Message Forums

Weirdly, walking around in London with a backpack gets no weird looks as you just merge into the sea of Euro-students with huge packs.  That said they don't know to not wear a pack on the tube - you won't be able to turn round without clouting somebody - that I do know...

My exploits have been fairly mild in weirdness. Since I'm such a townie, if there's a bog, stream, river or just a hole I tend to fall in.  Have now got bog extrication down to a T.  Squirrels eat my food constantly despite my best endeavours - a Morrisons bag ain't as tough as they used to be.

Not backpacking, but once (long ago) on a school geography field trip I put my bag down in dog poo and didn't realise, ended up with it all down my side and the smell... needless to say, I wasn't very popular!

Anne

I was camping alone and high up (7000feet) in the dolomites on the alta via one.  You are not supposed to pitch tents in the national park ( on the spot fines ) so I waited till dusk so that there would be no wardens around.  I found a lovely pitch and all the pegs just pushed in nicely.

As I lay there about to go to sleep I could hear this sound in the distance and it was slowly coming closer.  Bells.  Before long the tent was surrounded by this herd of about 20 alpine cattle.  Although they were not as big as ours they were still a lot bigger than my little tent.

I tried everything to get rid of them - walking back to the track, shooing them, even throwing lighted matches at them.  I must of only slept a couple of hours as I could hear them frollicking around and imagined one of them tripping over a guy and landing on top of me.

I got up at about six and  a couple were trying to lick me as I packed up and they sniffed and licked the flat rock where I cooked my porridge.  They were quite sweet really but just curious.