Sleeping outside, surrounded by nature or the wilderness, gives
you a wider perspective of your place as a member of the human race in the
wonderful and magnificent scheme of things. Yet, experiencing a sleepover in
the wilderness is not as glamorous as many movies depict it to be; the floor is
hard and cold, and you have to consider taking a sleeping bag to keep you
relatively comfortable and warm during the wee hours of morning.
Remember that the coldest hours at night are the first hours
of morning, just before dawn officially commences; the temperature is the coldest
because the earth has lost all the warmth that it accumulated through the
exposure to the rays of the sun. Therefore, it is during this time that you
will feel more and more like booking a room at the nearest five star hotel.
Using a sleeping bag
is a good solution to your needs and requirements when sleeping in the forest -
or even in your own backyard or at the beach. It sure is a great assistance
when going on a spring break with a tight budget, and you end up sleeping in
the beach or nearby parks; however unsanitary or illegal this might be.
However, using a sleeping bag requires you to take more into
consideration than just where are you going to lay down. Neophytes and
inexperienced campers will make an effort to look for the “cuddliest” bush or
grassy growth to lay their sleeping bag, believing that the cushion comfort
that the grass will give will enhance their experience; even so, be aware that
bushy or grassy growths are often the home of a multitude of animals, like
poisonous spiders, rodents and other pesky critters.
One of the first concerns, in terms of lying with your
sleeping bag, is that you have to look out for poisonous animals only - and
while this is extremely important, it is not the only thing to be mindful
of. Small insects that live in the grass
and under the plants tend to come out at night and creep into crevices, such as
the ones that your ear canals offer them; while it might not pose a risk to
your life to have one of such insects lodged inside your ear, it will certainly
make you uneasy, and it can cause the animal to bite in an attempt to escape a
cloistered situation; these bites might get infected.
When you are not using your sleeping bag, it is important
that you keep it aboveground, that is, not to leave it lying around in the dirt
where spiders, snakes and other crawlers can bump into it and decide that it
seems like a cozy new home. If leaving it hanging above ground is impossible
for you, place your rolled up sleeping bag inside a plastic bag and tie this
one with a knot. Make sure that the sleeping bag plastic bag does not have
holes or tears through which any critter can crawl.
