The reason behind this is that rivers offer plenty of water for the local plants, which contribute to  a burgeoning wildlife full of plants, which provide shelter and food for the animals that live in the area. If you are lucky, you can find plenty of creatures in the plains and forests of these areas.

For me, camping is the best way to observe wildlife. You can wake up early in the morning, and you can observe the fish feeding from the top of the water. You can go birdwatching in the evening, and see birds who are feeding from the insects who come out early in the evening. If you have night vision, you can go on walks during the night and observe carnivores on the hunt. All in all camping allows you to stay in the wild, and not spend any valuable time with traveling when you could be enjoying the fascinating scenes that mother nature provides.

The River Ipoly

Ipoly is a river on the border between Slovakia and Hungary. Both countries are members of the European Union, so they are very easy to travel to for a European citizen. The best way to get to the river is bay car of course, but an international railway system allows you to approach the area by train. The area is famous for its advanced bike route system, in fact many hikers approach the area by train, and then they switch to bicycles.

The river is rich in chub, bass and perch, while some parts are rich in carp due to the slower current in these areas. You can find more information about fishing on the river on the website of the Hungarian Fisherman’s Association.

The river runs in between hills and mountains, but they are not that high. They are usually 500-800 meters high at their peak, so they are excellent for backpacking and hiking. The slopes are covered with fields of grape.

The wildlife of the area consists of small furry animals like rabbits, foxes and other critters, as well as bigger animals such as deer and wild boar. The area is a frequent destination of bird watchers as the birds visit the river in order to get some refreshment during the day.

The area is perfect for collecting mushrooms. Due to the hills in the area you can find many different kinds of forests. The different forests provide homes for different species of mushrooms. Always bring the mushrooms to an expert before you decide to eat them, the are hosts a bunch of  poisonous mushrooms as well.

The other reason why the area is such a great habitat for mushrooms is the frequent raining in the area. The rain adds to the water in the river, and helps the rich wildlife of the area thrive.

The frequent raining means that you need to have some kind of waterproof tent in order to have a successful camping trip in the area. I have an Eureka Apex 2x tent, that I have purchased after looking at reviews. However any tent or other shelter will do as long as it keeps you dry and warm during your trip. For example my brother prefers his Wenzel Current Hiker, but I just can’t stand the shape and design of that tent. To each his own, I guess.

And you don’t have to go stay in a tent, you can find good hostels and inns in the area. I have tried this one before with my dad and brother, and I had a great experience.

Unfortunately floods are commonplace in the area during spring. The snow melts in the Slovakian mountains, and collects in the river Ipoly. The river than carries the tide and floods the current villages. Due to these floods the area is unfit for camping during the spring. On the other hand it is stunning during the summer and autumn, and I would encourage anyone who loves wildlife to check it out.

The River Ipoly during a flood.

Image Source: Wikipedia

How to choose the right size tent?

When it comes to choosing a tent with the exact right size, you need to know exactly how many people are going to use the tent. You also need to know exactly what type of gear you are going to use on your trip. These two factors are going to determine how big of a tent you are going to need.

The rule of thumb when it comes to choosing the size of your tent is that each person needs between 2.5 and 3 inches of space to sleep comfortably. If you are going to carry some backpacks, you are going to need even more.

Kids need considerably less space than adults. Before the age of twelve, a child needs 1.5 inches of space to sleep comfortably. A teenager needs to be considered an adult when it comes to space.

If you are going camping with multiple age groups, you should go with a tent that has multiple rooms. Even though some tents don’t have multiple rooms, but they come with internal plastic walls that can be removed. These plastic walls enable you to make multiple rooms inside the tent, so every age group can have their own space, and not drive the others crazy. This is a must if you want to have the best waterproof tent for your family.

When it comes to height, I recommend tents that you can stand up in. I really don’t like tents in which you need to crawl around and you can only go around on your knees. Unfortunately most backpacking tents are not big enough to stand up in. Manufacturers try to make their tents as small as possible, so a two person backpacking tent is not going to be high enough to stand up in.

If your tent is not big enough to stand up in, at least choose a tent that has plenty of head space. You will need that space to sit up, take on and off your clothes, and move around inside the tent. A good advice is to choose a tent that is at least 30 cms higher that you when you sit up inside the tent.

As I have mentioned, tent manufacturers try to make tents that are on the small side. This not only saves costs for the manufacturers, but it looks good in the tent comparison tables, as the tents become lighter. Nobody wants to carry too much weight, so a lighter tent is a plus in the eyes of the consumers.

Keep in mind that tent manufacturers make their tens smaller than advertised, and try to consciously buy a bigger tent. So if you are going on a solitary trip, get a two person tent. If you are going on a hike with your spouse, choose a 3 person tent. If you are going a family trip of six, get an eight person family tent.

Family tents often have a front room. These usually don’t have a floor, so you can’t sleep in them, but they serve as an excellent place to relax. They can be used as a porch. You can sit out, sip a drink and cook a nice barbecue with your friends and loved ones.

Family tents usually have removable plastic walls. These are the walls that enable you to make multiple doors inside the tent, so you can create separate spaces for people who want to have a bit of privacy.

Family tents tend to be the biggest of all the tents on the market. This is down to the number of people they have to sleep, and all the features they have. The removable plastic walls and all the extras that come with these family tents add up in weight, and result in tents that can weight up to 20-30 pounds. You can’t take these tents backpacking, but they  will serve you well if you are going on a trip where you are going to set it up once, and you don’t need to carry it around for a long time.