To Stealth or Not to Stealth?

**StrawHat** · 02-17-2012, 08:15

I'm considering making a 'stealthy rig" for my next project but one thing that worries me about stealth camping is I usually have to hike away from camp during the night to find a good spot to "make a deposit" and then couldn't find my way back.

Seriously I find it interesting but I'm kinda worried about during emergency situations where you need to be located, especially in my case where my trips usually involves hikes through dense jungles.

**GrizzlyAdams** · 02-17-2012, 08:31

will the colors of the rig matter at night?
I tie a bit of reflective cord on a tree I hang from so that my headlamp picks it out. But I don't hang in the jungle. Another idea is to hang a small LED lamp, lit, on your suspension when you go...and don't go out of eye-shot of that light.

how about bring 100 ft of very lightweight cord, tie it to the tree and unwind it as you go out, wrap it up on the way back.

**AaronAlso** · 02-17-2012, 08:32

My Solution to "loosing" my camp at night...

4sevens Preon 1 - high beacon mode w/ a chap stick lid for a diffuser. This lil thing has faithfully led me home many many a time; half asleep & half drunk, sometimes both.

The beacon mode makes a single flash every 10 seconds and can run for days. There is also a low beacon if you prefer.

Love my 4sevens handy dandy lil light. Not exactly cheap though.

**Syb** · 02-17-2012, 08:33

Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams

how about bring 100 ft of very lightweight cord, tie it to the tree and unwind it as you go out, wrap it up on the way back.

One of my hiking buddies does just this but he brings two 100-foot lengths of mason line. He ties one to the food bag and the other line is for, well, deposits. He follows the line if he has to get up in the night. So far he hasn't gotten the lines mixed up and deposited near his food.

**Simo Ahtola** · 02-17-2012, 08:36

Hei,

For you to find back to your camp at night maybe you could put a flashlight inside your tarp to illuminate the location of it.

For emergency use, to get help from outsiders please consider a "Personal Locator Beacon" purchase.
- These are registered to a person and are telling your location by help of GPS to the rescue centre whom will rely the distress message.

These are good ones cause some of them are having a "everything is all right" message so you can rely your status and location to the people back home as well.

Prices are coming down and they are not big on size or weight.

Br Simo

**Steady** · 02-17-2012, 08:48

For those night time comfort calls you may find alittle Photon Microlight very useful. They are key chain lights, very light and dependabe. I keep one attached to my ridgeline and use it for many things. When leaving the hammock I leave it on and can easily see the hammock at night, sort of like a lighthouse. I personally like the green light vs the red, a bit more light. Its comforting to have a back-up light available also. As far as disappearing into the jungle....You better know what you are doing and are willing to accept the RISKS as well as the rewards. IMHO It's always better to err on the side of caution and that line changes with experience.

**BER** · 02-17-2012, 10:46

Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams

how about bring 100 ft of very lightweight cord, tie it to the tree and unwind it as you go out, wrap it up on the way back.

They make spools like this for cave diving or attachment to floats. Even attach to the belt for hands-free convenience.

**jnelson871** · 02-17-2012, 10:57

+1 on the beacon. I carry one on my solo hikes. I've heard the ones you can send messages from can be unreliable compared to the regular emergency ones. I gave a yellow one I got from Rei online can't remember the brand but its the only yellow one. No fees and I'm told it works, luckily I've never needed it. Really makes the family feel more comfortable as well.

**NFA** · 02-17-2012, 11:01

+1 to a beacon or flashlight hung off one end of your hammock

J

**StrawHat** · 02-17-2012, 11:06

Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams

how about bring 100 ft of very lightweight cord, tie it to the tree and unwind it as you go out, wrap it up on the way back.

Great idea. I always carry a 50ft cord for tarp lines backup, I'll just have to add more length to it.

Originally Posted by Syb

One of my hiking buddies does just this but he brings two 100-foot lengths of mason line. He ties one to the food bag and the other line is for, well, deposits. He follows the line if he has to get up in the night. So far he hasn't gotten the lines mixed up and deposited near his food.

Lol

I can imagine what happens if one of my hiking buddies gets too drunk and mixed it up and look for food.