BAM 30 April... 4 of 4, 28 of 28
1st Tarp camp, Birchwood
Not feeling my best today but have been looking forward to using my new Tarp, the Alpkit 3.5. Thank you to Stuart for covering this piece of kit in considerable depth which helped me decide to purchase, and understand its use.
Following a hard work day and cooking dinner I assembled my empire of lightweight kit in the fabulous Osprey Escapist 25 litre rucksack which remarkably (in my world) accepted all my sleep and cook equipment.
I see this as a practical way to carry stuff on a short trip but also gives me an idea how storage would look for any future backpacking trips.
Plus, pleasingly it all heralds a success in acquiring good lightweight kit.
I won't mention Alpkit again but did pack/use Hadron, Blip, Cloudbase, Drift, Kloke, bicycle 3.5, Kraku, MyTiMug
Many times from home I have looked up at the hills in the distance, at a spot which begs a bivi camp.
So I tore myself from the radio broadcast of Bayern v Real, setting off into the dark.
Another mystery tour!
Quiet hilly lanes led to a bridlepath which would take me up to the chosen spot. But my pictured recall of the map and how I remember that area were hazy, leading me to guess and hope, in vain.
Now the foxes are barking and a few dogs too, fuelling paranoia.
The Hadron illuminates my presence.
No marks for stealth whatsoever.
So I moved away from that which I deemed marked.
And found a lovely spot facing the Malvern Hills even though my intended destination (common land) was god knows where.
Set up was slow even though I'd tried some tarp set ups in the garden recently. On this first trip I experimented with some robust poles gleaned from an old tent, para chord and heavy pole fishing elastic. I had not time to purchase some poles from Stuart's array of cutting edge poles. But i will.
Now to sit under and wonder at this tiny but priceless space. Eating chocolate and supping Maker's Mark I marvelled at the extensive area of sky and land in view. The tarp was making sense having used a bivi bag many times. I was genuinely excited.
It was warm, one could say I needn't have used the bivi bag. But I did, and together with a poor choice of spirit levelled surface I struggled to sleep, to remain under the tarp and to keep the air mat underneath me. I heard many owls as sleep came close but remained elusive. And every so often the breathing of a large animal which I assumed was deer.
Low note of the night was several violent and prolonged cramp attacks in my thighs. My illness, dehydration or lacking diet or supplements? I drank all my water intended for a cuppa in the morn.
Need to sort something before WRT.
It did rain in the night, just to amplify the reason of the tarps existence.
The splendid dawn chorus eventually led to some sleep.
I still awoke early. And enjoyed a rarely seen aspect of the Malvern Hills now bare and in full view.
Now I realised my location. Just 30 yards away a shed I'd sussed as a potential bivi spot and not much further along a beautiful summit which I have backpack wild camped before!
And then I realised each adjacent field contained either horses or cattle. Came so close to breaking my number one rule!
Viewing my pics I can create a tauter tarp by connecting pole elastic to the four middle tabs using two v formations with their point tethered by pegs. Then I can lower the pole ends for a different roof.
If you have read through all this well done, I am fuelled by tarpology excitement while sat here somewhat knackered!!
.
. Once tarped, never returned.
(let me know if you have done anything similar) Gorewear Infinium gloves are a brilliant glove and now I've used them on my feet I'm gonna rave about them for years to come, they worked and half hour later I was warming up nicely. Woke up around 6am and started packing up and getting ready for a 0 degree ride home. Made up 
